Leaving It All Behind
by SamanthaBlackWhitlock
Summary: In her past life, Alice Cullen was known as Mary Alice Black, daughter of Sirius Black. What was Alice's life like after the war, and what led her to Jasper Whitlock and the Cullen family? *Reupload* *Full summary inside* Rated T for language
1. The Great Hall

**DISCLAIMER: Only a selected few characters belong to me. All other rights belong to Stephenie Meyer and J.K Rowling.**

 **Dialogue used from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and the Twilight Saga, including Midnight Sun and The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, belong to their rightful owners, but some have been altered to fit the plot of this story.**

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 **A/N: This is a re-upload. A little over a month ago, I had a story by the same name and the same plot up. But it was removed on Tuesday, October 17, 2017. I had received a critical review and it made me realize how unhappy I was with the beginning of the story. So I figured I would rewrite it. I did not take down the story due to that review, but I took it down so I could make myself happy. Below, in italics, there is a full summary of this story. Please note, some things are not the same as they were in the original story, such as the first chapter goes a lot further than just the scene in the Great Hall, it shows more of Alice's role during the intermission and second half of the battle of Hogwarts. Without further ado, here is the rewritten, Leaving it all Behind.**

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 _Summary: In her past life, Alice Cullen was known as Mary Alice Black. Her parents were Sirius and Johanna Black, and she was a witch. When her father was sent to prison when she was five, she was raised by her godfather, Remus Lupin, who she later fell in love with. When her father died, Remus left her leaving her heartbroken, and she put all her energy in her undercover work for the Order of the Phoenix. What happened after the war that led Alice to Jasper Whitlock, and how would all of this affect her life with Carlisle Cullen and his family?_

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 _"No one you love is ever truly lost." ~Ernest Hemingway_

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Chapter 1- The Great Hall Alice's POV

I began moving towards the Forbidden Forest where Voldemort waited for the return of all the Death Eaters. As I grew closer, I could feel myself begin to panic.

"It's okay," I told myself. "You've done nothing wrong. Just ask."

I slowly approached Voldemort. His back was turned to me.

"Sir?" I asked, giving as much strength to my voice as I could.

"Ah, Mary Alice. You're the first one back. Have you seen any of the others?"

He turned and looked down to me.

"No, sir. I was wondering if I could go to where Potter's side is holding the dead."

His slitted eyes narrowed as he looked down at me.

"Why would you want to do that? Has your loyalty wavered, Mary?"

I shook my head.

"No, Sir. But I would like to see if I've lost any of my family. Just because we are on different sides, does not mean I can not love them."

He thought about it for a moment.

"You have until the hour is up. When Harry Potter comes, you will be here."

I nodded.

"Thank you, my Lord."

He nodded before he turned away from me.

I turned to return to the castle.

"Oh, and Mary," he said.

"Yes, My Lord?"

"If you don't come back, I will come and get you myself, and it will be most unpleasant for your family. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, sir," I said.

"Go. Your time will be out soon. Remember. You have until the hour is up."

I ran from the forest, and I met the Patronus of Minerva McGonagall.

"The dead and injured will be moved to the Great Hall."

The Patronus moved quickly from me, and I ran in the direction of the castle.

"It's going to be okay," I repeated to myself. "They're all okay."

I thought of my best friends, Fred and George Weasley. I thought of their brothers and sister, and of Molly and Arthur Weasley, who always treated me as their own child. I even thought of Remus and Tonks. Despite my anger towards them both, Tonks was still my cousin, and Remus was her husband, and my godfather, even if things weren't the same between us since we had broken up nearly two years ago.

I made it to the outside of the castle, where I ran into Ginny and a girl who didn't look to be much younger than Ginny.

"Alice!" Ginny said, surprised. "You're here."

"I don't have much time yet. He said I have until Harry is due to be in the forest. I have to leave soon. I came to see if everyone was okay."

Ginny's face fell.

"Alice―"

"Who?" I asked urgently.

"I think you should see for yourself."

I looked at her, wide-eyed with horror, as I ran through the castle doors. I quickly ran through the entrance corridor to the Great Hall.

Everyone seemed to be crowded here. I seemed to catch everyone's eyes. They all seemed to know where my loyalties lie, so they didn't look at me with hatred.

Somewhere in the back, I saw the bright red hair of the Weasley family. All except for Ginny, who was outside with the girl.

I took the small aisle between bodies to them.

"Alice," Percy breathed pulling me into a hug.

George, who was on the ground, surrounded by everyone else, looked up at me, before standing and pulling me into a bone-crushing hug."

"Alice!" he said, through a breaking voice. "You're here."

Everyone stepped away from the body that was at their feet. Staring back up at me, with the face of one of my best friends. Fred was gone. Much like my father, his last smile etched onto his face. But his eyes, they focused on nothing.

I didn't have time to think before I started sobbing into George's chest.

"We're so sorry, George and Alice," Molly sobbed, pulling us into a hug.

"I couldn't see," I sobbed. "So many decisions were being made I couldn't keep up. I couldn't save him. I'm so sorry, Molly."

"It's not your fault, dear," she said, resting her cheek on the top of my head.

George led me to Fred's body. I dropped to my knees and hovered over his head.

"I'm sorry, Freddie. I'm so, so, so, sorry."

As I turned my head, I saw the familiar shade of light brown hair, with the grey specks, and I felt my broken heart shatter into a million pieces.

George followed my eyes, and pushed my face up with his hand.

"I'm sorry, Alice. It's okay, if you have to go see him. I'll be okay."

He dropped his hand, and I scrambled to my feet.

I dropped at Remus's head. He looked like he was sleeping. He looked so peaceful. I had decided he was sleeping.

"Come on, Re," I said quietly, shaking him. "Wake up. It's okay. You're okay."

Remus didn't answer.

"Re, come on, you have to wake up! This isn't funny anymore! Please," I begged, as the tears came down quicker than I could keep up with. "Come back. I'm not angry anymore."

"Ali, he's gone," George whispered quietly as he dropped to my side.

"He's not dead," I growled. I shook Remus again. "Remus, please, please, wake up. Teddy needs you," I paused for a moment. "I need you. I know you don't love me, but I still need you. If not for me, come back for Teddy."

George pulled me into a hug. I buried my head into his shoulder and cried.

"I have to go soon," I said quietly. "He'll come for me if I don't."

"I'll let you say goodbye."

I nodded, and he pulled away from me, returning to Fred and his family, now joined by Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Please," I tried, one last time, resting my head on his chest. "Come back to me, please, Re. I don't hate you. I swear. I still love you."

I still didn't get an answer. I looked up as Harry began backing away from the Weasleys. His eyes met mine, and I knew my time was almost up.

I turned back to Remus, and hovered over his head once more.

"I'll see you soon, Re."

I pressed my lips to his forehead. It was as cold as ice.

"I love you so much."

I had made the decision to take my life before seeing Remus, before seeing Fred for that matter. I had decided only a few weeks before that I couldn't live with the things that I've done while being undercover for Voldemort. But I swore I'd live until I saw Harry bring Voldemort down.

I pushed myself to my feet, and I returned to George's side.

"You have to go, don't you?" he asked, pulling me into a hug.

I nodded against his chance.  
"Find me when all this is over," he said.

"I will," I said, pulling away.

Molly and Arthur pulled me into a hug.

"Be safe, Alice," Arthur said.

"I always am."

Ron and Hermione hugged me, and then Percy, then Charlie, then Bill, then Fleur. I returned to Fred's side, and much like I did to Remus, I kissed his cold forehead.

"I'll see you soon, Freddie," I whispered in his ear.

I numbly made my way back to the Forbidden Forest. People patted my shoulder along the way.

Before I knew it, I was standing with Voldemort again. Hagrid stared back at me. I looked at him apologetically. He offered me a small smile in return.

"Mary, you're back right on time," he said.

"Of course, my Lord."

"How is your family?" he asked.

"I've lost Fred Weasley and Remus Lupin."

"The wolf is dead?" Bellatrix cackled from behind Voldemort. "Serves him right."

I didn't reach for my wand. Instead, I thought of the Cruciatus Curse in my head. I could feel the energy surging, and when there was a decent weighted ball of energy in my hands, I threw my hands forward, and the ball hit Bellatrix in the chest.

Her screams echoed in the forest, and the other Death Eaters flinched away from me.

"Mary Alice, that's enough," Voldemort snapped.

I began pulling the ball back to me, and then hugged it to my chest, where it slowly began to fade away.

"Surely, you can't still care for him," Bellatrix breathed. "He threw you away! Then he married your cousin."

She began cackling, and Voldemort turned on her.

"Bellatrix, I have heard more than enough from you. Just because you don't have a heart, doesn't mean Mary Alice doesn't. That's what makes her my most prized follower. She's a special little one, she is."

"My apologies, my Lord."

We waited, but Harry didn't come. I was secretly grateful. But at the same time, I knew what Harry didn't. That a piece of Voldemort lived inside of him. Voldemort had to kill it, and in order to do that, he had to kill Harry. Only then could Lord Voldemort be brought down.

"Dolohov, Yaxley, go see if you see him coming. His hour is almost up."

"Of course, my Lord," Yaxley said, as he and Dolohov parted from the circle.

Voldemort then turned his eyes on me.

"Mary Alice, will he come?"

Everyone turned to me as I closed my eyes and began focusing on Harry.

 _Harry was walking through the forest in his invisibility cloak._

 _After walking with Yaxley and Dolohov, he approached the circle. After waiting a few moments, Harry removed the cloak._

 _I opened my eyes, and everyone was still watching me._

"He will come. Soon."

Voldemort didn't seem to notice the sound of defeat in my voice.

We waited for a little while more. Dolohov and Yaxley returned, and Harry didn't appear to be with them.

I looked directly between the two, and gave a look of remorse.

"No sign of him, my Lord," said Dolohov.

The expression Voldemort had before. He continued to look into the firelight.

"My Lord—"

Voldemort held up a hand silencing Bellatrix.

Using his other hand, he held the Elder Wand up to me, and I dropped to the ground. It felt like red-hot knives were stabbing me. I held back the screams.

"I thought he would come," said Voldemort in his high, clear voice, his eyes on weren't focused on me. They were instead focused on the fire in front of me. "I expected him to come."

As I went to respond, the scream that I had held in rang through the forest.

"Alice!" Hagrid yelled as struggling against the tree. "Let 'er go! That's 'er brother!"

"You've betrayed me Mary Alice. You told me Potter was coming. I was, it seems . . . mistaken." said Voldemort. I felt the pain grow worse as his anger grew. I couldn't fight the screams.

"You weren't," Harry's voice said loudly as the invisibility cloak dropped. "Let her go."

The pain stopped, and Voldemort looked up.

"Harry," I whispered. "Go! I can take it! I can take it, just go!"

My voice had returned in time for the last sentence. It wasn't the yell I wanted, but it would have to do.

"So I was right," he said quietly. "You are not loyal to me."

"I never was," I breathed.

Now that Voldemort knew I wasn't loyal to him, he would surely kill me. It wasn't me that I was worried about though. It was Harry. Dumbledore told me that there was no other way. I couldn't save him, but I couldn't let him die.

"HARRY, NO!" Hagrid yelled. His struggling grew as I panted trying to make my way to Harry.

"NO! NO! HARRY, WHAT'RE YEH—?"

"QUIET!" Rowle yelled, flicking his wand at Hagrid.

As I crawled to Harry, I felt ropes binding me to the ground.

I looked up, and Bellatrix, who had jumped up, standing next to Voldemort now, had her wand pointed at me.

With a burst of red light, I could no longer struggle against the ropes. They were too tight now.

I was at Harry's feet, and he looked down at me.

Hagrid continued to struggle.

"Harry Potter," Voldemort said quietly. "The-Boy-Who-Lived."

Harry kneeled down at my side.

"It's okay, Alice," he said, smoothing my hair back. "Sirius said he and Johanna loves you, and they're so proud of you. Stop fighting, Al. You've kept me safe until you couldn't anymore. I know that you know there is no other way. You're the best sister anyone can ask for. I love you too. Never forget that."

He straightened back up as the tears streamed down my face.

"I love you, Harry," I whispered.

Voldemort raised his wand.

"Avada Kedavra!" he yelled. The jet of green light hit Harry in the chest and his body hit the ground.

At the same time, I screamed and began sobbing, and Voldemort fell to the ground as well. All the Death Eater ran to his side, while I sobbed. The ropes seemed to loosen slightly. Just enough to where I could slightly move.

About five minutes had passed, when Voldemort began to struggle to get up.

"My Lord….my Lord…." Bellatrix said lovingly.

I waited for Harry to get up too. He didn't move. He remained face down in the dirt. My body shook with the now silent sobs, as I turned away from him, facing Hagrid who looked down at me, enormous tears rolling down his face.

"I'm so sorry," I mouthed to Hagrid.

"My Lord," Bellatrix repeated.

"That will do," Voldemort said.

Several people began to back away from Voldemort.

"My Lord, let me—"

"I do not require assistance," said Voldemort coldly, and though he could not see it Bellatrix withdrew her hand.

"The boy . . . Is he dead?"

The only sounds that could be heard in the clearing was the sounds of my quiet sobs.

"You," said Voldemort, pointing to Narcissa. "Examine him. Tell me whether he is dead."

Narcissa made her way slowly to where Harry laid.

She leaned over him, gently turned his face over, opened an eye, then felt his heart.

After a second she turned back to the Death Eaters, Voldemort, Hagrid, and I.

"He is dead!" she announced.

Hearing the words caused my sobs to grow louder, and as a result, Bellatrix and Voldemort grinned down at me.

The Death Eaters shouted and sent jets of red light into the air. I was still binded, but I was able to move more than before. I began struggling against the tight ropes. I didn't dare use magic, in case it rebounded.

"You see?" screeched Voldemort over the commotion. "Harry Potter is dead by my hand, and no man alive can threaten me now! Watch! Crucio!"

"Stop! Stop! Please," I begged.

Voldemort turned to me, and grinned, and then the ropes fell away.

"Now," said Voldemort turning away from me, as I curled into a ball on the forest floor, "we go to the castle, and show them what has become of their hero. Who shall drag the body? No—Wait—"

As Hagrid fell to the ground, a fresh outbreak of laughter rang through the crowd.

"You carry him," Voldemort said. "He will be nice and visible in your arms, will he not? Pick up your little friend, Hagrid. And the glasses—put on the glasses—he must be recognizable—"

I didn't dare look at Harry.

"What about her?" Bellatrix said. She had at some point walked over to me. Her boot collided with my chest, knocking me onto my back. All the air inside me was knocked out with the kick to the chest.

"She will live. She will rejoin the Death Eaters."

"But her loyalty—"

"Her gifts will prove useful. She can after all, see the future."

Someone grabbed a fist full of my Death Eater robes, and jerked me up.

I realized it was Greyback as one of his sharp nails grazed across my neck. It wasn't hard enough to break skin.

Voldemort moved to me.

"You should have been loyal to me, Mary Alice."

The tears stopped.

"I wouldn't change anything," I whispered.

"Remember this, Mary," Voldemort said, gripping onto my left arm. He jerked it up to show me the Dark Mark that sat on my arm. "You will always belong to me, now."

He turned away from me.

"Move!" he commanded. Hagrid seemed to be forced to follow Voldemort's orders.

Greyback shoved me forward.

"If you're not careful, Pixie," he whispered in my ear, "you will end up with your precious werewolf lover soon."

"He's not my lover," I said numbly. "He doesn't love me. You know that."

We walked through the forest. After some time, we ended up in a clearing. The sun was starting to come up.

"BANE!" Hagrid bellowed as the centaurs watched the procession. ""Happy now, are yeh, that yeh didn' fight, yeh cowardly bunch o' nags? Are yeh happy Harry Potter's—d-dead . . . ?"

Hagrid began to cry again, and I did too.

When we reached the edge of the forest, Voldemort spoke again.

"Stop!" he ordered.

Hagrid came to a stop, and so did the Death Eaters.

Voldemort turned to Greyback, and motioned for the two of us to stand next to Hagrid.

Greyback shoved me forward, but didn't let go of my robes.

Voldemort went through the small space between Greyback and Hagrid.

"Harry Potter is dead. He was killed as he ran away, trying to save himself while you lay down your lives for him. We bring you his body as proof that your hero is gone," Voldemort's voice crashed in my ear drums.

"The battle is won. You have lost half of your fighters. My Death Eaters outnumber you, and the Boy Who Lived is finished. There must be no more war. Anybody who continues to resist, man, woman, or child, will be slaughtered, as will every member of their family. Come out of the castle now, kneel before me, and you shall be spared. Your parents and children, your brothers and sisters will live and be forgiven, and you will join me in the new world we shall build together."

There was silence. Mine and Hagrid's sobs were quiet. At some point, Voldemort had taken Nagini out of her enchanted cage, and now was draped around Voldemort's shoulders.

"Come," Voldemort said to Hagrid and the Death Eaters.

"Harry," sobbed Hagrid. "Oh, Harry . . . Harry . . . "

We began to approach the castle, and Voldemort came to a halting stop in front of the doors.

"Stop," Voldemort commanded. Hagrid and Greyback came to a stop as well, and the Death Eater formed a long line.

"NO!" McGonagall screamed as she looked from me, to Hagrid, to Harry.

"No!"

"No!"

"Harry! Harry!"

Ron, Hermione and Ginny screamed as they laid eyes on Harry.

"Look at that," Greyback whispered in my ear. "No one calls for you. No one here cares about you."

He shoved me, but I didn't fall. I then felt his foot ram into my back, that caused my knees to buckle. I felt something cut my jaw, and something else cut the side of my face. Looking down, I saw a mix of glass and wood.

"Alice!" George screamed.

Screams for both Harry and myself began to rang through the crowd.

"Get her back up," Voldemort hissed to Greyback, before turning back to the crowd.

Greyback grabbed my robes, and jerked me back up.

"SILENCE!" Voldemort yelled. Suddenly the sound went silent, and my eyes focused on the outstretched wand. "It's over! Set him down, Hagrid, at my feet, where he belongs!"

Hagrid lowered Harry onto the grass.

"You see?" he asked, while he strided next to Harry's body. "Harry Potter is dead!" He pointed a wand at me. "This girl. The daughter of Sirius Black. She is still loyal to Harry Potter, even though he's dead. She will help me show you an example of what happens when you defy me."

I felt the pain of the Cruciatus Curse run through me again. I couldn't hold back the scream as Greyback dropped me.

I saw pain tear through every face that looked down at me. George went to run for me, but was held back by Charlie.

"Harry Potter is dead!" Voldemort repeated, and the pain faded. I laid panting on the ground. "Do you understand now, deluded ones? He was nothing but a boy who relied on others to sacrifice themselves for him!"

"He beat you!" yelled Ron, and the charm broke. Everyone yelled and screamed, until Voldemort caused a second, more powerful bang that echoed through the grounds.

"He was killed while trying to sneak out of the castle grounds," said Voldemort, and there was relish in his voice for the lie, "killed while trying to save himself—"

Voldemort broke off as Neville Longbottom ran forward.

"And who is this?" he said in his soft snake's hiss. "Who has volunteered to demonstrate what happens to those who continue to fight when the battle is lost?"

Bellatrix gave a delighted laugh.

"It is Neville Longbottom, my Lord! The boy who has been giving the Carrows so much trouble! The son of the Aurors, remember?"

"Ah, yes, I remember."

Neville struggled to get back up to his feet. I felt myself getting jerked up again.

"But you are a Pureblood, aren't you, my brave boy?" Voldemort asked as Neville got to his feet, standing in the middle of the Death Eaters, and the Hogwarts fighters.

"So what if I am?" Neville said. His voice was loud and brave.

"You show spirit and bravery, and you come of noble stock. You will make a very valuable Death Eater. We need your kind, Neville Longbottom."

"I'll join you when hell freezes over," said Neville. "Dumbledore's Army!"

When Voldemort's second silencing spell didn't hold, the crowd began cheering.

"Very well," Voldemort said in a very dangerous tone. "If that is your choice, Longbottom, we revert to the original plan. On your head," he said quietly, "be it."

Voldemort waved his wand, and I flinched away before the glass in one of the windows of the castle shattered. The Sorting Hat flew right into Voldemort's waiting hand.

"There will be no more Sorting at Hogwarts School," said Voldemort. "There will be no more Houses. The emblem, shield, and colors of my noble ancestor, Salazar Slytherin, will suffice for everyone. Won't they, Neville Longbottom?"

My eyes clouded as Voldemort decided on what he was going to do.

"Don't!" I screamed, struggling against Greyback.

The Sorting Hat landed on Neville's head.

"Quiet," Voldemort said, turning to me. He nodded behind me, and nodded to Greyback, who struck me across the face. "Now as your delightful, Mary Alice has seen, Neville here is now going to demonstrate what happens to anyone foolish enough to continue to oppose me."

He flicked his wand, and I struggled against Greyback. He made sure he held my hands far enough away to where I could neither reach my wand, or use both hands for wandless magic, which made it stronger than using one hand.

The hat that sat on Neville's head bursted into flames.

The people fighting for Hogwarts, and myself went into an uproar. I struggled against Greyback, who laughed. At the same time, from the forest, Grawp, Hagrid's giant brother, came stomping from the forest, and I was shoved to the ground just in time to see Harry disappear under the Invisibility cloak, which caused an uproar from the Death Eaters.

Before Greyback had the chance to get me again, Harry swung the cloak over me, and pulled me to my feet and into a tight hug. Neville moved behind me, knocking off the flaming hat, and pulled something from the hat.

I had seen this sword before. It was the sword of Godric Gryffindor.

Harry moved me far enough from the Death Eaters before pausing. We both watched Neville.

Neville had taken the sword and had stepped forward. In one, single, quick motion, the sword came crashing down, and sliced off the head of Nagini. Harry quickly casted a shielding charm between Neville and Voldemort.

"Alice, hurry up and get to George!" Harry said, as some of the giants and centaurs came from the forest. I ducked from under the cloak, straight into the crowd of Hogwarts supporters.

As soon as I made it to George, the Death Eaters, and the Hogwarts supporters were running inside the castle to escape the giants that came crashing towards us.

"Are you okay?" George asked, once we were inside the entrance corridor.

"I'm fine," I said, as the door to the kitchen bursted open.

"Fight! Fight! Fight for my Master, defender of the house-elves! Fight the Dark Lord, in the name of brave Regulus! Fight the Dark Lord for my Little Miss! Fight!" Kreacher, my family house elf, screamed. The small house elves stabbed the Death Eaters in their ankles, shins, and just about any other place they could reach.

I pulled my wand from its holster, and ran to Bellatrix, who was dueling Hermione, Ginny, and Luna.

"You're a traitor, Mary Alice!" she hissed, throwing a curse at me, which I easily deflected.

"I'm not a traitor!" I yelled, continuing to deflect spells for all four of us.

"You're a traitor to the Dark Lord! And now, you're going to end up with your traitor mother and father!"

She sent a Killing Curse that just barely missed mine and Ginny's head.

"NOT MY DAUGHTERS, YOU BITCH!" Molly yelled, running behind us. "OUT OF MY WAY!"

She moved Ginny, Hermione, Luna, and I out of her way, and began dueling Bellatrix herself.

Her wand twisted and slashed, and several curses flew between them both.

"No!" Molly cried as a few students ran forward, trying to come to her aid. "Get back! Get back! She is mine!"

I stepped forward.

"Alice, get back!" she yelled at me.

"No!" I yelled back. "She killed my parents! And now, I'm going to kill her!"

Bellatrix cackled as she threw a curse at me. I deflected it, and sent another hex her way.

"Little Mary Alice, fighting back for your blood traitor parents. How sweet."

She cackled again.

I noticed now that hundreds of people lined up against the wall watching two duels. Molly, Bellatrix and I, and Voldemort, McGonagall, Slughorn, and Kingsley.

"What will happen to your children when I've killed you?" Bellatrix asked, taunting Molly now, instead of me. "When Mummy's gone the same way as Freddie?"

"You—will—never—touch—my—children—again!" screamed Mrs. Weasley.

We both seemed to have the same idea, because green lights shot from both of our wands. Both jets of light hit Bellatrix square in her chest, and she looked at us, eyes bulging. As she sank to the ground, I ran up to her, and stomped on her chest, much like she had done to me in the forest.

Voldemort screamed in fury. McGonagall, Kingsley, and Slughorn were blasted back, and Voldemort turned on Molly and I.

"Protego!" Harry roared from behind me. I had never found the right time to be shocked that Harry was alive, but everyone else was shocked now.

"Harry! He's alive!" everyone screamed.

George and Arthur came up behind Molly and I, and pulled us out of the circle that Voldemort and Harry seemed to be making around each other.

"I don't want anyone else to try to help." Harry said loudly, looking directly at me, then to Ron and Hermione. "It's got to be like this. It's got to be me."

"Potter doesn't mean that," Voldemort said, his red eyes wide. "That isn't how he works, is it? Who are you going to use as a shield today, Potter? Perhaps you're ever so loyal companions? Or maybe your godsister, who betrayed me for you."

"Nobody," said Harry simply. "There are no more Horcruxes. It's just you and me. Neither can live while the other survives, and one of us is about to leave for good."

"One of us? You think it will be you, do you, the boy who has survived by accident, and because Dumbledore was pulling the strings?"

"Accident, was it, when my mother died to save me?" asked Harry. Neither one striked. They continued to circle each other. "Accident, when I decided to fight in that graveyard? Accident, that I didn't defend myself tonight, and still survived, and returned to fight again?"

"Accidents!" Voldemort screamed, causing me to flinch. George tightened his hold on me. "Accident and chance and the fact that you crouched and sniveled behind the skirts of greater men and women, and permitted me to kill them for you!"

"You won't be killing anyone else tonight," said Harry. "You won't be able to kill any of them ever again. Don't you get it? I was ready to die to stop you from hurting these people—"

"But you did not!"

"—I meant to, and that's what it did. I've done what my mother did. They're protected from you. Haven't you noticed how none of the spells you put on them are binding? You can't torture them. You can't touch them. You don't learn from your mistakes, Riddle, do you?"

"You dare—"

"Yes, I dare," Harry interrupted. "I know things you don't know, Tom Riddle. I know lots of important things that you don't. Want to hear some, before you make another big mistake?"

"Is it love again?" he jeered, as his red eyes glanced over at me. "Dumbledore's favorite solution, love, which he claimed conquered death, though love did not stop him falling from the tower and breaking like an old waxwork? Love, which did not prevent me stamping out your Mudblood mother like a cockroach, Potter—and nobody seems to love you enough to run forward this time and take my curse. So what will stop you from dying now when I strike?"

I fought against George's hold.

"No, Alice," he said quietly, as Voldemort beamed at me.

"I have to help him!" I hissed.

"Harry doesn't need help," Hermione said, stepping between me and the circle.

I couldn't focus on what was happening in front of me. Things started to blur as everyone started making decisions. There were too many flashes and people changed their minds, then changed it again.

"Dumbledore was trying to keep the Elder Wand from me! He intended that Snape should be the true master of the wand! But I got there ahead of you, little boy—I reached the wand before you could get your hands on it, I understood the truth before you caught up, I killed Severus Snape three hours ago, and the Elder Wand, the Deathstick, the Wand of Destiny is truly mine! Dumbledore's last plan went wrong, Harry Potter!" Voldemort was yelling when I could focus again.

"Yeah, it did," said Harry. "You're right. But before you try to kill me, I'd advise you to think about what you've done. . . . Think, and try for some remorse, Riddle. . . "

"What is this?" Voldemort hissed.

"It's your one last chance," said Harry, "it's all you've got left. . . . I've seen what you'll be otherwise. . . . Be a man . . . try . . . Try for some remorse. . . ."

"You dare—?" said Voldemort again.

"Yes, I dare," said Harry, "because Dumbledore's last plan hasn't backfired on me at all. It's backfired on you, Riddle."

My vision began to cloud again as Voldemort started to make several decisions, and Harry did too. Voldemort's visions were more blurry, but Harry's were clear.

I focused just in time to hear both yell out an incantation.

"Avada Kedavra!"

"Expelliarmus!"

There was a loud bang, and then the Elder Wand flew through the air. Voldemort crumbled to the ground, and Harry caught the wand. George's arms dropped as everyone, except for me, was stunned with silence.

Ron, Hermione, and I broke into a cheer, and ran to Harry. I pulled him into a tight hug.  
"I'm so proud of you," I said quietly, before pulling away as the crowd grew.

The sun shone through the Great Hall, and I helped moved Voldemort and Bellatrix's bodies away from Fred, Remus, Tonks, and the others who died fighting.

While everyone celebrated, I made my way to the side, were Remus and Fred's bodies laid together. I sat at their heads, and pulled my knees to my chest.

"I'll see you guys soon," I said again. "I can't live with myself knowing the things I've done."

I looked up and saw George and Harry watching me.

"It's time for me to go," I said, unwrapping my arms, and hovering over their heads. I kissed them each once on the forehead then stood. "I love you both. Wait for me."

* * *

 **Okay here is chapter one! Until I get back to where I was, chapters will be going up in twos, threes, and on occasion fours.**

 **This round, I just wrote until we reached the one month mark, and uploaded every finished chapter. At the time of writing this author's note, I'm not sure how many chapters that will be.**

 **I figured I'd try to show more to this chapter than I had in the original story. I'm pretty sure I mentioned in the original that Voldemort learned Alice's loyalty was with the Order, but I didn't touch on it. So this shows more about that. A lot more detail will be going into this, and hopefully, this comes out better.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**

 **Follow, Favorite, Review! :)(:**


	2. Laid to Rest

_"Grief is the price we pay for love." ~Queen Elizabeth II_

* * *

Chapter 2- Laid to Rest Alice's POV

The funerals for the victims of the final battle started a few days after the war ended. People had started calling it the Battle of Hogwarts. I had attended each and every funeral. This included Colin Creevy, Lavender Brown, Tonks, and Fred. Fred's funeral was yesterday, and Tonks had been the day before.

Today was Remus's funeral. The last funeral I would have to attend. Harry planned it, but he ran everything by me. I would be the last one to speak, and I was dreading it.

I stared at myself in the full body mirror in front of me. My face looked much older than twenty-one. My face was sunken in, and my eyes were red and puffy from all the crying I had done. I had a deep red line tracing my jaw from where Greyback had shoved me into a pile of glass, and I had another line going from the outer corner of my eye to my lips from the same fall. Despite it being ten days after the battle, my lip was still busted.

I wore a long-sleeved black dress, with black leggings underneath, and black flats that greatly resembled ballerina slippers. I also wore the moon necklace Remus had given me when we first got together, and the bracelet Fred and George had given me for my 18th birthday when Harry gave them the money he won from the Triwizard Tournament.

Against my leg rested a messenger bag filled with clothes, books, my cauldron, my photo albums, camera, and my developing potion, some money, and a box filled with ingredients. It would help with my alibi until they learned the truth. The final thing I carried in that bag was a notebook filled with memories of Remus and Tonks that I would give to Andromeda for Teddy when he grew up.

I had decided that I would tell them I was moving to Italy. They all knew I was struggling, so it would be easy to pass off. Easier than having to admit to them what I planned on after the funeral. I planned on writing the note later, explaining everything, but for now, I would say goodbye to Remus.

I pulled up my left sleeve and tightly fastened my wand holster on my arm, and I was now ready to go. I pulled my bag over my shoulder and looked around the room. My eyes rested on a picture of my parents. They grinned back at me before my father turned and kissed my mother.

I smiled weakly before walking to the picture.

"Can't forget this," I said quietly to myself as I picked up the picture.

I tucked in away in my bag, and looked around the room one more time, before moving into the hall and down the stairs.

I made sure that all the lights were turned off before pausing in the living room. The house looked like I was simply going away for the day. I had left things behind. Things Harry and George could take, like jewelry, some books, and various other things that I couldn't fit in my bag. After one last glance, I flipped the lock and Apparated out of the living room.

The graveyard was empty and quiet. I was early. I paused and picked up four small rocks. I closed the rocks in both of my hands. The stones turned into four, dark red roses. I began walking through the various graves. I passed the coffin and stepped to the side.

"Hey, Freddie," I said quietly, kneeling in front of the grave. "This one is for you."

I straightened myself out and walked to the pair of graves that were directly behind Fred's, and where Remus's will be soon.

"Hi, Mum. Hi, Dad." I said, kneeling between their graves. "Take care of Freddie until I get up there, would you? It won't be long now."

I stood up again returned to the coffin.

Remus's eyes were closed now. He had the same peaceful look he had the last time I saw him. He still looked like he could be sleeping.

"Hey, Re," I said, putting a hand against his ice-cold cheek. "I want you to know, my decision to do this wasn't because of you, Freddie, Mum or Dad. I just don't know if I can live with what I've done. But I've brought you something."

I laid the rose on his chest.

"I still love you," I said, wiping the tear from my eye. "Even if you couldn't love me. But something good came out of leaving. You have a son. Harry will tell him all about you and Tonks."

I had never met Remus's son, Teddy. I stayed in the very back of Tonks's funeral, and I left as soon as I had given my condolences to Andromeda. At that time, Teddy had been with Harry.

"Alice?" Harry said quietly from behind me. I jumped and closed my eyes.

I turned to face him.

"Hey, Harry," I said, walking away from the coffin.

"How're you holding up? None of us have heard from you in the last couple of days."

I shrugged.

"I've been busy. Funerals in the day, and packing in the evening."

"Packing?" Harry asked, his eyes falling on the messenger bag around me. "Where are you going, Al?"

"I can't stay here," I said quietly. "I've decided to move to Italy."

His eyes widened.

"But I need you here," he said, pulling me into a hug.

"You're going to be okay, Harry. You have Ron and Hermione. They'll take care of you."

"Why are you leaving?" he asked, pulling back to look study my face.

"Because everything here is a reminder. Of those, I've lost, and those who I've taken."

"What about George?"

"You guys will take care of him for me, won't you?"

I saw the tears forming in Harry's eyes. I quickly caught one as it fell.

"No, Harry. Don't cry."

"Please, don't go, Al. We're all going to miss you."

I hugged him to me again. It was hard to remember he wasn't the same child I had met all those years ago. He had grown up.

"You've done a great job so far, Harry," I said into his shoulder. "You'll do great when I'm gone."

"Will you come back to visit? Italy is a long way from home."

"We'll see, Harry," I said.

I looked over his shoulder and saw the Weasleys and Hermione.

George stepped forward. He was holding a small box in his hands.

"Hey Ali," he said, looking between Harry and I. "What's all this talk about Italy?"

"We'll talk later," I promised.

"This is for you," he said, offering me the box.

I opened the box. Inside was a silver ring with a green oval alexandrite.

"George, it's beautiful," I said, smiling at him.

"Fred and I were going to give it to you for your birthday. I thought if I gave it to you now, it could brighten your mood for a little bit."

I smiled and took the ring from the box. I slid it onto my ring finger on my right hand. It fit perfectly.

"Thank you, George. I love it."

He smiled and pulled me into another tight hug.

"Fred picked it out. He said he didn't need your psychic abilities to know you'd love it."

"He was right."

"Did you not see us picking it out for you?"

I shook my head.

"I may have been searching for something for Voldemort."

He flinched at Voldemort's name.

"Alice," Molly said, coming up behind us. "Can you see the officiator? He should be here soon."

I closed my eyes, and I could see the minister holding the funeral walking through the gates. I opened my eyes and looked between Harry and George. "The officiator is here. He just came through the gates."

Everyone turned to the direction of the gates. Sure enough, we all hear the pop of someone Apparating into the cemetery.

"Can you guys stay here and greet people?" I asked, looking at George and Harry.

They nodded.

"We've got you, Ali," George said.

I nodded quickly and began heading through the aisle of tombs.

"Ah you must be Ms. Black," the officiator said, extending his hand. "Mr. Potter said I'd be greeted by a Ms. Black."

I nodded. "That's me. If you'll follow me, I'll show you where Remus is supposed to be buried." I choked on the last few words.

We walked in silence back to the coffin. Harry, Hermione, and the Weasleys were now joined by Andromeda. Harry was holding Teddy now. Luna Lovegood was also there with Neville Longbottom. Kingsley stood close to the coffin. Everyone turned when they saw me.

"Alice," Andromeda said, pulling me into a tight hug. "How are you doing, dear?"

"I'm okay. But it's not my loss you should be worrying yourself with. It's Teddy who just lost his father and his mother."

I looked at the baby in Harry's arms. Peering over the blankets, I could see Teddy grinning a toothless grin at me.

"That may be so," Molly said, coming up from behind me. "But you and Remus were so in love at one point."

I shook my head.

"He loved Tonks so much more. He gave her everything he would never give to me."

My eyes flickered to Teddy again, and then back to Andromeda.

"I'm sorry. I know that's your daughter."

She shook her head.

"It's okay, Alice. But he loved you so much. He was so upset when you didn't show up for the wedding," Andromeda said, putting a hand against my cheek.

"I was angry," I said, looking at the coffin.

"You had good reasoning."

"I was so close to forgiving him. Then he went to Tonks. He gave her everything he told me I would never have with him. I felt so angry."

"Again, you had good reasoning, Alice."

I shook my head.

"Nevermind me, Andromeda. I'll be okay."

She didn't look convinced but she dropped it.

"How many more people are we expecting?"

 _I closed my eyes and focused on the ceremony itself. I could see the Weasleys, Andromeda, Teddy, Harry, Hermione, and myself. In the back, stood Draco and Narcissa Malfoy. I suddenly couldn't focus on any other guest._

 _I quickly adjusted my sight to Narcissa. They were walking through the gates._

My eyes snapped open.

"What are they doing here?" I hissed moving away from the group.

"Ali?" George said, making a move to follow me.

"You stay here," I said, before turning to the gate.

Sure enough, Draco and Narcissa were coming through the gate.

Both froze when they saw me.

"What are you doing here?"

"I told you she'd see us coming, Mum," Draco mumbled.

"We come in peace, Alice," she said, holding up her hands. She took the bouquet of roses and lilies from Draco and extended them to me. "These are for you. We know Remus meant a lot to you."

"Thank you, Narcissa. I don't know how well they'll react to you being here."

"Alice, we only wish to redeem ourselves," Draco said. "Please. Give us that chance."

I studied both of their faces. Both seemed sincere.

"Remember. I will see if either of you try anything."

"Of course," Narcissa said quietly.

"Follow me," I said, turning back to the graves.

When I made it back to the group surrounding Remus's grave, they all turned and stared at me.

"Alice, what are they doing here?" Andromeda asked coldly. She stepped to the side, blocking Harry and Teddy from view.

"They're trying to redeem themselves. They won't do anything."

"We're just here for Alice," Narcissa said.

"Do you trust them, Al?" Harry asked.

I looked at the two Malfoys again.

"I do. If they try anything, I'll see it as soon as they decide it. Give them a chance. People change."

Everyone relaxed, and it became less tense.

"How many more people, Alice?" Hermione asked. "It's almost time to start."

"Hagrid, McGonagall, and Professors Flitwick, Slughorn, and Sprout are on the way. They'll be here in a moment. We can start when they get here."

We were all quiet as we waited. I looked down at the bouquet in my hands.

I began walking to the tombstone for Remus and pulled one of the lilies out. I rested it against the tombstone.

Everyone watched me.

I could see Hagrid over everybody else.

I stood and turned back to the crowd.

"Alice," McGonagall said, pulling me into a tight hug. "How are you doing?"

"I've been better. I suppose things could be worse though."

My eyes flickered to Harry and Teddy again.

As she stepped away from me, Hagrid swooped me up into his arms and pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

"Hagrid," I gasped. "I can't breathe."

"Sorry, Alice," he said, setting me back down on the ground. He had a large tear rolling down his cheek.

"I think we're ready to start," I said.

The officiator, who had been standing behind the tombstone nodded.

We all began moving to the coffin. Andromeda and I stood side by side. She held Teddy now. Harry stood on my other side, and George stood directly behind me.

The officiator cleared his throat and looked down at the podium.

"Family and friend, we meet here today to honor the life of Remus John Lupin. We give thanks for his life and wish him well now that their time in this world has come to an end. Remus is preceded in death by his mother and father, Hope and Lyall Lupin, his wife Nymphadora, and his close friends, Sirius Black, and James Potter. He is survived by his son, Edward Remus Lupin, and his goddaughter, Mary Alice Black."

I felt my vision begin to blur as tears filled my eyes. Harry's hand tightened around mine.

"For Remus, the journey is now beginning. But for us, there is loss, grief, and pain. Every one of us here has been affected - perhaps in small ways, or perhaps in transformative ones by Remus. His life mattered to us all. It is important for us to collectively acknowledge and accept that the world has fundamentally changed with his passing. We are all grieving. Life will not be the same - nor should it be. Together, let us open our hearts and commemorate the impact Remus had on us. I now welcome Remus's close friend, Harry Potter to speak."

Harry squeezed my hand before dropping it. He walked up to where the officiator was moving.

"Good evening everyone, and thank you for coming. I first met Remus in 1993, when he became the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher at Hogwarts. We were on the train to Hogwarts, and he helped me recover from a dementor attack."

I could remember that day. Remus came rushing in to check on me once the dementor had been driven from the train. It was that day that Fred and George learned about mine and Remus's relationship.

"He took me under his wing," Harry was saying. I focused on Harry again. "I later learned about his friendship with my father. He taught me how to conjure a Patronus, and was overall the best defense teacher I had ever had. Remus was an amazing man, and I wish I could have known him better. What I did know of Remus, was that he was smart, loving, courageous, and brave. He loved his family, and he also did what he felt was right. He was taken too soon, but he will always live on in our memories."

Harry stepped away from the podium, and the officiator stepped up again.

"We now welcome Mary Alice Black."

George gave me a tight one-armed hug, and Andromeda squeezed my shoulder.

As I walked forward, I felt my legs start to shake.

"It's okay, Al," Harry whispered in my ear. He pulled me into a hug before returning to his original spot.

I looked out into the crowd of people and cleared my throat.

"I want to thank you all for being here today. It would mean a lot to Remus if he could see how many of you came today," I said. My eyes glanced over everybody. They rested for a lot longer on Teddy, before clearing my throat again. "I knew Remus under two very different lights. I knew him as my godfather, and then I knew him as a friend. When my father was sent to prison, Remus took me in. He made sure that I had the best life I possibly could. We didn't have much, but he made sure that my life was great."

I paused and reached up to wipe the tears that were falling down my face. I felt the lump in my throat grow as my eyes fell on Remus's face.

"He always put my needs before his own and supported me in everything I did. I never thanked Remus for the amazing life he gave me."

My voice broke.

"I spent so much time being angry with Remus, that I never told him how much I appreciated everything he had done for me, and I will regret that for the rest of my lifAsike Harry said, Remus was smart, loving, courageous, and brave. He was also selfless, and compassionate, and he had a kind heart, and I owe my life to him. Everything I have become, was because of him. I just wish it hadn't taken me so long to realize this," I said, tearing my gaze away from Remus back to the crowd. I wiped my eyes again, and I watched as several people did the same.

"Re," I said quietly. My voice broke again. "Thank you for everything you've done. I love you, and I will miss you. Forever."

I stepped away from the podium, and Harry rushed up to me and pulled me into a tight hug.

"It's okay, Al," he said soothingly in my ear.

"We have been remembering with love and gratitude a life that touched us all," the officiator said from behind me. "I encourage you to help, support and love those who grieve most. Allow them to cry; to hurt; to smile and to remember. Grief works through our systems in its own time. Remember to appreciate each day and to live it to the full in honor of Remus. We often take life for granted and yet it is the greatest gift we have. Thank you for coming, and may Remus Lupin rest in peace."

The officiator stepped away from the podium, and Harry hugged me tighter, keeping me from sinking to the ground.

"I've got you, Al," he said in my ear.

Molly stepped up to the podium.

"Excuse me, everyone," she said, gathering everyone's attention. "There will be a reception to celebrate the lives of all the fallen, today. It begins in an hour, and everyone is welcome to come."

Everyone stood, as Harry walked me back over to George and Andromeda.

"How much longer are you going to stay, Alice?" Molly asked.

"I'm staying until he's in the ground," I said quietly.

"I'm going to stay here with her," Harry said.

"So am I," George said.

"I'll be staying here until Alice leaves," Andromeda said. "Then I'll follow them back to the Burrow."

Molly nodded and pressed her hand against my cheek.

She returned to Arthur, who stood not too far behind where everyone seemed to be Apparating from.

George took the hand that wasn't wrapped around Harry, and the three of us walked toward the coffin.

I reached into my bag and pulled out a picture of Remus and I that I had found a few days before.

"I guess when I destroyed all of our pictures, I forgot one," I said quietly. "I found it when I was going through my things. I have a copy of it. But I thought I'd leave this one with you."

I laid the picture of Remus and I next to his body. I had just turned 17 in that picture. I had just managed to get my Animagus transformation right.

"I have a picture of Teddy and Nymphadora for you," Andromeda said, laying the picture next to the one I had put down.

I reached up for the lid of the coffin.

"I love you, Re," I said. "Thank you for everything you've done for me."

A sob escaped from me as I closed the lid.

Harry pulled me back into his arms and rested his cheek on the top of my head.

"I'm sorry, Alice," he said.

George placed his hands on my shoulders and kissed the top of my head where Harry's head wasn't. I turned and watched as two people lowered the coffin into the ground with their wands.

"He's not coming back," I said numbly.

"No, Al. I'm sorry," Harry said, kissing the top of my head.

"Miss?" one of the people who lowered the coffin.

"Yes?"

"Would you like to put in the first bit of dirt?"

I nodded and stepped forward.

There was no shovel in sight, and I didn't bother with my wand. Instead, I pictured the dirt rising, and so it did.

The two men watched in amazement as I moved a large pile of soil into the deep hole in the ground.

"Come on, Al. Let's go back to the Burrow."

The three of us turned away Remus's grave, and then suddenly, we were gone.

* * *

 **Okay, here is chapter two. Something that was different about this chapter from the original, was I showed Alice leaving her house for the last time. It was the house that her parents had lived in when she was born, and it was left in her name when her mother died and Sirius went to jail. When she and Remus broke up, she moved back into that house. So the next chapter will be the post-funeral reception, and everyone learns of Alice leaving.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	3. After the Funeral

_"If you're brave enough to say goodbye, life will reward you with a new hello." ~Paulo Coelho_

* * *

Chapter 3- After the Funeral Alice's POV

Everyone that was at the funeral was now on the side of the Burrow. I could see a tower of drinks pouring themselves.

"I'll go get you a drink," George said, stepping away. Harry stayed close by, but he let go of me and stepped away.

"Ms. Alice!" Luna said, approaching me. "I'm terribly sorry for your loss."

"Thank you, Luna. You know you can just call me Alice, right?"

"Oh, I know. But I've always called you Ms. Alice. I don't see any reason to change it now."

I smiled. Luna reminded me so much of myself.

"Alice?" Andromeda asked. I turned to her. She continued. "I was thinking. Do you think you could hang onto Teddy for me? There are some people who I'd like to talk to. That's not so easy to do with a baby."

I looked at her with surprise.

"You want me to take care of him?"

She nodded and gave a small smile.

"I'd like to think of it as you having a small piece of Remus for a little while."

I smiled too.

"Of course I'll look after him. I have to go around and say my goodbyes anyhow, so I should be able to keep him occupied between people."

"Goodbyes?" she asked, as she tucked Teddy into my arms. "Are you going somewhere?"

"Harry hasn't told you?"

She shook her head.

"I've decided to move to Italy."

"Why so far?"

I sighed.

"Knowing the things I've done….it's hard to see how families are going to forgive me. Besides, everywhere I look around here, I have a reminder of Fred or Remus."

"And who's going to tell Teddy stories of his father?"

"George knows a lot. So does Harry."

"I'm going to miss you, Alice. Your father was always my favorite cousin. When he died, that moved to you."

I smiled.

"I'm going to miss you too, Andy."

"I'll come to find you when I'm ready to leave. When are you leaving for Italy?"

"Tonight."

I looked up to George who was making his way back to us.

"Please don't mention it to him. You and Harry are the only ones who knows so far."

"My lips are sealed."

"Thank you, Andy."

"I'll see you later, Alice."

I waved before looking down at Teddy.

His hair was a light brown, and his eyes were the same green color as Remus's.

"You look like your father," I said quietly.

Teddy gave me a toothless grin.

"Here you go," George said, passing me a bottle of butterbeer.

"Thanks, George."

Harry at some point had wandered off. So George and I started walking to where everybody else was.

"So do I ever get to find out what all that talk about Italy was about?"

I sighed.

"I'm going to have to tell you at some point."

"What's wrong?" he asked pulling me to a stop. "You know you can talk to me."

I watched him carefully. I watched his face as I spoke.

"I'm moving to Italy."

His face went from calm, to sad, to anger, then back to sad again.

'When?" he demanded.

"Tonight."

"Tonight?" he said loudly.

I nodded. His tears glistened in the last remaining bit of sunlight.

"Ali, please stay. Just a couple more days."

I pressed my free hand to his face.

"You're going to be okay, Georgie."

"I could come with you," he offered, taking my hand.

"No," I said, quietly. "You have to stay here. Your family is going to need you. Harry and Hermione are going to need you."

"But I need you."

"George, I love you. You're my best friend. Because you're my best friend, I need you to understand why I have to leave."

"I understand, Alice."

"Can you do something for me?" I asked, fighting the lump that was reforming in my throat.

"Anything."

"Be happy, George. Live a long and happy life. When I'm gone, just carry on with your life."

He didn't answer. He just pulled me into a close hug.

"Watch the baby," I said.

I looked down at him again. He was smiling at me happily.

"He looks like Remus," I said.

George smiled.

"He does, doesn't he."

"Your daddy was handsome too," I said, brushing Teddy's hair from his face.

"You'll make a great mother someday."

My smile faded but George didn't seem to notice.

"Someday," I said.

We made it to everyone else. They were all talking in low hushed voices. Draco and Narcissa stood in the back.

I glanced at George before walking to them.

After seeing where I was going, George didn't follow.

"Alice," Narcissa greeted.

"Narcissa. Thank you for sticking to your word."

"Of course. As I said, we were there to show we've changed, and for support to you."

"You'll still come around and visit us, right Alice?" Draco asked. "That was something I always looked forward too."

"I don't know about that Draco."

His face fell.

"I won't be visiting much of anyone," I continued. "I'm moving tonight."

Narcissa had the same taken aback expression that everyone else seemed to have.

"Where are you going?"

"Italy."

"Mum, do you think I could talk to Alice alone for a moment."

"Of course."

Draco began walking towards the back of the house and I followed behind. Once we were out of earshot of his mother, he stopped and turned to me.

"What's up?" I asked, shifting Teddy in my arms. He was falling asleep now. Draco glanced down at Teddy, then back at me.

"Alice do you think we'll be forgiven? You and I….we've done bad things. We had no other choice because it would cost us our lives. So do you think they'll forgive us?"

"It was no secret that I was working under Dumbledore's orders. Voldemort was the only one oblivious to it. I was forgiven before the war ended. But I do believe that you will be forgiven. You're seventeen, Draco. You have a long, happy life ahead of you."

"I feel so guilty for what I've done."

"You feel remorse. That's a start."

"Do you think maybe I could come with you to Italy?"

I shook my head sadly.

"I don't think so, Draco. Your mother and father are going to need you here."

He looked over my shoulder at his mother. I followed.

"What about them? Will people forgive them too?"

"It will take time, but yes. Eventually, you will be forgiven. Your mother did a good thing when she saved Harry. It will work in her favor."

"You know you sound like the psychics at those Muggle carnivals, right?"

I laughed.

"I get that a lot. When I was in Divination I used that a lot. Professor Trelawney seemed to like it well enough. I was her favorite because it was no secret that I could see the future."

He smiled too.

"Have you ever been to one of those carnivals?"

I shook my head.

"Remus and I didn't leave home a lot. We went to a Muggle theatre once. We watched a couple of different movies. But the carnivals were always crowded. I didn't like large crowds."

"He sounds like a good person."

"He was. He was a brilliant teacher too."

"I was too bigoted to think about it. I can understand why you loved him."

"I still do," I said, looking back to the sleeping baby in my arms. "But he didn't love me. Not in that way. Not anymore. He loved Tonks. He gave her everything he told me I could never have with him."

"You wanted a baby?" Draco asked surprised.

We had begun walking back to the group of people.

"From the time I was sixteen, I dreamed of this baby. He had my eyes, but I couldn't place the rest of his features. They weren't mine. And so I believe it was Remus's child. He's the only person I've ever loved that way."

"The only person?" Draco asked, looking towards George. "What about the Weasley twins?"

"Fred and George are like my brothers. I don't think I could ever be with them that way."

"I'm sorry about Fred," Draco said, looking over at me.

"Thank you."

He nodded and placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sure you have several more people you have to say goodbye too."

I nodded.

"Come find me before you leave, Draco."

"Of course." He gave me a hug, before going back to his mother.

"Draco is a good kid," I said to Teddy. "He's made mistakes. But he knows what he's done wrong."

I looked around and spotted George, Harry, Hermione, and Ron all standing together. Harry looked up at the same time that I spotted them and waved me over.

"Hey, Al," Harry said. "George said Andromeda is having you watch Teddy."

"Such an easy baby."

I swayed back and forth as Harry peered over my arm.

"How long has he been asleep?"

"Since I was talking to Draco."

"Is he doing alright?" Harry asked.

I nodded.

"He wanted to come with me to Italy. He's not entirely sure that he will be forgiven."

"You think differently," George said. It wasn't a question.

"Everyone deserves a second chance, George. Draco Malfoy is no different."

George and Harry looked up at each other, before looking down at me again.

"Then why can't you let yourself have a second chance?"

"I did. I gave myself several chances."

"Give yourself one more, Al," Harry said, putting a hand on my arm.

I shook my head.

"I've had more than I deserve."

Harry and George both stared at me.

Although I didn't feel it, I saw Teddy stirring in my arms before opening his eyes.

"Oh," I said suddenly looking down.

Teddy's eyes were still closed.

"Is everything okay?" George asked, frantically.

"Teddy will be waking up soon. Do you know where Andromeda is? I'm sure he'll be hungry."

"I'll go get a bottle," Harry said.

"I'm going to go talk to McGonagall," I said, looking over the crowd of people.

"I'll meet you over there."

George didn't follow me. He stayed with Ron and Hermione who watched me cautiously.

I walked at a steady pace, although my legs felt like they'd give out at any time.

"Alice!" McGonagall and Hagrid called together.

"Professor McGonagall, Hagrid," I greeted, adjusting my position again.

"Alice, I've told you more than once. You can call me Minerva. You're not a student at Hogwarts anymore."

"She's grown up quite a bit," Flitwick said. "I remember when she was just a baby."

"We all do. You were such a happy baby."

"Not to mention a brilliant student."

I smiled.

"I hope there will be more like me."

"I don't think anyone will ever be like you, Alice," Sprout said, looking at me.

"Yer the on'y witch I met who can do wandless magic," Hagrid said, beaming.

"Don't forget seeing the future," Harry said coming up next to me with a bottle. "That always came in handy."

"I was always amused with how Alice already had the assignment done before I assigned it," Minerva said, smiling down at me.

I looked down at Teddy, who appeared to be waking up.

"Do you have it, Alice?" Harry asked, handing me the bottle. I nodded.

"I think so. Can't be that difficult."

"If you need help, I'll be with Ron and Hermione."

Harry patted my shoulder before walking in the direction he came.

"Tha's Remus's son, isn't it?" Hagrid asked.

I nodded.

"I'm watching him for Andromeda. Spending a little time with my last link to Remus before I leave."

"Leave?" Flitwick asked in the same surprised voice as everyone else.

"Harry hasn't told you?"

"We haven't talked to him before he came over here," McGonagall said.

"Oh. Well, I'm moving away. To Italy."

"Italy," Flitwick repeated. "What part?"

"Florence."

"Why are you leaving?"

"I need to start over," I said simply.

"What about Harry? And George?"

"Harry has Ron and Hermione and Ginny. George will have his parents and brothers and sisters."

"And Teddy? He'll need someone to tell him about Remus."

"He's got Andromeda and Harry and everyone at Hogwarts."

"You knew 'im the best," Hagrid said.

"Maybe. But I don't think Teddy needs his father's ex-girlfriend hanging around."

"You're more than that," Sprout said. "You were his goddaughter too."

I smiled.

"Teddy will be okay without me. His path is set. He's going to be amazing."

I looked down and Teddy was fully awake now.

"Hello," I cooed. "Are you hungry?"

I was cautious when I put the bottle towards him.

Teddy quickly began sucking down the bottle's contents.

"You're good with him," Flitwick said.

"So I've been told," I said.

"Come say goodbye before you leave, Alice. I'd hate to miss my chance to say goodbye."

"Of course."

I made my way through everyone, and the evening turned to night.

"There you are!" Andromeda said, coming onto the porch steps where I was sitting with Teddy. He had fallen asleep a half an hour before. "How was he?"

"Easy to take care of."

She cradled her arms and I tucked him away.

"I have something for him," I said, turning my bag around. I pulled out the notebook and handed it to her.

"What's this?"

"I filled a notebook with memories I have of Remus and Tonks. It would have helped me if I had a way to remember my mother. So I figured I'd do it for Teddy since I won't be around."

"Alice, that's so sweet," she said, opening the book with one hand.

"Thank you for letting me spend time with him."

"Of course. This is for you."

She laid the book on Teddy's small body before reaching into her pocket.

She pulled out a picture. It was of Teddy and me.

Earlier in the night, George came up to me with a camera. He asked for a picture, and I, of course, gave him what he wanted.

The picture was moving in a loop. I smiled down at the baby before smiling up at George.

"I have a copy of it. So does George," Andromeda said.

I smiled.

"Thank you," I said, tucking the picture away in my bag.

I stepped forward, watching the sleeping baby.

"Good luck, Teddy Lupin," I whispered. "You'll do great things."

I kissed his forehead, and he stirred a little bit.

"Are you sure you have to go?' Andromeda asked.

I nodded.

"I can't stay."

She pulled me into a tight hug.

"Good luck out there. It's a big world."

I wiped a tear away when she stepped back.

"Goodbye," she said, squeezing my hand.

"Goodbye."

She let go of my hand and Disapparated away. I turned around to see Draco and Narcissa heading for me.

"You're leaving too?" I asked when they came closer.

"Draco refused to leave until he came to find you."

He stepped forward and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Will you come to visit?" he asked.

"I don't know, Draco. Even if I don't, you're going to be okay. You got this far without me."

"You've taken care of me since I joined the Death Eaters."

"Well you did okay without me before that, didn't you?"

I pulled away and gave him a small smile.

"Don't worry, Draco. They'll forgive you. Your future is bright."

He smiled.

"Thanks, Alice."

"Of course."

Narcissa hugged me.

"Good luck, Alice. You'll need it in this world."

"Thank you. Tell Lucius I said hello."

"I'm sure he wishes his best regards."

"Bye Alice," Draco said, with a small wave.

"Goodbye Draco. Goodbye Narcissa."

She smiled and waved, and then she and Draco were gone too.

I turned back to the crowd.

The night was dying down. My time was almost out. I saw now that I didn't have much time. I had to say my final goodbyes to my family.

I felt my throat tighten.

"Don't cry," I growled to myself.

I looked around.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were the closest to me. I caught my breath and began walking towards them.

"Hey, Al," Harry said.

"I've got to go soon, Har," I said, looking into his emerald eyes. "I've come to say goodbye."

Tears filled both of our eyes.

He, just like everyone else seemed to be doing, pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

"I'm going to miss you, Al."

"I'm going to miss you too, Harry. I need you to know that this isn't your fault. I made this decision."

"I know, Al."

He stepped back and Ron stepped up to hug me.

"Take care of both of them, Ron," I whispered in his ear. "Harry and George both."

"I will, Ali."

"Thank you."

He patted my back and stepped back. Hermione stepped forward and hugged me too.

"Thank you," I said quietly. "For taking care of Harry when I couldn't. I need you to do that now more than ever."

"Of course."

"You're a very talented witch, you know that?" I asked as she stepped back.

"Not as talented as you."

"Don't be modest, Hermione," I said, frowning. "I'm sure if you worked hard enough you could do wandless magic."

"I've tried," she admitted. "I can't do it. Nor can I see the future."

"Well either way it goes, you're the brightest witch of _your_ age. Make the most of that. You three have a very bright future ahead of you."

The three smiled at each other before smiling back at me.

Harry and I still had tears in our eyes.

"It's going to be okay, Har."

"I know. I don't want you to go. But I have to let you."

He pulled me into another bone crushing hug.

"I love you, Har."

"I love you too, Al. Thank you, for everything."

"Harry Potter, it was an honor to call you my brother."

He pulled away, and I wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Don't cry, Harry."

"I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too."

I wiped another tear from his eye.

"I have to go say goodbye to George and everyone else. Be safe."

Ron gave me another quick hug before I turned away from them.

"Bye, Ali."

"Bye Ron. Bye Hermione."

She gave me a smile and wave before I turned away from them.

"Alice!" McGonagall called. I turned and walked over to her.

"We're glad we caught you. We're about to head out."

"Oh, so am I. I'm just making my final rounds."

"Then it's a really good thing we caught you," Flitwick said.

Hagrid swept me up into another bone crushing hug.

"I'm gonna miss yeh, Alice."

"Oh, I'm going to miss you too, Hagrid. Thank you for being a wonderful friend."

He lowered me back to the ground where Flitwick hugged me too.

We didn't have much of a difference in height. He was about a foot shorter than my height of 4'10'' but that was mostly from the goblin heritage.

"Good luck, Alice," he said, patting my back. He stepped back and McGonagall stepped forward.

"Oh, I can't believe the young woman you've grown up to be. I remember when you were born. Your mother and father hadn't been long leaving Hogwarts for the year when you were born. They brought you to see us so they could make arrangements with Dumbledore for their classes."

I smiled and she hugged me.

"You've really grown up, Alice. Don't let that mark on your arm define you. You were always and will always be good."

"I haven't done very good things," I mumbled against her shoulder.

"Yeh had no choice," Hagrid said from behind me.

Sprout gave me a hug, and Slughorn gave me a handshake.

"Thank you for everything you've all done for me. I can never thank you enough."

"Come see us sometime, Alice," Sprout said. "I've gotten so used to having you around the castle again I've got to get used to you being gone."

"I'll see what I can do," I lied.

I watched as each of them Apparated away. Hagrid disappeared with McGonagall, wiping a giant tear rolling down his face.

I walked slowly to George, who was standing with Charlie, Bill, and Fleur.

"Hey, Ali," George said, pulling me into a hug. "Andromeda left with Teddy?"

I nodded.

"She came to say goodbye then left. I said goodbye to Draco and Narcissa before they left, then I said goodbye to the people from Hogwarts before they left."

I turned and looked at George.

"Now I have to say goodbye to you and the rest of your family."

My voice cracked and broke several times.

George's eyes widened.

"Already?"

I nodded.

"It's almost time for me to go."

"I'll go get Mum, Dad, Ginny, Percy, and Harry," Bill said.

"I've already talked to Harry."

"Well he looks to be on his way over here anyway," Charlie said pointing behind me.

I turned, and sure enough, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were heading towards us.

"Well, then I will go get Mum, Dad, Percy, and Ginny."

He walked quickly from us, to where his parents, Percy, and Ginny stood a little bit away.

Harry came up to us.

"You haven't left yet," he said, pulling me into a hug.

"Not yet, Har. I still got to finish saying goodbye to the Weasleys, and then I got to go see Kingsley. Then I'll be heading out."

"Can I stay with you until you leave?"

"Of course, Har."

"I'm staying with you too."

I nodded and pulled him into a hug too.

Bill returned a while later with the rest of the Weasleys.

"You're leaving, already?" Molly asked, putting a hand on my cheek.

I nodded.

"It's amazing how fast the day went by."

"I was saving this for Christmas," she said pulling a box out from behind her. "But I think it'd be better to give it to you now in case you don't make it back for Christmas."

I took the box from her and opened it.

Inside was a thick leather-bound book.

On the very first page was a picture of my mother and father. My mother was still pregnant, and my father, who was the youngest I had seen him in seventeen years, was kissing her stomach. I flipped the page again, and this time it was a picture of my mother and Lily.

Throughout the photo album, there were pictures of me as a baby, and growing up. As a baby, there were pictures of me with Mum and with Dad, with Remus, and James, and Lily. Every picture was a picture of me as a baby with Hagrid, where I looked so tiny in his arms. There came a point when I looked to be thirteen maybe fourteen, but there was a picture of George, Fred, and I hovering on brooms a few feet off the ground. Bill was in the background a few more feet up. Turning the pages a few more, there was a picture of Remus and me outside of our snowy tumbledown cottage. His arm was around my waist, and my head rested on his shoulder. He leaned down and kissed my forehead. The next picture was of Dad and me, and the one of Fred, George, and I. The pictures continued until there was a final one of me, not long after Voldemort branded me. I was still smiling, and when the picture moved, Fred, George, and Harry all appeared next to me.

There were several pages of empty slots.

I looked up at Molly and smiled. I pulled her into a tight hug.  
"Thank you, so much!" I said.

"Andromeda found that picture of you and Remus not long after they got married. She gave it to me because she didn't want to risk Tonks seeing it. I put it in here after the war, and you lost Remus and Fred, I wanted to make sure you had a piece of them forever."

I felt the tears welling up in my eyes again.

"Thank you, so much."

I returned the book to the box and closed the lid. I slid the box in my bag and felt at the Polaroid camera that was laying on the top of the pile of various items.

I pulled it out and looked at them.

"Can I get one last picture of you guys?"

They all smiled.

"Of course," Arthur said. I sat my bag on the ground and the camera on top of it. I turned to Harry and moved his glasses.

"Don't cry, Harry."

Once everyone was in line, with Harry and George sitting on the ground in the front, I snapped the picture.

It came out of the front and everyone herded around me.

"Hold this for me, Harry?" I asked handing him the camera.

I sat on the ground and pulled my bag into my lap. I pulled back out the box, with the new photo album, and the picture of Teddy and I.

I placed the two new pictures on the next to blank pages, and they automatically fastened themselves to the pages. The new picture glistened once and began moving.

"I charmed it, to where there is automatically a developing solution and permanent sticking charm," Molly said, crouching down and putting an arm around my shoulders.

"Thank you again."

"Of course, Alice."

I stood up again, and Fleur stepped up to hug me.

"I am sorry I zat I 'ave not gotten zee chance to get to know you. Good luck in Italy."

"Thank you, Fleur."

As she moved back, Bill stepped forward.

"I can't believe you're really going," he said, pulling me into a one-armed hug. "You spent so much time away with the Death Eaters, and now you're moving."

"I know. It strange isn't it?"

I looked up at his scared face.

"You've always been like a sister to me, you know that?"

"Well being here as often as I was, it felt like I had six brothers and a sister. Then Harry came along, and the total went to seven brothers and a sister."

"We'll be waiting for you if you want to come home," he said.

"I know," I said. He stepped back to Fleur's side, as Percy and Charlie approached me.

"If you're ever around Romania, come see me, Alice. I'm sure the dragons will love you."

I chuckled as he hugged me.

"I'm sure they will."

He stepped back, and Percy gave me a one-armed hug.

"Don't show off too much, Perce. Relax a bit, and always make time for family."

"Of course, Alice."

He too stepped back, and Arthur and Molly took his place. They pulled me into a hug together, and each gave me a kiss on the cheek.

"You know you'll always have a place here, right, Alice?"

I nodded. "I know."

"The second you want to come home, come back here. We'll help you get back into the swing of things," Arthur said.

"I still have a house you know."

"I know. But the second you want to come home, come here."

They pulled back, and Harry and George stepped forward, hugging me tightly.

They both sobbed quietly.

"Shhh," I said, smoothing back both of their hair. "It's okay."

I could feel the lump in my throat return as I pulled back.

"I'm not going to say goodbye just yet," George said. "Not until you are about to go."

The two stepped to the side as I approached Ron and Hermione.

I hugged them both tightly.

"Take care of him."

"We will."

I stepped back and looked at all of them.

"Thank you," I said. "For taking me in, and for letting me have a family."

"We'll always be your family. Never forget that."

"Of course not," I said, smiling through the tears that were now pouring down all of our faces.

I looked up to the stars that were now shining brightly above us.

"Go say goodbye to Kingsley, Alice," Molly said, hugging me again. "I'll see you soon, I hope."

"I'll try."

"Goodbye, Alice."

I waved as George, Harry, and I turned away from them.

"The key to the house," I said, to the two of them. "Is still underneath that rock. Keep it neat for me?"

"You're not going to sell it or anything?" Harry asked.

I shook my head.

"It was my parent's house. It doesn't seem right for me to sell it."

"Of course we'll take care of it for you."

"Thank you, Georgie."

We made it to Kingsley then. He looked at me and gave me a smile of sympathy.

"Alice. I am sorry about Remus and Fred."

"Thank you, Kingsley. Congratulations on being appointed Minister. That's a big deal."

"It's a shame you won't be around to see it."

Kingsley like everyone else was saddened by the news of me "moving".

"I know. I came to say goodbye."

He smiled and studied my face.

"You look like your parents. I'm sure they would be so proud."

"I'm sure they would."

He gave me a quick hug and then grinned.

"Good luck, my young friend. It's a big world."

"So I've been told," I said.

"I think I too will take my leave. Goodbye, Alice."

"Goodbye, Kingsley."

He disapparated, and we were left staring at the hill that led to the Lovegood house.

"Does this mean it's time for you to go?" Harry asked.

"Walk with me, to the bottom of the hill. I want to spend just a little bit more time with you before I go."

We walked in silence to the hill, giving a quick wave to the Weasleys as we passed. And when we got to the bottom, we stopped. They both hugged me tightly.

"I want you both to remember," I said to them both in a cracking voice, "that this isn't your fault. I made this decision on my own. It isn't because of Freddie, or Remus. It's because I can't forgive myself for what I've done, so I want to see if starting over does the trick."

"We know, Al," Harry said, resting his head on mine. "We're going to miss you, but we know why you have to go."

"You'll take care of each other, right?"

"Of course, Ali," George said.

George kissed my forehead, and Harry kissed my cheek.

"I love you guys," I said, as I pulled back to look at their faces. Both were tearing up. "Don't cry. 'Cause then I'll cry."

I wiped the first tear from both of their eyes, which caused them to grin.

"That's better," I said.

I looked at Harry's watch. It was almost 10 o'clock.

"I've got to go now," I said.

George pulled me into a bone-crushing hug.

"I love you, Ali. We'll be here waiting."

"I love you too George. Never forget that."

He let go and I hugged Harry tightly.

"James, Lily, and Sirius would be so proud of you, Harry."

"Sirius and Johanna are proud of you. They found each other again."

"I'd like to think wherever they are, they found James and Lily. I'd also like to think that Remus found Tonks, and the two of them found our parents."

"You hope Remus found Tonks?" George said surprised.

"No matter how I feel towards Remus, Tonks is his wife. He loved Tonks very much, and I can't stand in the way of that. I'm beginning to think that Remus and I weren't meant for each other."

They smiled, as I stepped back from Harry.

"I love you guys."

I focused on the middle of a street in Ottery St Catchpole, and I felt myself get sucked through the small tube. Harry and George faded from view, and I was now in the middle of street I just pictured. I had walked through this town before. It was large enough to have a few alleyways.

I ducked into one and slid down the wall onto the ground. I pulled my knees to my chest. I rested my head on my knees.

"They'll be okay," I said quietly to myself. "They're going to be okay."

On the far end of the alley, I could head a shuffling noise, and for the first time all night, I reached for my wand.

I slowly rose to my feet, and I could feel panic setting in.

"Who's there?" I asked, holding my wand out in front of me. The end of my wand lit up as I silently cast the light spell.

I felt stupid as I inched towards the other side of the alley. In almost any cliche situation, this was always how someone would be killed.

"Show yourself!"

I saw a tall figure moved, his shadow moving against the wall.

"Alice, please put your wand down. Let me explain," said a voice. He had an American accent, but you could hear a slight French accent accompanying it.

I stepped back from him.

"How do you know my name?"

"I know you don't understand but you will, just please give me a chance to explain."

"Not bloody likely," I said. I turned in the other direction and began to run.

The figure dropped in front of me, and suddenly everything went black as the fear overpowered me.

* * *

 **Okay, here is chapter 3! For those who read the original, I'm sure you can figure out who the figure is. Just for clarification, Alice did drop subtle hints to Harry and George about her plans, but neither of them caught on. I do hope you enjoyed this chapter and the chapters to come.**

 **Follow, Favorite, Review!**


	4. Options

_"The greatest sacrifice is when you sacrifice your own happiness for the sake of someone else." ~Unknown_

* * *

Chapter 4- Options Alice's POV

I felt myself being pulled off the ground. Whatever it was, was hard as stone, and as cold as ice. Then suddenly, I was flying. Whoever had been with me before had surely killed me. There was no other reason to explain this. No other way to explain how or why I was flying.

My eyes opened a bit, and through my blurry vision, I could see that I was being held by somebody very beautiful. If I was dead, then this had to be God. I didn't even know whether or not I had believed in God.

It upset me that I had died before I had the chance to write my goodbye letter. But I guess this was a better way to go out.

Suddenly I stopped flying, and I was in a warm place. I couldn't open my eyes though, but I could hear everything around me.

"Tobias!" a woman exclaimed. She had a slight accent too that showed through the American accent, but it wasn't the same French accent as the man had. I couldn't place it though. "What did you do?"

"She fainted!" said the same deep voice from the alley. "Humans faint from fear, Helen."

"Come on, let's put her on the bed. I'm sure she'll wake up before too long. Where's her wand?"

"Right here. She dropped it when she fell, so I grabbed it."

Whoever these people were, they knew who I was, and they knew I was a witch. I realized now that I wasn't dead. The man, Tobias, had said that I simply fainted. So the man who carried me here wasn't God, and I still had the chance to say goodbye.

"How are we supposed to convince her to become a vampire?"

"I don't know, but we will."

I felt my body tense up.

"Did you find James and Victoria?"

I wondered if James and Victoria were working with these two, but the way that the man called Tobias said their name, they sounded like enemies.

"I found them in an ally. They're trying to figure out how to lure her to them."

My eyes opened then. I scooted up on the bed beneath me, looking around for my wand.

A man and a woman stood at the edge of the bed. The man was tall, with ash brown hair. He was tall and was thin, but muscular. The woman was shorter than the man and had deep red hair. They both turned to look at me. Both were incredibly beautiful, but their eyes were dark red. Almost black.

I put my hands close together and thought of a knockback spell.

I looked around the room for my wand. I finally found it on the bedside table and eyed them.

"Alice, you can get your wand. We won't hurt you," the woman said.

I raised my hands to my chest, and pressed the ball of energy into it, where after a couple of seconds, it disappeared. I scooted to the edge of the bed and grabbed my wand before turning it onto them.

"Who are you, how do you know who I am, and what do you want from me?"

Tobias stepped towards me, with a hand raised.

"Alice, please. Put your wand down and we'll explain everything."

"How do I know the second I put my wand down you won't attack me?"

"You don't. But you want answers. So take a chance and trust us."

It was something about the way the woman spoke that made me lower my wand.

"That's very good," she said, smiling at me.

"Who are you?" I asked the woman.

"My name is Helen, and this is my husband Tobias."

She gestured to the man, and I followed her hand.

"What do you want from me?"

"We want to help you. You and your family are in danger."

"From who?" I demanded. "The Dark Lord is gone."

"Not from a witch or wizard, Alice. From one of our kind. A vampire by the name of James."

"Why does he want me?"

"Because he picked up on your scent. Now he wants you. He'll do anything to try and lure you out. Including harming your family."

"How do you know I'm who you're looking for?"

"Alice, have you heard that vampires have special abilities?" Tobias asked, watching me cautiously.

I nodded.

"They taught us about it," I said. "In our third year, Defence Against the Dark Arts class."

"Only a selected few have special gifts. Both Tobias and I do. My gift is time travel. I can go to any time that I want to, and any place in that time. In the future, and in the past, you and I are friends."

"In the past?" I asked, bewildered. "I've never seen you before in my life."

"We'll explain that in a moment. But I'm sure that you have other questions."

He was right. I have several more. I ran through them in my head and settled on the easiest one.

"You said this James person would come after my family to get to me?"

They both nodded in unison.

"How do I stop him?"

"By changing into a vampire yourself."

"You're barking mad," I said, my eyes widening. "How does that stop him?"

"That's where my gift comes in," Tobias said.

"What can you do?"

"I was gifted with memory manipulation. I can alter, replace, or destroy memories. We change James's memory to something different. We take you back in time to fit the story, and he will be steered away from you and your family."

"He won't remember anything?"

Helen shook her head.

"What happens if I die and his memory isn't altered?"

"Then he'll take out his anger on your family."

"Why can't you just change his memory?"

They both smiled.

"Because you've already made the decision to be changed. Like I said, we're friends in the future and in the past."

"How the hell are we friends in the past? I'm still not understanding that bit. Why do I have to go back into the past?"

"Because we first met you in 1949. You told us how we came here and talked you into becoming a vampire to save your family."

"How do I know you're not just saying that?" I pressed.

Helen laughed.

"We figured you might ask something like that. How can I prove it to you?"

"What have I told you about myself?"

Helen and Tobias lost their smile.

"The Second Wizarding War ended ten days ago. Today was Remus's funeral, and when I found you, you were on your way to kill yourself."

My eyes widened.

"How did you know that? The last part."

"Because you told us," Helen said, sitting on the bed next to me. "When we met you in 1949, you told us."

"So you waited for forty-nine years to find me?"

Helen's smile returned.

"No. We just left 1949. You are still at our house. You're staying there for a little while longer to straighten up."

I looked between the two of them.

"So if I do this, I can save my family?"

They nodded.

"Alice, Harry just got a chance at a normal life. Do this for him. You were going away anyways."

"I can't see them again? Once I get back to this timeline?"

Helen and Tobias looked at each other.

"Not while James and Victoria are alive. It's just too dangerous to risk."

I looked at them sadly. I guess it wasn't so bad if it would keep them safe. I still had pictures. I looked around the bed, and my bag was nowhere to be seen.

"Where's my bag?"

Tobias was gone, and then back in a flash with my bag in his hands.

"We took it off when we put you down."

"I didn't feel anything."

"That's the thing about being a vampire. You can do things swiftly."

I chuckled a bit as I pulled the bag into my lap. I opened it up and pulled out my new photo album.

"Have I ever showed you pictures of my family?"

They nodded. As I opened the box, Helen grinned.

"You showed us photos from that album."

I smiled and opened it up.

The two of them smiled down at the moving picture of my mother and father.

"You seem pretty relaxed about magic."

"Vampires exist. So do werewolves. Why shouldn't witches and wizards exist."

"You know about werewolves? Is it because of Remus?"

"Not quite. See werewolves are the natural enemy of vampires. That was even more enforced when one of the kings of our kind was nearly killed by a werewolf. He hunted them to near extinction."  
"Kings?"

"Well not technically. But the Volturi are the closest thing to royalty our kind has. They make the rules after all."

"Rules? There are rules to being a vampire?"

"There are rules to being a witch or wizard, is there not?"

"What are they?"

Helen and Tobias hesitated.

"Alice, we need to make sure that you are going to be changed first."

"But you already know that I will be. You've met me in the past."

"This is true. But we would still rather hear it from you."

I looked between the two. They both looked at me with kind eyes. Helen and Tobias seemed nice. Helen reminded me of my mother. What I could remember of her anyways. Tobias, I hadn't heard talk long enough.

"Can I ask one question, before I decide on anything?"

"Of course."

"In this new life, am I happy?"

They both grinned at me and looked at each other. When they turned back to look at me, Tobias placed a cold hand on my shoulder.

"When we meet you, in 1949, which is one year after we bring you to America, you are very happy. You still have some issues, but you are very happy."

"Issues?" I asked.

"Alice, you were in a war. Memories are not going to go away in one year. Your memory as a vampire is a lot stronger than the others. You see your human life more clearly than we do."

I looked between the two of them.  
"Will I still have my powers?"

They nodded.

"You can still take on your animagus form, but you could only Apparate one more time after your transformation. Your ability to perform wandless magic increased and your wand magic became more powerful. Your visions also became a lot clearer. Also from the time of 1948 to 1976, you could see any point of your families present."

I thought about it some more. Being a vampire didn't sound like a bad thing. It was already a decision that would be made.

"Okay," I said. "I'll do it."

"We'll give you some time to prepare yourself," Tobias said. He took Helen's hand and pulled her off the bed. They disappeared into a bright room through a doorway.

I looked back down at the photo album, where my mother and father were smiling back up at me.

"I'm sorry," I said, quietly. "I love you guys. Tell Re I love him too."

I closed the photo album and slid off the bed, returning my wand to the holster that was still tightly on my left arm.

I followed the light to the room that Helen and Tobias had disappeared into before.

They were on a couch. I looked around and realized we were in a hotel room. There was the same small box that Harry had in his home at his aunt and uncle's house. He had called it a television.

"Is everything okay?" Helen asked as I sat on the end of the couch.

"What did I tell my family? How do I explain why I don't write, or come back again."

"You faked your death."

"Faked my death?"

"You made a replica of your body and put it in the Great Lake at Hogwarts. You had Rubeus Hagrid take your suicide note to Minerva McGonagall, and it was waterproofed. They believe you intentionally drowned. You told us that you never swam well."

"How did I give Hagrid the letter when as far as they know, I'm in Italy."

"You said you forgot something at the house. You told Hagrid that the letter was for your mailing address, and something for Harry."

I nodded.

"They'll be okay though, right?"

Helen placed a hand on my knee.

"Alice I do want you to consider that George lost his best friend, and Harry lost his sister. They take it pretty rough, but after some time, they do get better."

Now that I got an answer to how Harry and George reacted to my death, I didn't want to die. But I knew that I couldn't go back to them.

"You said that I was happy, right?" I asked, looking between the two. "When you saw me again?"

Helen smiled warmly.

"You were very happy."

"How did I get so happy?"

They looked at each other.  
"We don't want to give away everything, but let's say that you make a friend. You meet them not long after we get to America."

"When do we go there?"

I had always wanted to see America. Remus and I didn't travel a whole lot. The furthest I had gone was to Scotland, but only because that's where Hogwarts was.

"Right after we leave Hogwarts."

"When will we do that?"

"After your changed."

"Before you ask, that will be whenever you're ready," Tobias said with a goofy grin.

His grin caused me to smile a bit.

I stood up again.

"I'll be ready soon."

I returned to the room that I had started in and laid down on the bed.

Helen and Tobias seemed nice. Now that I knew they weren't here to harm me. I found it sweet that they were working so hard to protect my family.

I thought more about the friend they mentioned. The way they spoke about this friend, made it seem almost like I had developed some kind of feelings for this person. I couldn't see me being with anyone other than Remus, but maybe that was the upside to me having a chance at a new life.

I didn't understand why it was I was given this opportunity. I certainly didn't deserve it. I'd taken more lives in the past year than I could have ever imagined. I had taken the lives of innocent Muggles. They died afraid, despite my countless apologies.

But then again, vampires killed more than I did. That was the downside to being a vampire. I didn't want to kill anymore. Once the change was complete, I'd talk to Helen and Tobias to see if there was an alternative.

As I sat, pondering the ups and downs, the more I came around to the idea.

At one o'clock in the morning, I slid off the bed, and into the living room.

"Alice," Helen said, looking up at me. "Are you hungry? We've had some food sent up."

The pointed to the coffee table, where a plate sat with chicken strips and macaroni and cheese.

"We got it from the adult menu, I swear," Tobias said with his goofy grin.

"It may be a little cold."

I smiled as I sat down in front of the plate.

"Nothing I can't handle."

The plus to wandless magic is when doing the Fire-Making Spell, I didn't make a flame until I released the energy ball, so I could easily heat up cold things without setting fire to it.

I thought of the fire making charm as I put my hands side by side over the plate. When the macaroni began steaming, I pressed the rest of the energy into my chest. The warmth of the spell warmed my chest, and then it faded.

I picked apart one of the chicken strips with my fingers.

"Everything okay, Alice?"

"I think I'm almost ready," I said quietly. "To be changed."

I looked up at Helen and Tobias's smiling faces.

"That's good."

"How long will it take?"

"That depends on how close we get the venom to your heart. If we get it close enough, then it shouldn't take as long compared to the average vampire."

"Why will it take less time?"

"Well because of your magic, and your size, you shouldn't take as long."

"When are we going to do it?"

"Is when you're finished eating okay?"

I nodded.

I ate slowly, and Helen, Tobias, and I talked more about my work as a Death Eater. I showed them the mark, that seemed to be fading into a scar but was currently a dark grey.

"I remember when I first got it, I tried so hard to claw it off. I ended up with a bloody arm, but Dumbledore came and healed everything before taking me to the Order meeting. That night, I had started to forgive Re."

"You mentioned that you guys were okay for a while. That changed when he married your cousin, right?"

"Well technically, Tonks is my third cousin. But yes."

"Do you regret not going to the wedding?"

I shook my head.

"No. I do regret not telling Remus that I love him. The last thing he ever heard me say is that I hated him."

I looked down at the last chicken strip on my plate.

"That will always be one of my biggest regrets."

Helen and Tobias didn't answer. They just looked at me with sad eyes.

I smiled weakly and began eating the last little bit of food.

"Are you ready?" Tobias asked as I finished my food.

I looked down at the plate and nodded.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

* * *

 **Okay, here is chapter four! This chapter was about half the length of a normal chapter, but I think so far, I am pretty happy with how this story is turning out. The next chapter is based more on Alice's transformation. We'll also learn more about Helen and Tobias.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	5. Transformation

_"The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new." ~Socrates_

* * *

Chapter 5- Transformation Alice's POV

Tobias bit me at 2:36 on the morning of May 12, 1998. They reminded me that the transformation should be a very quick thing. With more venom, it should be quicker than the average vampire.

"I'm going to bite in the vein leading directly to your heart," Tobias told me. He held up my left arm, and pointed to a spot just above my mark. "Then I'm going to bite again here," he pointed to a spot on my neck, "to make sure more venom goes through."

I nodded.

Helen came up and took my hand.

"It's okay, Alice. I'll be right here."

I squeezed her stone hand as Tobias brought my arm to his mouth.

I could hear the flesh of my arm rip as his razor-sharp teeth bit through my skin. I locked my jaw to keep from screaming. Helen moved my head and I heard the skin tear a second time but this time on my neck.

"It's okay," she said quietly, smoothing back my hair.

"It shouldn't be too long now, Alice," Tobias said quietly into my ear.

I closed my eyes, and Helen rested my hand next to me on the bed.

At first, everything was numb. It started in my arm and neck and spread to my fingertips and my shoulders. The numbness spread quickly.

As the numbness started spreading in my chest, I started seeing a flicker behind my closed eyes.

There was a snow covered forest. A man with pale blonde hair stood in front of four other people. His eyes were golden.

When the flicker of the strange golden-eyed man disappeared, I realized that my body was completely numb. But that numbness quickly changed. I went from being completely numb to feel like I was being sawed in half.

I tried to go back to the flickers of the yellow-eyed man. But instead, it went to what looked like to be a diner. The sign was blurry. It flickered, and then I saw a different face.

The man had honey blonde hair, and his eyes were pitch black. His face was scared. There were bite marks across his jaw and a few above his left eye. Despite the scars, he was beautiful. He looked like an angel. So I assumed he was. Just like the baby I had seen in my dreams for so long. I had two angels now. My baby, and this man.

 _"Jasper!"_ said a voice. It sounded almost like mine, but it sounded like wind chimes were tinkling loudly with it.

The flicker ended, and the feeling of being sawed in half returned. But this time, it felt like I had four people throwing Cruciatus Curses at me.

I tried to keep from moving, but then I realized I couldn't. I tried to go back to my angel. The one called Jasper. I didn't know him, but I couldn't help but love him. The same way I loved Remus. I begged my mind to take me back to the angel's face.

Jasper's face returned. His eyes were the same black color as before. He was wearing the same clothes as before. Blue jeans and a white button down shirt and a black jacket. He was standing in front of a door, and I could see that behind him, it appeared to be heavily raining.

I was pulled away from the angel again. No matter how hard I tried to keep him in my vision, I couldn't.

"The pain must have started," Helen said. She sounded far away, but I felt something cold press on the inside of my hand.

"We're sorry we didn't tell you about the pain," Helen said. She sounded closer. "We didn't want you to worry."

She squeezed my hand.

As she squeezed my hand, I felt something growing warm in my chest. It felt like I had put the energy from a Fire-Making Spell back into my chest. The warmness turned hot and began spreading further than my chest. It grew hotter, and hotter until the pain was uncomfortable. As the heat grew hotter and spread throughout my body, I began losing track of the time.

I wasn't sure if minutes, hours, months, or years had passed. But no matter what I did, I couldn't bring back my angel, and I couldn't hear what Helen and Tobias were saying anymore. It sounded like the whispers of the veil that Bellatrix pushed my father through.

When I couldn't bring back the angel or the yellow-eyed man, I tried to think. Come up with a backstory to tell this James. My thoughts were clouded, and I couldn't keep a solid idea. Every idea I had come up with slipped away.

I began to have a sense of time again, and my hearing was becoming more clearer. I could think around the burning again, but I couldn't bring back the angel. I begged my mind to give him back to me, but it wouldn't. Instead, I was left with the fire.

"Do you think she's seen Jasper yet?" Tobias asked Helen.

So Helen and Tobias knew my angel. They knew him, and I was supposed to of seen him. I wondered how they knew him.

"I think she has. She's further enough along. It's been almost ten hours."

So I had been burning for nine hours. Almost ten.

"Those scars on her face healed up rather nicely," Tobias said. I felt a pressure trace against my face.

"I wish I could say the same about the Dark Mark."

It dissapointed me to know I'd still have it.

"Helen, it was put there by magic. You know it won't come off. It's like the scars on her shoulders and her upper arms."

"Alice," Helen said quietly. "It won't be much longer now. Can you squeeze my hand?"

I kept my jaw locked, but as she pressed her hand into mine, I gave a small squeeze.

"That's it. You've got a bit longer to go. Just bare with us, Alice. You've got this."

I wondered how much time she meant by a bit more time. Did she mean minutes, hours, or days? Maybe, if I was lucky, the fire would die out in a couple of seconds.

I tried bringing Jasper back, but it wouldn't work. So I thought of Harry and George instead.

Would they ever learn the truth of my fate? Would they learn that in the end, I didn't want to die, but traded my life for theirs?

 _The more I thought of the two, I started to get a hazy picture. Harry and George were sitting in the living room of the Burrow. Everyone was with them. The two looked empty._

 _"She's going to be okay," Hermione said._

 _"I know that," Harry said._

 _"Stop pressing it, Hermione," Ron said. "Let them deal with this in their own way."_

 _"I'm only trying to help."_

 _"Zey know zat I'm sure. Zey just miss 'er zat's all."_

 _Ginny and Hermione gave each other a look of annoyance._

 _"Don't worry," Bill said, clapping George on the shoulder. "We'll hear from Alice soon enough."_

 _"I really hope you're right."_

My family faded. And I was brought back to reality. The reality of the fire that was consuming me.

"She so quiet," Tobias said.

"She's got her jaw locked up. She said she didn't want to make any noise considering we were in a hotel."

"We'll be back in a little while, Alice," Tobias said. The pressure of Helen's hand lifted from my own, and I heard their footsteps fading away. I couldn't tell who was who.

I was left to my thoughts again. I tried pulling Jasper back to my vision, but I couldn't.

I thought of Jasper though. Who was he? Why did Helen and Tobias know him? Why was I supposed to see him? Most importantly, I wondered why I loved him. I didn't know him. He didn't know me. So what right did I have to love this angel? Why would this angel love someone like me? None of it made sense, and I couldn't answer any of the questions that I asked myself.

The more I pondered my questions about Jasper, I felt an uncomfortable burning in my throat. It was different from the rest of the fire. It seemed the rest of the fire was fading from my toes and fingertips. It was going slowly, but it was going, and I could only be grateful for that.

The pain that was fading from my hands and feet, seemed to cause the fire to grow stronger in my throat and in my chest. I could hear the thuds of my heart. They were getting quicker as it worked harder. It thudded against my ribs.

I felt the wind against my fingers as Helen and Tobias returned.

"That's is, Alice," Tobias encouraged. "You're almost done now. Hear your heart?"

I did hear it. It was still picking up speed. Then it took off. Every last little bit of fire that had been in my body, went directly to my chest.

"Don't be alarmed," Helen said. "Your heart will give out in a moment. But it's okay. You're safe."

My heart, that was beating much too quickly, raised my torso from the bed beneath me. It was almost as if I was about to start flying.

"It's okay," Helen repeated soothingly, taking my hand.

I slumped back onto the bed.

The thudding in my chest was much louder now, as it fought harder and harder. But it seemed to be losing. With each thud, it grew weaker and weaker inside of me. It slowed down. It began to stutter. It would beat once, then stop. Stutter twice, then stopped. It thudded to more times, both growing weaker. It paused, then beat once more.

My heart didn't beat anymore. It stopped entirely. All the pain from my chest, moved into my throat.

"Alice?" Helen asked. "Can you open your eyes?"

I was frozen. Despite Helen being there, comforting me the entire time, I was still afraid.

"It's okay, Alice," Tobias said. "Open your eyes."

My eyes fluttered open. The room around me was bright. But suddenly, the room disappeared.

A vision, more clear than any I had ever had before replaced the room.

 _There was a diner, with a glowing sign that read Delphi's. It was blurred by the rain, but visible._

 _The rain was thudding heavily against the roof of the inside of the dinner. I was sitting on a high stool at the bar. Helen and Tobias were sitting at a booth that was directly in my line of sight._

 _I looked down at a newspaper. The date read June 26, 1948._

 _"When will he come?" I asked, under my breath. I could have sworn I heard windchimes. The waitress in front of me didn't hear anything._

 _"Soon, Alice. Be patient."_

 _"Can I get you anything while you wait?" the waitress asked._

 _I shook my head._

 _"Not just yet, thanks," I said. It was my voice, but there was a ringing with it. Wind chimes._

 _Behind me, the door opened. I turned my head slightly, and grinned._

 _"Jasper!" I said, excitedly, slipping out of my seat. I walked quickly to him. "You're finally here! You've kept me waiting a long time."_

 _Jasper looked down at me bewildered._

The vision faded from view. My sight was replaced with the white ceiling of the hotel room.

"Alice?" Tobias asked. "What did you see?"

By the way he spoke, I was sure he knew the answer.

"An angel," I said. The wind chimes rang in my voice. "His name is Jasper."

Helen chuckled, and Tobias bursted into fits of laughter.

"Helen?" I asked.

"Yes, Alice?"

I sat up and looked around trying to find her. I smiled when my eyes found her beaming face.

"Who's Jasper? I heard you speak his name, and I saw a vision of him. Surely he's a part of my future."

She grinned again.

"Jasper is your mate."

"He's my friend?"

"Yes and no."

"No?" I asked, panicked. I was certain that the angel wouldn't love me back.

"Calm down, Alice," Tobias said, sitting on the bed next to me.

"Tell me, Alice," Helen said, sitting in front of me. "How do you feel about Jasper?"

I felt like blushing, but I didn't realize that the warmth of the blush that wouldn't come.

"I'm pretty sure I love him."

"That's good," Tobias said.

"When I say mate," Helen said drawing my attention back to her, "I mean that he is your soulmate. He is your friend, but when we met you, he was your boyfriend."

I grinned.

"He loves me?"

"Very much," Tobias said. "He doesn't like being away from you."

I smiled at my lap.

"I finally move on? Like Remus did with Tonks?"

Helen nodded, and hugged me tightly.

"That's right. You can finally get over Remus."

I felt the fire in my throat grow more and more. It became more and more uncomfortable.

My hand flew up to my throat.

"Oh," Helen said suddenly. She reached behind her, and presented me with a styrofoam cup. "This is for you."

I could smell the blood from the cup.

"Helen?"

She turned back to me.

"I don't want to drink human blood."

"Don't worry, Alice. It's not. You and Jasper sent us prepared. She pulled her own bag onto the bed.

She pulled showed me the inside, where there sat several bags of blood, and several white boxes. It looked almost as if she had robbed a blood bank.

"That's not human blood?"

She smiled.

"I swear."

"What is it?"

"That was a deer, I'm pretty sure," Tobias said. "You came back with bear too."

I smelled the cup once more before taking a drink.

The blood was warm, and it soothed the burning in my throat. I kept drinking until I had sucked the cup dry.

"Do you want another?"

I nodded. Helen pulled out another bag and took the cup from me.

"Why is it so warm if I gave it to you before you came?"

"You put a heating charm on my bag."

She returned the cup to me.

"Here you go."

This one I drank slower.

"What are the white boxes for?"

"Well you can't go see Hagrid with red eyes can you?"

She pulled them out and handed them to me.

"They're colored contacts," Tobias said. "They'll turn your eyes back to brown for a little while."

I didn't answer as I drank down the cup. I felt full, and the burning in my throat seemed to go away for now.

"Helen, Tobias?"

"Hmm?"

"Why can't you erase me from James's memory entirely?"

"Because it alters the timeline too much," Helen said gently.

I thought of the story that Helen and Tobias would give James.

Somebody long ago, Greyback I think it was, told me that if I had been alive in the late 1910s and the early 1920s, I would have been sent to the asylum, where they would have given me electric shock treatments. I was sure that the pain of the transformation mixed with electric shock therapy would erase my memory. I had never met James or Victoria, so it would make sense for me to not know them.

"I think I have a story," I said. I was trying to not focus on the ringing in my voice. "For James and Victoria."

They looked at me.

"Go ahead."

"I was told once, that if I had been alive in the 1910's and the 1920's I would have received electric shock therapy in an asylum for my visions."

"That is true," Tobias said.

"The only reason I could think that it would make sense for me to not know James since I had never met him, is that my memory is wiped."

"How do you suppose that happens?"

"Well, the pain of the transformation would be enough to torture somebody. You add in electric shock therapy, and I'm sure that combo would be enough to erase memories."

"Okay, so you were born in—"

"1901," I said automatically.  
"So you were changed in—"

"1920. I would love to be nineteen again. My life was good then."

Tobias smiled.

"Where were you when you were changed?"

"In America." I paused and looked at him in wonder. "Haven't I told you this story?"

"You said we gave you a list of cities in America with asylums in it."

Helen gave me a small notebook.

I flipped through it. On one of the pages, the city of Biloxi in Mississippi stood out to me.  
"That one," I said, pointing to it.

"And your creator?" Helen asked.

"He was the caretaker at the asylum. James killed him when he couldn't get to me."

I used what Helen and Tobias told me he would do if he couldn't get to me.

"Sounds like a solid story," Helen said.

"Can I ask you about your story?" I asked Helen.

"Toby changed me. It was 1770. I was twenty-three. I'm originally from Greece. That's where I met Tobias. It was a cloudy day, and we were both on the beach. He fell in love with me, and decided he couldn't live without me. He asked me to change for him. I was in love. So I agreed. We got married two years later."

"You've been together since 1772?"

They smiled and nodded.

"Are you guys soul mates? Like Jasper and I?"

They nodded again.

"What time is it?" I asked suddenly. "How long was I out for?"

"It three o'clock in the morning. It's May 13 now."

"I was out for a whole day?"

"Yes. But you have some time to get ready to go see Hagrid. We're going to get you to have a drink with you when you go."

I nodded.

"Now that I'm changed, can you tell me about the kings?"

They looked up at each other.

"We have to tell her the rules anyways."

I looked between the two and moved to where I was facing them both.

"Okay. The Volturi consists of five core members. Aro, Caius, Marcus, Aro's wife, Sculpicia, and Caius's wife, Athenodora."

"Marcus isn't married?"

"He was. To Aro's sister Didyme."

"What happened to her?"

"Well the rumor is is that Didyme and Marcus wanted to leave, and when Aro found this out, he killed her."

"Do you believe this?"

They shook their heads.

"No. I don't think that it was anything more than a rumor. But we do know that she died a long time ago," Tobias said.

"You said there was five core members. Is that not all?"

They shook their head.

"They have a guard," Helen said. "They all possess a supernatural ability. They help to enforce the laws."

"What laws exactly do we have?"

"We can't expose ourselves to humans that's the most important one. Not unless we plan to change or kill them."

"What about people like me? We learned about vampires in school."

"As far as I know, Aro, Marcus, and Caius doesn't know witches and wizards exist. Did they teach you the version about myths?"

"Myths?"

"Garlic, sunlight, stake to the heart, sleeping in coffins, that kind of thing."

"Oh, those. They told us that that's exactly what they were, myths. They said vampires have no aversion to garlic, they don't burn in the sunlight they reflect the light, and stakes to the heart won't kill them. As far as sleeping in coffins go, they said vampires don't sleep at all."

"Hogwarts got it right," Tobias said. "Did they tell you why the myths were created?"

"A saint, Saint Marcus, I think, created the myths to make humans believe they had a chance against the vampires. I think they actually hold a festival for him somewhere in Italy. I wanted to go to one before I died."

"They got that right too. Saint Marcus, is Marcus of the Volturi. They have a festival every year to celebrate the day he drove vampires out of Volterra."

"Do you think they may make an exception to that rule? Witches and wizards, knowing about the existence of vampires?"

"I think they have to. Unless they know about it through the Ministry."

"The Ministry has a department for this."

"I'm sure they know you exist, but keep quiet to keep the peace. We never knew witches and wizards existed before meeting you."

"Some vampires know we exist. Have you heard of a vampire called Sanguini?"

They shook their head.

"Was he a wizard too?"

"I'm not for sure. I never met him. Harry told me about him. Judging from Harry's description of him, I would say that he wasn't."

"Well, I'm not sure about that. But because Hogwarts does teach about vampires, they can't do much. Wiping out an entire race would bring to much attention to them."

"Is that the only rule?"

They shook their heads again.

"You can't create immortal children."

"Immortal children?"

"We can't change children."

"I could never imagine putting a child through that pain," I said.

"Well that's not why we can't do it," Tobias said.

I looked between the two. Who would want a child so badly, that they would put a child through that pain to get one?

"It's more because when you're changed, you keep the mental age you were changed at. If you change a child at the age of three, they keep that mentality. One tantrum can slaughter an entire village."

"They can't be taught?"

Helen shook her head.

"If the Volturi catch any immortal children, the child, their creators, and anyone who knew of the child will be killed."

I started to gather the sense that killing was a common thing in the Volturi. But I listened as Helen and Tobias moved on to the next rule.

"You must protect the secret of vampires. That goes with the first rule. Don't tell anyone. I'm sure that should you come across the path of your family, since they already know we exist, it should be okay," Tobias said.

"The final rule," Helen said, "is you can't create vampires for the purpose of wars or disputes."

"Like a vampire army?"

"Yeah, that's it."

I looked at them cautiously.

"Do you know anybody who was created for that purpose?"

They nodded.

"But we can not tell you about him."

I nodded understanding.

"What happens if you don't follow the rules? Is there a place like Azkaban for vampires?"

They looked at each other, and then back at me grimly.

"Something you must remember," Helen said, taking my hand, "is that the Volturi do not give second chances. If you break one of the rules, you die. You don't antagonise the Volturi, unless you want to die."

"Where are the Volturi? Do they travel?"

I became cautious about running across the Volturi.

"They mostly stay in their home in Italy."

"Italy?" I asked, with wide eyes.

"That's where you told your family you were going to go," Tobias said. It wasn't a question.

I nodded.

"They're going to be okay," Helen said.

As she patted my hand, my vision clouded again.

 _I was somewhere in a snowy forest, but I wasn't alone. Jasper and I had the same strange golden eyes as the man who I had seen earlier._

 _"Are you sure they're here, Al?"_

 _"I'm positive. Don't you trust me, Jaz?"_

 _"Of course I do. I just want don't want you to be disappointed."_

 _He took my hand as we ran, keeping me close to him._

 _"I won't be. Just watch."_

 _Jasper and I broke through the trees._

 _The yellow eyed man stood with two females. One was tall, slender with blonde hair. She was beautiful. The other one was slightly shorter than the first. Her hair was caramel brown, and was just as beautiful as the first. Both females had the same golden eyes as the male._

 _I bounded forward away from Jasper._

 _"Carlisle," I greeted the male. "Esme, Rosalie. I'm Alice. This is Jasper. We'd like to join your family."_

The vision snapped into darkness, and then my eyes focused on the room around me.

"Alice? Alice are you okay?" Helen was asking me. "What did you see?"

"Carlisle," I said, blinking a couple of times. "There was a man, I called Carlisle. He had two females with him. I called them Rosalie and Esme."

"Those are the Cullens. You and Jasper were trying to find them when we met you in 1949."  
"Jasper and I spend a year looking for these people?"

"Well, you hadn't found them when we left you. Your trail went cold for a while."

"Helen when you met Jasper and I, did we have golden eyes?"

Helen nodded.

"What causes that?"

"Drinking animal blood. That's the diet the Cullens have, and you and Jasper adapted that diet since neither of you wanted to kill humans."

"But why do they turn gold?"

"Animal blood dilutes the red. As a result, they turn amber, then gold."

"So I don't kill?"

"No. You won't kill."

"How long will it take for my eyes to turn gold?"

"I think you said it took you about four months for them to turn amber, and then another five for them to be more gold."

"And if I slip up, and drink human blood?"

"They'll turn a more burgundy color. Once you drink animal blood, they'll go to amber."

I thought about it. What would be the chances of me slipping up? That would be considered an accident, wouldn't it? Would Jasper forgive me if I slipped up?

"Does Jasper drink animal blood now?"

"Not when you meet him. He drinks human blood but it makes him sad. He doesn't want to kill."

I looked at the clock on the bedside table. It read 5:30.

"I suppose we better get ready to go see Hagrid."

They followed my eyes to the clock.

"I think you're right."

"Don't worry, Alice," Tobias said. "They're going to be okay without you."

"I hope you're right," I said looking at the photo album that had been moved to the table.

* * *

 **Okay, so I didn't realize that the transformation would take as short of amount of time as it had. I was always going to put the vision of Jasper, and Carlisle in this chapter, but I added in the listing of the rules just to make it longer.**

 **Just for clarification, the Ministry of Magic are not superior to the Volturi. More will be explained on this later in the story.**

 **I hope you enjoyed.**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	6. Fake Your Death

_"So fake your death, or it's your blame, and leave the lights on when you stay. Take off your clothes, and dream that fame. Come on and feel that shame." ~Fake Your Death by My Chemical Romance_

* * *

Chapter 6- Fake Your Death. Alice's POV

"Can you even replicate a body with magic?" Tobias asked frowning at me.

"It might have been easier if we did it before I was changed, " I said.

I was looking in a full body mirror. The scars on my face from the battle had disappeared, all but the scars I had gained from magic, where still there. I was more beautiful now than I had been in my human life, even with the scars that ran across my shoulders, my collar bones, and my arms, and it seemed I would never get tired of the wind chimes in my voice. The only thing that bothered me was the eyes and the mark on my arm. One of the only few pieces of evidence that I had ever been human, was the Dark Mark that looked exactly as it had been before.

"Will that stay this way forever?"

'Is it supposed to?"

I shook my head.

"It's supposed to look like a scar."

"Then it will fade the way it's supposed to. But when we met you, Voldemort was still alive and was trying to gain power. The mark was much darker than this."

I nodded.

"We'll have to make some scars on our own. But I think I can manage."

I returned to the bed and laid flat. My hands hovered over me, and I pictured a separate body forming next to me.

I dropped the ball of energy on the bed next to me and slid off. The energy crackled, and then I saw a frozen replication of myself on the bed.

I hovered over the body. The eyes were the same blood red as my own. I pointed my wand at the eyes and began muttering chants. They quickly dissolved into a dark brown color and then glazed over. I closed the eyes and quickly began removing all the jewelry the fake corpse wore and sat it to the side. I pulled my wand out of the holster that now rested on the bedside table.

"Sectumsempra!" I said.

Several wounds came across the frozen body, but none of them bled. I moved closer and began healing some of the wounds.

"Vulnera Sanentur," I muttered over the wounds on my legs, and on the tears on the clothes to heal those wounds.

I paused when I got to the open wounds on my face. The slashes were in the right spots.

I turned to my bag and pulled it onto the bed.

I pulled out one of the salves I had made to heal the scars. I opened the jar and sat next to the head and placed it on the table. I pushed the head to the side and began applying it to the slashes. They healed quickly, changing into the bright red scars I had had the day before.

I turned to Helen and Tobias, who were watching me work.

"What about my face? Hagrid is going to notice if I don't have scars, but this one does."

"I've already got that covered." She pointed to a bag on the floor. "I brought somethings along."

"What time are we leaving?"

"Check out time is nine o'clock. So I'm going to go check out while you and Tobias go through the window, with that," she pointed to the body. "Once I meet you guys out there, you're going to Apparate with us to Hogwarts."

"Do you guys know how to get to the lake?"

"You have a map of the grounds. In your bag. It's a replica of the one your father made, right?" Tobias asked. I nodded.

"Speaking of which, I'm going to have to replicate that and my wand."

They nodded. I looked back down at the body.

"I'm also going to have to change out of these clothes."

"We'll leave you to do that real quick."

I nodded, and the two stepped out of the room, closing the door behind them.

I replaced my wand into the holster and sat it next to the bag on the bed. My hands hovered over the items and pictured a second back and holster. Once I got the energy ball, I moved to the other side of the bed and set it down.

Once the energy formed into solid objects, I opened up the bag. The clothes were at the bottom of the bag, so I had to remove everything and set it to the side. I looked at the clothes and pulled up a pair of highwaisted blue jeans and a long sleeved black peplum top. I decided I would stay in the same shoes I wore to the funeral and returned everything else back to the bag. I walked around to my bag and pulled out the same outfit. I moved my bag and wand to a chair in the corner to keep it separate from the props.

I changed the prop first, making sure I didn't mess up anything, then I changed myself. I returned the jewelry on the corpse and strapped the fake holster over the Dark Mark where it stayed after I was branded. I lifted the body and fastened the bag onto it. I also fastened a replica of the cloak I had worn onto it.

"That's more like it," I said quietly.

I was surprised by how realistic it looked. It looked like I had before. It looked like I was asleep. More peaceful than I remember.

I opened the door and stepped into the living room.

"Are you ready?" Helen asked.

I nodded.

She followed me back into the room and pulled the bag from the floor onto the bed. When she opened it up and pulled out a bottle, a small makeup sponge, and what looked like paint.

"Okay, Alice, this is fake skin. It's going to feel uncomfortable at first because your skin will try to freeze it, but it settles in after a moment."

She opened up the bottle and put some of its contents on the sponge. She began dabbing some of it at my eye, and I wrinkled my nose at the smell.

"People use this stuff?"

"For Halloween or makeup effects."

"I love Halloween."

"I know. You and Jasper helped Tobias and I pass out candy to children. You made your own costume."

"I've been making clothes for years. It was cheaper than buying clothes. I was trying to help Remus save money. So I made him robes and everything like that. I worked over the summer, and bought cloth."

I smiled at the memory.

"You really loved him didn't you?"

"Is it that hard to believe?"

"After seeing you with Jasper, I couldn't imagine you being with anyone else."

"Tell me about him. I first saw him while I was being changed. I thought he was an angel."

"He's amazing, Alice. You're going to love him. He's kind and sweet, and he's completely in love with you."

I smiled.

"I never thought anyone could love me. Not with what I've done."

"To Jasper, it doesn't matter what you've done. He loves you either way."

She began filling in the fake skin with red paint.

"It'll help make it look like a new scar, she said, showing it to me."

She worked quickly.

"Okay," she said, smacking her hands against her legs. "Tell me what you think."

I scooted off the bed to the mirror. The angry red scars that I had yesterday, that had faded away in the transformation, had returned. It was almost as if they had never left.

"Helen you're amazing!" I exclaimed.

"Hardly. You taught me."

"I did?"

She nodded.

"I give you what's left of this, and we practice on Jasper and Tobias."

I grinned.  
"Does Jasper mind?"

She shook her head.  
"It made you happy. He would do anything to make you happy."

"I don't think I deserve him," I said, playing with the corner of my shirt. "He seems too good to be mine."

"But he is," Helen said taking my face in her hands. "We just have to do this thing."

"Are we going directly to the day I meet him?"

She shook her head.

"Not quite. We're going to get there six days before. And we won't be going to Philadelphia just yet. We're going to start in Salem, Virginia, and Tobias and I are going to take you to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania."

"That's where I meet Jasper?"

"That's right. In a diner called Delphi's."

"It will rain that day. Rather heavily I might add."

"You saw that place? When you woke up and saw Jasper?"

I nodded.

"Tell me more about Carlisle and his family."

"There are two more males. Edward and Emmett. Emmett is Rosalie's husband. Carlisle is Esme's husband."

"And Edward?"

"He's alone. He hasn't met his mate yet."

"Will he?"

"In time I'm sure."

"I believe everyone should have somebody."

"Yet you don't believe you should?"

"That's not what I said. It just doesn't make sense how an angel could love me."

"Because to him, you are every bit of an angel as you see him."

"I am no angel," I said.

"You look like one."

"I look almost as I did before. Except for the eyes. The eyes are wrong. So is the voice. But I like my voice very much."

"I like it too. It's like wind chimes."

I smiled.  
"I think so too. Do you think Hagrid will notice?"

"Well, we still have three hours. I suppose we can try to make the bells temporarily go away while you work on your note."

I nodded and pulled my bag into my lap, pulling out the roll of parchment, and the ink and quill attached to it.

Helen worked with me as I wrote. When it was 8:15, I passed the note along to Helen.

"Does this sound okay?" I asked. My voice didn't chime. It sounded like it had days ago. It sounded empty and sad.

"The voice or the letter?"

"Both," I said, toying with the hem of my shirt.

"The voice sounds excellent. The letter is excellent."

"Do you think it will give them closure?"

"I think it will. Do keep in mind, once we go back to 1948, you can check on them. We can stop along the way if you wish."

"I would like that," I said.

"Okay," Tobias said, coming into the room. "We have about forty-five minutes. We can either put the contacts in now or along the way."

"How long will they last?"

"The venom will dissolve them in a few hours. We should be out of Hogwarts by 9:30 anyhow."

"I'll put them in now. Best to get used to them now than later."

Helen pulled one of the many white boxes from her bag.

"Okay, Alice. It will irritate your eyes at first. But soon enough, you'll get used to it. I think when we met you, you had found a spell that changed them."

"Does anyone ever called me anything other than Alice?"

"Jasper calls you Al or Ali," Tobias said. "He rarely calls you Alice. I've never heard him call you Mary Alice."

"What about you two?"

I blinked a few times as she sat back. I could see outside the contacts. But I could also see everything that was against my eye, and I didn't like it.

"We usually call you Alice. But we call you Al or Ali every once in awhile."

"Harry calls me Al. George and the rest of the Weasleys call me Ali."

I looked back at the body on the bed.

"Will I ever be able to see them again?"

"Should James and Victoria die, I don't see a problem with it. But, Alice," Helen turned me to face her, "you must not seek James out. It is dangerous. He will recognize you, and he will begin the hunt again. None of his victims have ever escaped him."

"Of course not."

"That's good. Now sit for a moment. Collect your thoughts, and we'll get you and Tobias out that window in about half an hour."

"I've got to waterproof the bag," I said. "I want them to have pieces of me when I'm gone."

I took the bag in my hands and pictured it repelling water.

"I made the spell on my own," I said, opening the bag. I moved around things until I found the parchment I was looking for. "This one, however, was not my own spell. But the spell of my father, both my godfathers and their deceitful friend."

I pulled out the parchment and laid it on the bed. I pulled my wand out of the holster.

"I solemnly swear I am up to no good."

Words appeared on the parchment and I handed it to Tobias.

"This tells you exactly where anybody on the ground of the castle. See there, that's the Great Lake. If you go around here," I dragged my finger across the map. "There will be a deck. It should be deep enough to where if you toss the body out far enough, it would surely drown. That bag does have a good amount of weight. Be quick though. I don't want to risk anyone seeing you."

"Isn't there creatures in this lake?"

I nodded.

"Merpeople, grindylows, and a giant squid. The merpeople, they are loyal to the people of Hogwarts. I'd like to think they'd bring me back close enough for Hagrid to get."

They looked at each other, then back to me as I blinked again, the contacts growing more irritating.

"They'll get better, Alice."  
"Remember. You mustn't be seen. There will not be many people on the grounds as everything was canceled after the battle, what with all funerals and the castle being somewhat destroyed. However, whoever will be at the castle, will be there to help restore it. They won't react to strangers."

I pointed to a spot on the map with various names to show the number of people on the grounds.

"If we run, nobody should be able to see us."

"However you do it, you must get to the Great Lake and dispose of the body before you can be seen."

"We succeed Alice. We've got to. How else would you have found us?"

"Fair point."

Helen and Tobias looked at the clock, and my eyes followed.

"It's time, isn't it?" I asked, as they turned back to face me.

"It's time," Tobias said, putting a hand on my shoulder.

I sighed and tried to keep myself upright.

I didn't understand why I was struggling with this so much. I was ready to kill myself. But now that the time came to say my final goodbye to this world, and life as I knew it.

"Just think," Helen said. "Six days from now, you'll be with Jasper."

Hearing the name of my angel made me feel calmer.

"I'm ready," I said, looking at the body on the bed. "It's time for me to say goodbye."

I couldn't cry. I wanted to, but I didn't know how. I felt the lump in my throat, but I couldn't cry.

Tobias opened the window of the room. I stepped forward and looked out. It was cloudy, and it looked like a long drop from the window. I saw the woods behind the hotel.

"When we get down here," Tobias said, moving to the bed to pick up the body, "go for the trees. It will keep us hidden until Helen gets to us."

I looked down at the fall.

"It's okay, Alice." Helen placed a hand on my back. "Tobias will be down there."

Tobias slipped through the window with the body before darting straight into the woods. He returned a few moments later without the body.

"Come on, Alice. I'm right here. If it makes you feel better, I'll catch you."

I glared at him and slipped onto the window.

I flung myself out of the window and landed in front of Tobias.

"See, that wasn't so hard," he teased.

"Well I'm sorry," I said, in every much of a joking tone as his. "I don't jump out of windows as often as you, do I?"

"I suppose you're right. But we all can't have broomsticks can we?"

I smiled.

"I haven't ridden on a broomstick since we relocated Harry last July. Voldemort told me to fly with the Order that night…." I trailed off as the two of us walked to the forest.

"It'll get better," Tobias said. "It's a lot easier when you have someone. Soon you will."

I immediately looked down at my outfit.

"Does this look like something somebody would wear in 1948?"

"I think it looks okay."

We had reached the body now. I stopped to put on my cloak, while Tobias held my bag.

"I don't know many people who wear cloaks though."

I smiled.

"Won't be the first time I'm the odd one out."

Helen was coming through the trees. Although my back was turned, I could hear her coming. I took my bag from Tobias and put it around me before reaching in to grab my own copy of the Marauder's Map.

"I solemnly swear I'm up to no good," I muttered quickly, my hand hovering over the top.

I could see Hagrid's dot at his hut.

"Okay," I said, looking up to Helen and Tobias. "I am going to Apparate us to just outside the gates. Keep on this path," I dragged my finger along the map, "and you should come across the Great Lake quickly. Keep an eye on the map though. We meet where we land when we Apparate. How long should this take?"

"Depending on how long you talk to Hagrid for."

"I'm going to try to limit it to about ten or fifteen minutes."

"Is there anything we should look out for?"

I closed my eyes, focusing on the event itself.

"Hagrid is going to go straight to the castle. He doesn't look to the lake."

I opened my eyes as Tobias returned the body to his arms.

I extended both my hands.

"Are you two ready?"

They both nodded, and each took one of my hands.

"Hold on tight," I said, before focusing myself on the gates of Hogwarts.

With the three of us and the corpse, the tube was much tighter than usual.

We were soon on the all too familiar grounds of Hogwarts.

Everything looked almost completely restored, despite the battle being a little under two weeks ago.

I kept my eyes on the map as the three of us ran, looking for any new dots to appear. I knew the grounds like the back of my hand. I stopped when we came to the bridge, but it was completely restored.

"Alice?" Tobias asked, putting a hand on my shoulder. "You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I was just expecting the bridge to be down."

Once we got past the bridge, I stopped and looked down at the map. Three new dots stood together. Mary Alice Black, and Helen and Tobias Blanchett.

"Here we are," I said, pointing to their map. If you guys go this way and around," I pointed to the left, "you should be able to go unseen. Everyone seems to be inside the castle, but Hagrid is currently at his hut. So I'll meet you at the gates in half an hour."

They nodded and took off in the direction they pointed. I tucked my map into my bag as I walked in the direction of Hagrid's hut.

Hagrid was sitting outside when I got there. Fang, who was sitting at his feet jumped up the moment he saw me, and jumped on me, barking.

"Hey, Fang," I said, scratching his ears.

"Alice?" Hagrid said, standing up, and walking towards us. He didn't smell appetizing, so I wasn't sure why Helen and Tobias were worried, but I still held onto my cup, just to be safe." "What are yeh doin' 'ere? Aren' yeh supposed to be in Italy?"

"I was unpacking, and I forgot something at the house, so I came back to get it. I have a letter for Minerva, and I have to get back. I was wondering if you could take it up to her."

"O' course I can. Is it important?"

I nodded.

"It's very urgent."

"Then I'll take it ter McGonagall straight away."

I pulled the note that was laying on the top of the pile in my bag.

"It's good ter see yeh, Alice. George and Harry have bin worrying 'bout yeh."

"They shouldn't be. I told them not too."

"Can yeh blame 'em?"

"No I suppose I can't, can I?"

"Well, I'll take this teh McGonagall so yeh can get back."

"Thank you, Hagrid," I said. He turned away from me.

"Come, Fang!" he snapped, causing the dog to jump down off me and bound after Hagrid.

I waited until he was far enough away before pulling the map from my bag.

Helen and Tobias's dots were still at the lake, but they seemed to be moving quickly from it. I started back to the way I came.

I made it back before Helen and Tobias. I pulled the map back out and watched Hagrid's dot. He was almost to the castle. I closed my eyes.

To think that this is what I had wanted. At the time, it seemed so easy. Now, saying goodbye was harder. Maybe it was because I knew that I was alive, but I could still never see my family again. Maybe it was hearing my heart stop that made me change how I thought. Or maybe, it was the idea of having to keep Harry safe, after all this time. It was more than Harry now. It was everyone I cared about.

I thought of my angel. I was still convinced that's what he was. Tobias said things were easier to cope with when you had somebody. I wondered if he was right. I suppose I'd figure that out soon enough.

"Alice?" Helen said, putting a hand on my shoulder. "It's time to go now."

I opened my eyes, and I felt the tightness return to my throat.

"Are you ready?" Tobias asked. He and Helen each took one of my hands.

I nodded.

"It's like Apparating. So hold on tight, and don't let go of me until we get there."

I nodded again, and suddenly I felt like I was being sucked through a tube. It was tighter than the Apparition tube, and I had the urge to let go, but I held tightly onto Helen's hand.

Suddenly we dropped and wherever we were, it was dark. As I looked around, I noticed we were in an alley, much like the one I met Tobias in.

Helen dropped my hand and waved me forward.

We stepped out of the alley, and I looked around at my surroundings. Buildings were pushed close together much like Diagon Alley.

"Welcome to America, Alice," Tobias said. "I think you'll like it here."

* * *

 **Here's chapter six! The suicide note will be mentioned in the next chapter, you'll see why. I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review! :)(:**


	7. Finding the Body

_"Tell me my dear, can a heart still break once it's stopped beating?" ~Lord Barkis, The Corpse Bride_

* * *

Chapter 7- Finding the Body Alice's POV

"Happy birthday," Helen said, pushing a white box into my lap.

We had moved off the street to a bench nearby while I tried to grasp what I had just done.

"It's not my birthday," I said.

"I brought you back to June 20, 1948. It's your birthday."

"Where did you say we were?"

"Salem Virginia."

"How far is it from Philadelphia? I have six days to get there."

"It shouldn't take that long," Tobias said. "We are going to stop in Baltimore though. Helen and I haven't hunted in a while."

"But we'll make it in time?"

They both laughed.

"Yes, Alice, we'll make it in time. Stop worrying and open your present."

I looked back to the white box in my lap, and pulled the bow that tied it together, and pulled off the lid. Tobias took the lid from me.

Inside the box was a yellow envelope, a pack of pens, and two different books. The first book was a photo album. It had a large A and an equally large J intertwined together. I ran my hand over it.

"When you and Jasper came to see us, you had a photo album of everywhere you had been. You already have a camera, so here's your photo album."

The second book was a notebook. It was black with a green snake coiling around the front cover and spine.

"With a mind like yours, you're going to need a place for your ideas," Helen said. She was grinning.

I picked up the envelope, and slowly opened it. Inside was a large stack of money.

"That's got three thousand dollars in it," Tobias said. "That should get you and Jasper by for a long time."

"I can't accept this," I said, placing it in Tobias's lap.

"You can, and you will," Helen said, putting it back into my lap.

"Helen, I'm not from here, but even I know that this has to be worth a lot of money."

"Alice, you're going to need it."

"How did you even get this kind of money?"

"As time goes on, money values increase. If we save up enough and take it to certain places, then we get what it would be worth now."

"You need this more than I do," I said, trying yet again to push it back to them.

"Alice, you and Jasper are going to need it. We still have money. Take this."

I looked at them in disbelief.

"Why are you doing this for me? A girl you barely know."

"Because we know you more than you think we do. We've known you for a while. It's you that's just meeting us."

"Will you be going back to 1949 when I get to Jasper?"

They shook their heads.

"We do still have to alter James's memory. So we have to go to a couple days after we brought you back here."

"Why can't you find him here and change it here?"

"Surely you know the rules of time travel better than that," Helen said, disapprovingly. When I didn't answer she sighed. "If we change his memory here, he would have never came after you in 1998. That would have given us no point to go and change you, so you'd have no purpose here, and you'd fade away."

"So James is still hunting me now?"

Helen and Tobias both seemed to notice my anxiety increasing. Tobias took one of my hands as Helen hugged me.

"Alice, they're safe. Him and Victoria are still planning."

Once I calmed down enough, I placed the lid back on the box, and hid it away in my bag.

"Why'd we go to Salem? Why not directly to Philadelphia?"

"We wanted you to see more of the East coast before you take you to Philadelphia. Besides Jasper's not there yet. Why hurry?"

"That's a fair point."

"Ready to get started?"

I nodded.

The three of us stood, and Tobias hugged me.

"You're welcome for the gift. The notebook is from Jasper and I."

"Thank you," I said, laughing as I patted his back. "Both of you."

I peeked around Tobias's arm at Helen who was beaming.

"Here, you'll need this, for when we get to Baltimore."

She extended a new styrofoam cup to me, taking the old one that I had in my hand.

"Will I be around humans?"

They nodded.

"We're going to put you in a hotel room while we hunt."

"I can look for my family," I said, as the three of us began to run.

"Exactly," Helen said. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," I said, glancing over at her.

"How did you respond around Hagrid?"

I wrinkled my nose.

"He didn't smell appetizing."

"I don't suppose a giant would smell appetizing. So I suppose a half giant wouldn't be too much trouble."

"Her self control is really good for a newborn," Tobias said. "Better than both of ours were."

"If you guys hunt humans why do you live so close to them? Wouldn't that create suspicion if one of them went missing?"

"We don't want to hunt humans. We didn't know there was another way. Not until we met you."

"But you knew who Carlisle Cullen was," I pressed.

"Because of what you told us. You'll see him more once you're with Jasper. Everything we've told you, you've told us."

"How does that work? You tell me something, and I tell it to you. Who told who first?"

Tobias laughed.

"Leave it to you to question the science behind everything. It's the chicken and the egg is it?"

I chuckled.

"I think the egg came first. Re always thought it was the chicken."

I saw them both glance at me, but I didn't say anything.

"Can I ask you a question?" Tobias said, as we moved over to the side of the road.

"Sure. You can ask me anything."  
"How'd you get around? Did you have special cars?"

"Well the Ministry had cars, but I've never used one. We did have a bus, called the Knight Bus. That I've been on, and I got to Hogwarts by train."

"So you rode the Knight Bus everywhere?"

I shook my head.

"No. I always Apparated or used the Floo Network."

"So you've never been in a car?"

I shook my head.

"Nope. But I've been on a train, boat, and bus."

"What being on a broom like?"

I smiled.

"I loved brooms. I played Quidditch from my first year to my fourth year. Harry came in my fifth year, and I knew I'd have to look out for him. So I quit the team."

In one of my photo albums, I had a picture of me playing that Fred and George had taken during one of the Slytherin/Ravenclaw matches.

"What position did you play?"

"I was a Seeker. I was small, and quick."

We were quiet for a moment.

"When was the last time you rode a broom?" Tobias asked.

I didn't respond right away.

"When we were relocating Harry from the Dursley's house."

Helen and Tobias were careful on what they asked me. I had guessed that they thought their question upset me. It hadn't, but thinking of Harry made me more urgent to get to Baltimore.

We were halfway to Baltimore when the sun came up. Helen, Tobias, and I were able to duck away in some trees.

"It's not going to rain today," I said, as we each put in a pair of contacts. "Later in the morning it will be cloudy though."

"Are you going to be okay inside?" Helen asked.

I nodded.

"I'm sure I'll be just fine. I'm going to look at what's happening in my family's present, and then if you're not back, I'm going to look more on the day I meet Jasper."

"We should be too long," Tobias said. "At least two hours, at most I'd say about three."

"I'll be okay on my own for a little while you know. I've lived alone for two years."

"That's true."

I was alone often. Voldemort was more lenient to what I wanted. Severus always told me that he was afraid of me because I could see if he decided to kill me, and my magic was a great deal more powerful. That's why he wanted thought that it'd be more beneficial to him to have me on his side rather than the side of the order, so Dumbledore sent me undercover. I never wanted to be with the Death Eaters. In September, I did start going to Hogwarts. I snuck things to the members of Harry's group that they had called Dumbledore's Army.

The three of us took off again. The second we started running, Tobias's round of questions started.

"So I have another question."

"You always do. One would think you've never met me before now."

"A lot of these question I never thought of before now. But I remember you always being very cautious around cars. You wouldn't get in one without Jasper. I never did think to ask you how you got around."

"Harry, Fred, and George always laughed at me about it. I wouldn't get into the Ministry cars either. If I was summoned to the Ministry, I was Apparate or Floo there."

"Were you summoned often?"

"Not really. I was called when my dad escaped from prison, and the night he died, I was there fighting."

"I never did ask my question," Tobias said impatiently.

"Go ahead and ask now then," I said.

"You see the future. Have you ever used a crystal ball?"

I laughed, but nodded.

"When I couldn't get a clear picture from a vision, I used a crystal ball. I have one in my bag you know."

"Amazing," he said in wonder.

"I've got a question for you," I said.

He gestured for me to continue.

"You're from France, right?"

"Yes. The accents not very subtle. But I've been in America for a long time."

"Have I ever told you about the school Beauxbatons?"

He shook his head.

"It's an all witches academy in France. George's brother Bill married a girl from there. She's a year younger than me. I was curious about why your accents are different."

"I've lived in America for the last century and a half. I'd expect the heavy accent to fade."

"It hadn't when I met him."

"Will my accent fade?"

"After you've been here long enough. You still had one when we met you."

"Was it still as heavy?"

They both nodded.

The rest of the journey to Baltimore was filled with different question. Tobias asked me about Hogwarts, and I asked about America.

We made it to Baltimore an hour after we had paused, and towards the middle of the city, there was the motel that Helen and Tobias planned on leaving me at.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?" Helen asked, as we paused outside the front office.

"I'm going to be just fine. Don't worry about me."

"We'll check you in, and then get you to the room, then we'll go," she said.

I nodded, and looked cautiously at the door.

"Hold your breath," Tobias said, putting a hand on my wrist. "I'll be right here."

I took a deep breath before we stepped into the front office.

A bell chimed above the door announcing our entrance. At the desk, a woman sat with a book. She was closing it as we stepped closer.

Her scent was strong, and her thumping heart made me focus on that smell. Her blood smelt very different than the blood that was in my cup.

Tobias moved the cup closer to my nose, blocking out the scent of the human girl, and tightened his grip on my arm.

"Good afternoon!" she said, cheerfully. "Room for three?"

"Yes please," Helen said. "Two beds rather than three."

"How long will you be staying?"

"What time is check out?"

"Usually at around eight in the morning."

"We'll stay until then," Helen said.

I looked at Tobias with wide eyes.

"It's okay, Alice," he said under his breath. "We're going to make it."

The woman didn't seem to notice mine and Tobias' s exchange. Instead she began writing something down.

"Okay, you're total for tonight will be $36.36."

I frowned at the price. It seemed to be a lot less pricey than I would thought.

"Money is different in this time," Tobias said, as if he could read my thoughts.

"We'll pay tomorrow."

"You're room is 124," the woman said, sliding a key to Helen.

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Of course!"

The woman settled back down in her chair, and returned to her book. Tobias quickly led me from the office room, and once we were outside, I took another deep breath in.

"You did well, Alice," Helen said, as she and Tobias pulled me around to the other side of the building where our room was located.

"Humans are different," I said, quietly. "They're more tempting than Hagrid was."

Thinking of a person as food was never something I had to do before. Everything was different now. Now I was a predator.

We made our way quietly to the motel room. When I stepped inside, it was a small one roomed place with two beds, and a bathroom off the side.

"You're doing great, Alice," Tobias said as Helen refilled the cup I had finished in the lobby.

"For a newborn who has never hunted before, you're doing exceptionally well."

I frowned.

"I don't feel like I am."

"You are," she said, returning the cup to me. "Better than I did. I attacked a human in my first night."

"Well the night isn't out yet."

"Okay," Helen said, as I sat on one of the beds. "We're going to take the key with us so we can get back in."

"That's fine. I probably won't be leaving here anyways."

"We'll be back soon."

They both smiled at me, while I pulled my comforter from the bottom of my bag.

"I'll see you when you get back."

They walked out the door as I twisted myself in my blanket with my cup. I decided that I'd finish that before I started searching.

When I finished, I settled down onto the bed, still twisted in the large blanket. I closed my eyes, and focused on Minerva.

 _The picture of the headmasters office faded into my view. It was almost as if I was in a pensive, except the memories were not mine._

 _Minerva was behind the desk, and she had a large book in front of her. A large thump on the door caused her to jump._

 _"Come in," she called._

 _"Professor McGonagall," Hagrid said, ducking as he and Fang came through the door. "I got a letter, from Alice."_

 _"Alice?" Minerva said, taking the letter that Hagrid held out to her. "Why did she send the owl to you?"_

 _"She came here. Said it was urgent."_

 _"Is she still here?" she asked, opening the envelope, but still looking at Hagrid._

 _"She said she had ter get back. She just forgot summat at her house."_

 _Minerva looked back down at the letter and slowly began reading it to herself. The more she read, her face became horrified, and she jumped out of her seat._

 _"No!" she said, angrily. "What has she done!"_

 _"What's wrong, Professor?"_

 _"How long ago was Alice here?" she asked. She was half yelling as she began to pace, grabbing the letter from the desk._

 _"Oh, I'd say abou' twenty minutes ago."_

 _"Hagrid, I need you to come with me to the Great Lake."_

 _"Is everythin' okay, Professor?"_

 _"Alice is trying to kill herself!" Minerva said, panic growing in her voice. "That letter was her saying goodbye!"_

 _Hagrid's face widened with horror._

 _"No! She would never do tha' ter Harry an' George."_

 _"Let's go Hagrid!" Minerva said, as she quickly walked to the door. "We haven't got time to waste. We still have a chance!"_

 _She and Hagrid both ran from the office, and down the stairs. When they reached the bottom, they both ran through the corridor, with Fang following closely behind._

 _They made it onto the grounds quickly, passing by students who were still at the castle._

 _"Minerva what's wrong?" Flitwick asked as she passed._

 _"We think Alice may be trying to kill herself!" she shouted behind her._

 _Flitwick had the same look of horror that Hagrid and Minerva had, and began trailing quickly behind the first two._

 _"Why would she do this?" Flitwick demanded as they came up to the Great Lake._

 _"She said in her letter she couldn't live with the things she's done," Minerva said, choking on her words. "Hagrid, you take Fang and look that way, Fillius, you come with me, and we'll go this way."_

 _I ran alongside her and Flitwick, who took the right side of the lake._

 _"Come on, Fang," Hagrid called. "Find Alice!"_

 _I could hear Fang's barks fade as Minerva and Flitwick got further away from Hagrid._

 _"The night of Remus's funeral, at the gathering, Alice was—"_

 _"She was saying goodbye, for good," Minerva said. Her voice broke._

 _She focused on the lake, as did Flitwick. They called my name, but it was silent, except for Hagrid's booming voice on the other side._

 _"PROFESSOR!" Hagrid roared. "I'VE GOT HER!"_

 _Flitwick and Minerva didn't think before the darted in the sound of Hagrid's voice. I followed behind, as they moved around the lake._

 _Hagrid was wrapping his large coat around the body when Minerva and Flitwick made it to him. My bag was lying a little bit away._

 _"Alice!" Minerva called as she hovered over the corpse. I refused to call it myself. The mouth was now open, which was more than likely Helen and Tobias's work._

 _"She probably has water in her throat or her lungs," Flitwick said. He was kneeling at the head. "Anapneo!"_

 _"Hagrid, go get Madam Pomfrey!" Minerva shrieked._

 _Water began draining out of the mouth of the corpse, but it never moved._

 _"Minerva, she's as cold as ice."_

 _"She's not gone!" she hissed. "Not yet! I can still save her!"_

 _She placed one hand on top of the other, and pressed onto the stomach. More water came out of the mouth, as tears streamed down her face._

 _Hagrid returned with Madam Pomfrey, who immediately began working over me._

 _"Hagrid said she tried drowning herself in the lake?" she asked, as she opened the eyes, that were still glazed over, staring at nothing._

 _Minerva nodded but she didn't speak._

 _"How much water does she have in her throat?"_

 _"We've been trying to get as much of it out as we can," Minerva said, quickly, her voice still breaking._

 _"Anapneo!" Madam Pomfrey said, causing more water to come out. She checked for a pulse._

 _"How long ago did you find her?" she asked quietly, ._

 _"Hagrid found her about five minutes before he came to get you. It took FIlius and I a moment to get around the lake."_

 _"We're going to have to try this the Muggle way. I have to get her heart beating."_

 _She began doing CPR on the corpse, water came out, but it laid there, lifeless._

 _"Come on, Alice!" Minerva growled._

 _The chest rose and fell as Madam Pomfrey blew air into it, but it brought no life back._

 _After almost five minutes, she stopped._

 _"I'm sorry, Minerva. She's gone. There's nothing more I can do."_

 _The four of them all had tears in her eyes._

 _"We watched her grow up," Minerva whispered. "I never thought I'd have to watch her die."_

 _"She was so young," Hagrid said, as giant tears rolled down his face._

 _"We can't leave her out here," Flitwick said. "There are still some people here."_

 _"We'll take her back up to my office," Minerva said._

 _"Which one?"_

 _"Dumbledore's old office," she said, as she stood. Hagrid stepped forward, rewrapping the large coat around the corpse, and cradled it in his arms. It looked small compared to Hagrid's massive figure._

 _"What're you going to tell Harry?" Flitwick whispered, not taking his eyes off Hagrid._

 _"She left specific instructions," Minerva whispered wiping her eyes. "She wants me to call her family, and then hold a separate gathering for Hogwarts family, she called us."_

 _Flitwick smiled, and then it quickly faded._

 _"Should I gather everyone up?"_

 _She shook her head, and looked between Flitwick, Hagrid, and Madam Pomfrey._

 _"We need to do the best we can to keep quiet for a little while longer, until I can talk to Harry, and a few others. We're luck our volunteers have went home for the day. They don't need to be here for this."_

 _The four of them returned the the Headmaster's office, and Hagrid held the body, still wrapped in his coat while McGonagall turned a quill into a small loveseat, and moved it against the far wall._

 _"Lay her down, Hagrid. You stay here while I call everybody."_

 _She returned to the fireplace, grabbed a bit of Floo Powder, and threw it into the fire._

 _"The Burrow!" she said, clearly, before placing her head in the fire._

 _"Arthur? Molly?"_

 _"Minerva!" Molly said, from beyond the fire. "What's going on?"_

 _"Who all is at the house?"_

 _"Me, Arthur, and all the kids, including Harry, Fleur, and Hermione. Why? Is everything okay?"_

 _"I need you all to come through. Something's happened. Is Andromeda there? She needs to be here too."_

 _"No. She is at her place. We can call her before we come through, and just all come through together."_

 _"That would be helpful. Thank you."_

 _Minerva stepped back from the fire, and walked to the desk, holding the end of it for support._

 _"Keep her covered, please. I don't want them to see her just yet."_

 _Hagrid flipped up the coat to where it covered the face._

 _"She looks so peaceful," Hagrid whispered._

 _"Finally at peace."_

 _After a few moments, the fire lit again, and Arthur and Molly came through. After a couple moments, all of the Weasleys, including Fleur, Harry, Hermione, Andromeda, and Teddy all were in the office. Teddy appeared to be sleeping._

 _"Minerva," Arthur asked, "what's happened?"_

 _"We've heard from Alice," she said quietly._

 _"Is she okay?" George asked, quickly._

 _"Alice came to the grounds, about an hour ago, and gave a letter to Hagrid to bring to me. She told him it was an urgent matter, and it couldn't wait."_

 _"She was here?" Harry asked, surprised._

 _Minerva nodded._

 _"Alice had a goal when she came back to Hogwarts. Alice was not going to leave this place alive. Her goal was achieved._

 _She looked up to Hagrid, who moved the coat down to where it uncovered the face._

 _"Alice Black has killed herself."_

 _Everyone turned to Hagrid, and looked immediately down at the body. They all stood, wide eyed and frozen._

 _"Are you sure she's," Molly broke off._

 _"We're sure. Madam Pomfrey confirmed it. I tried everything I could to save her."_

 _George stepped away from the group, towards Hagrid, who still had tears rolling down his face._

 _"Ali, come on, this isn't funny anymore," he whispered, repeating the words I had said to Remus only a couple weeks before. Tears were streaming down his face, as Harry sat down beside him. "Please Ali, I need you. I still need you. Please come back to me. Please, please. Come back to me."_

 _Harry had tears rolling down his face as he laid his head on the stomach of the corpse._

 _"Why'd you leave me Al? I still needed you here! We all did!"_

 _"She left a letter," Minerva said, stepping over to the two that sat at the couch. The letters in her hand. "Alice says, I would first like to explain, why I've done what I've done. You all deserve an explanation. Many will think it's because of Fred or Remus, but it's not. I would say they didn't help make the final decision, but not because they were gone. Because they were people who had reminded me of everything I have done in the last year. In the last year, the decision had been made. From the very first person I killed, which was a Muggle woman, who I had to kill in front of her husband, and her child. I knew then, I could not live with what I had done. Once I was branded, he wanted me to kill more, and more, and the more I killed, the more the hate for myself grew," Minerva broke off, looking around the room. Everyone had tears in their eyes. George and Harry didn't move away from the body. George was soothing the hair stuck to what looked like my face, back. Harry hadn't moved at all. His head still laid on the unmoving stomach, with tears rolling down his face. "I had to to betray Harry, and with each betrayal, the hate grew more. Harry was more understanding, and he always told me he knew I had to do it, but each time, I felt worse and worse about myself."_

 _As Minerva paused again, Ginny moved to Harry, who had began sobbing._

 _"It's okay, Harry," she said, putting her arms around him._

 _He shook his head against her shoulder, where she had moved his head to._

 _Minerva continued._

 _"Despite Severus being there, working with me, on Dumbledore's orders, I felt alone. I felt more alone when I was around people. As bad as I hate to say it, because it's where my friends, and my family were, I felt the most alone when I was with the Order. I felt like no one could ever understand what it felt like to have to kill innocent people."_

 _She paused, wiping the tears from her eyes. Ginny was hugging George and Harry to her, and Molly began to make her way over to them._

 _"It's okay, dear," she said, as she held them closely to her. She wiped tears from her own eyes._

 _"Please continue, Professor," Harry mumbled._

 _Minerva made her way across the room, and kneeled down at Harry's height._

 _"Harry, you need a moment," she said quietly. "You've just lost your godsister."_

 _"My sister," Harry said. "She's not my godsister, she's my sister."_

 _"My mistake," she said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Either way, we need a break. We'll continue in a moment."_

 _They all were quiet, except for the sounds of Harry, George, and now Hagrid and Molly sobbing. Hermione and Ron went over to help console the two, while Fleur cried quietly into Bill's shirt._

 _"It's okay, love," he whispered, resting his cheek on the top of her head. Tears rolled down his scarred face. "She's in a better place now."_

 _No more than five minutes had passed when Minerva moved to the chair next to the small couch that the body laid on. I still wouldn't call it mine._

 _"Shall I continue?" Her breath was shaky, but she held the letter tightly._

 _"Please," Harry breathed._

 _"In the eyes of Death Eaters, it was all for fun. For me, it wasn't fun. It was torture. I know I should—" her voice broke off. She cleared her throat, and tried again. "I know I should have come to someone for help, but this is this best thing for me. I know you don't see it, but this was my only way out. So here is where I say goodbye."_

 _Minerva's hand flew to her mouth, as she shuddered._

 _"Firstly," she whispered, "to Hagrid."_

 _Hagrid looked at her in shock._

 _"Me?"_

 _Minerva nodded. "That's why I asked you to stay in here. Alice says, firstly, to Hagrid, I thank you for being an outstanding friend. You gave me a chance to prove that I am not my name, and I am not my house. In my first few years at Hogwarts, I felt very out of place. You made it feel like home away from my home. I knew that I had a friend there, and for that I thank you. Stay kind, Hagrid. The people of our world are going to need your kindness now more than ever."_

 _"Yeh were amazing, Alice. I knew from the moment I met yeh tha' yeh were goin' ter be amazing."_

 _He laid a large and on top of the moleskin coat that still covered the body._

 _"Next," Minerva continued, tearing her eyes away from Hagrid, "I say my goodbyes to Molly and Arthur. I have so much to thank the two of your for. You gave me a place in your home each full moon, and you always made me feel included. You were like my second parents, and your children are lucky to have you. You two not only did that for me, but you've done it for Harry. I never thought of Remus as a father figure, but I never felt like I didn't have parents. Family is not about blood. It's where you feel at home. I always felt like I had a home at the Burrow. So I thank you, for being the parents that I never had, and the parents I will never deserve."_

 _"You are most definitely welcome," Molly said, raising up to kiss the ice cold forehead of the corpse. "You will always be my daughter, even if not by blood."_

 _Molly turned to Arthur, who slowly made his way over to where everyone else seemed to be gathered now._

 _"She's really gone, isn't she?" he said, looking down at the body._

 _"She's really gone," Molly said._

 _Arthur dropped to his knees behind Molly, who leaned her head onto his chest._

 _"Bill, Charlie, and Percy," Minerva said, gathering the attention of the three oldest Weasley boys. "I thank you for watching out for me while we were in Hogwarts, and for accepting me as a part of your family so quickly. If anyone mentioned my mother or my father, you three were the first to jump to my defence. Bill, I'm sorry I couldn't come to the wedding. I wanted to be there, but I couldn't get away. I wish I could have gotten to know Fleur. She seems amazing. There is something I do know for certain. Your's and Fleur's marriage will last a lifetime. There will be ups and down, as there is to every good love story, but you will work past them. The two of you are going to have a very happy life together. I wish you all the luck, and all the happiness in the world."_

 _Bill was standing between Minerva and the loveseat._

 _"I wish you could have been there too," he whispered. "It didn't feel complete without all my family there."_

 _He swooped down, and kissed the forehead of the corpse._

 _"I wish I could 'ave know you too, Alice. But Bill will tell me about you," Fleur said, following Bill's lead and kissed the same spot._

 _"Percy," Minerva said, calling everyone's attention back to the letter. "You've always been a hard worker, and that's good, but don't work yourself to death. Find a balance between working hard, and making time for other things. Take it from me, all work is going to make a very dull life. Your family is going to need you now. So work hard, but live your life."_

 _"You got it, Alice," Percy said. He gave a small smile, and wiped tears from his eyes._

 _"Charlie, I'm sorry I couldn't see the dragons."_

 _A small chuckle rippled through the heavy room. George, who had leaned against the couch, looked over to Charlie. Charlie moved to where Bill stood._

 _"I give you the same advice I give you Percy. Work hard, enjoy what you do, but make time for your family. They're going to need you."_

 _"You got it,Ali," he said, also kissing the forehead of the corpse._

 _"Minerva cleared her throat again, wiped her eyes once more, then spoke again._

 _"Ron, Hermione, I have so much to thank you for. You kept Harry safe when I couldn't. You made sure he was never alone. I need you to do that for me now. Keep him safe, keep him happy, and make sure he knows he's loved. Hermione, don't stop being yourself. Never let anyone bring you down. You're very bright, and you're going to go far. The world needs more of you. Open your mind a little bit though. Don't keep yourself inside the box."_

 _"We'll keep him safe," Hermione said, squeezing Harry's hand. "I will do my best to open my mind."_

 _"Ron," Minerva said, calling his attention, "you've grown up so much over the years. I thank you for everything you've done for Harry. You were his first friend, and made this new world seem a bit normal for him. Don't be completely insensitive, but keep your mind as open as it's always been. Always be open to change."_

 _Ron, had a small grin on his face._

 _"Of course, Alice."_

 _When he turned to face the corpse, his smile fell, and he squeezed one of the hands on the corpse._

 _"You have my word," he said._

 _Minerva didn't start reading again._

 _"We'll resume here in a moment," she said, wiping her eyes. She looked up to Andromeda, who was holding Teddy tightly in her arms as she sat down next to Harry. Teddy was awake now, and he grinned at the ceiling._

 _"Can I see him?" Harry asked quietly, holding his arms out. Andromeda nodded, and passed the baby to Harry._

 _"Such a happy baby," Harry said, smiling down at him._

 _"Are we ready to continue?" Minerva asked, in a shaky voice. The tears had stopped now. Not for just her, but for everyone in the room._

 _"Yes," they all said. Their voices were all quiet, as if someone was asleep, and they were trying to not wake that person._

 _"Ginny," Minerva read. Her voice was steady now. "I can't think of a better match for Harry than you."_

 _Another chuckle rippled through the room, as Ginny and Harry both turned as red as the Weasley family's hair._

 _"Take care of Harry," Minerva continued, glancing up at Ginny, "he's going to need all the support he can get. I see a very bright future ahead of you. I know it seems I've said that for everyone, but it's true. Help Ron and Hermione, and keep him safe, keep him happy, and never let him forget he is loved."_

 _"You got it, Alice," Ginny said. She moved away from Harry, and tried to hug the body. "I'm going to miss you, Alice. But I know you're in a better place now."_

 _"Andromeda, I'm sorry. I really am sorry. I gave you the notebook filled with memories, because it was all I could give. I knew I wouldn't be around to give Teddy anything more. Maybe if there is something after we leave this world, I'll find Remus and Nymphadora. I'll tell them about their happy baby. Teddy will do great things, Andy. You and Harry will raise him and guide him to the right path. I wish I could be around to help, but I do hope you will tell him about me. I know I don't deserve it, but one can hope. I'm sorry I wasn't around enough, and I'm sorry I couldn't do anything more for you, for Nymphadora, for Teddy, or for Ted. I tried, but I didn't try hard enough. I wish I could go back and change things. Remus and Dora would be here to raise their son, and you'd have Ted again. I'm sorry I can't give you that life, but I know you will give Teddy a great life."_

 _Andromeda was still sitting next to Harry. She wiped tears from her eyes._

 _"Of course I'm going to tell him about you," she said. "You are a part of his family."_

 _Teddy cooed happily in Harry's arms. Andromeda stood and kissed the cheek of the body._

 _"We're all going to miss you, Alice."_

 _"Georgie," Minerva said, calling George's attention to the letter. "I'm sorry I couldn't stay. I told you before, and I'll tell you again. This isn't because of Fred or Remus. It's because I couldn't live with myself knowing the things I had done. If I had been looking hard enough, I could have save them, and if I hadn't gone undercover, I could have saved so many others. Georgie, I need you to move on and to be happy. I know that's easier said than done, but I know you. You're strong and you can do it. You have your whole life ahead of you. Keep the joke shop going. You and Fred had brilliant minds, and made brilliant things, and you need to keep that alive. I love you. I really do. You are my best friend. So I have everything to thank you for. You helped to make me who I am. I'm okay now. I'm not hurting anymore, and hopefully wherever I am, I get to see Fred again. I will be watching over you, always. I love you."_

 _George began to sob again, and Molly pulled him to her._

 _"I love you too, Ali," George said, between sobs. "Tell Freddie I miss him okay? I wish you could've stayed with me. But I know you couldn't do that. You'll always be my best friend, Ali."_

 _George moved away from his mother, closer to the body on the small sofa. He closed his eyes, and like so many others, he kissed the forehead._

 _"I miss you already," he whispered. As he stood up again, I saw that his face looked empty._

 _"Harry, this isn't your fault," Minerva said, returning to the letter. "I know that you will think it is, but it's not. It was my own. I told you the other night. This isn't your fault. I chose this. This has nothing to do with Remus or Fred or even Mum and Dad, but me. I want you to know everything I did, I did so you could live a better life. Everything I've done is to keep you safe. Sirius, James, and Lily are so proud of you. I'm proud of you. You've done a wonderful job. You don't need me anymore. You are going to do great things, Harry Potter. Your story isn't finished yet. You've just finished a chapter. So live your life to the fullest. You have a long life ahead of you. I love you, Har. Don't close everyone out. You need them. You will always be my brother. I love you, and I'll be here watching over you, forever"_

 _Harry's sobs returned too._

 _"I still need you, Alice," Harry said. "I'll always need you."_

 _"We all need you," George said._

 _Harry and George looked at each other, and Harry pulled George into a tight hug._

 _"You each affected my life in a different and special way," Minerva said, wiping tears from her eyes again. "I am okay now. I'm not suffering. I hope you can forgive me for what I've done. I love you all. Alice"_

Everything faded to black. I opened my eyes, and I sat up. The room was empty. Helen and Tobias weren't back yet, but the clock on the wall told me that an hour and a half had passed.

I felt my throat tighten, and my eyes felt dry. I breathed, and my breath stuttered and hitched. A pained sob escaped from my throat, and I knew now, that I was crying. Crying in this new body was strange.

I looked down at my hand, where the ring from George still sat.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. I was still wrapped in the blanket, and I could think of nothing else to do but cry.

I wasn't crying anymore when Helen and Tobias returned. Instead, I was staring at the ceiling of the room.

"Alice," Helen asked. Her voice was filled with worry. She was at the side of the bed in an instant. "Alice, what is it?"

"They've found the body. It worked. They think I'm dead."

Helen moved me over, and laid next to me.

"They're safe now, Alice."

I nodded.

"I know. But they worked so hard to try and bring me back."

"Of course they did, Alice," Tobias said, moving to my other side. "You're their family."

"Do you think they'll forgive me?"

They both nodded.

"Maybe someday James will be gone, and you can go and explain to them that you had to keep them safe."

"Someday. Maybe they can meet Jasper," I said. "They'd like him."

Helen and Tobias smiled.

"How can you tell?" Helen asked.

"I think they'd all just be happy that I moved on from Remus."

Helen chuckled and hugged me.

"It gets better. Believe it or not, but Jasper makes a huge impact on your life. When we first met you, you were so happy. It's hard to see you like this."

I sighed.  
"I don't like hurting them."

"I know, Alice. But soon, they will be okay again."

I knew that Tobias was right. They'd be okay. They were strong, and in time, they would be okay.

* * *

 **Here is chapter seven! The next chapter will also have Alice looking into her family's present, or however you want to look at it. I do want to clarify. With these 'visions' they're not exactly visions. Like Alice said, it's more like a pensive. She can't see half breeds, so in her visions of the future, she can't see Hagrid because she has never been and she isn't now, half giant. So the way I see it is these are not visions of the future, she's merely looking into someone else's mind. It's kind of a play on Edward's gift and Legilimency. Alice is skilled in both Legilimency and Occlumency from her time as a Death Eater, but the Occlumency does not completely keep out Edward's gift. It can only restrict him from certain pieces of her mind.**

 **Okay! Now, that I have this cleared up to prevent any confusion, I am going to end this here. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Please, follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	8. The Final Funeral

_"If you wish to live, you must first attend your own funeral." ~Katherine Mansfield_

* * *

Chapter 8- The Final Funeral Alice's POV

We checked out of the motel at the regular check out time.

"Do you want to try?" Helen asked, holding out the key and a small roll of cash to me.

"I'll have to get used to it some point or another."

I took the key and money from Helen and turned to the door.

"I can come with you if you'd like," Tobias said, stepping forward.

I shook my head.

"I want to try it on my own," I said.

Tobias fell back to Helen's side.

"It helps if you don't think of them as prey," Helen said quickly and quietly.

"Thanks for the advice."

I walked to the door, pausing to breathe fresh air before pushing the door open.

"Good morning, Ma'am!" the same girl as yesterday said cheerfully. Her scent hit me as a truck, but I didn't think of her as food. I thought her as a person, and that helped me keep control. "Here to check out?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"You're not from around here are you?" she asked, grinning, as she sorted through a pile of papers on her desk.

I shook my head.

"I've come from Britain,to see some distant relatives."

"Would those be the people you are staying with?"

"No," I said, smiling. "They're old friends. We went to school together."

The woman accepted my lie.

"Okay, Miss," she said pulling out a paper. "For the one day, it'll be thirty-six dollars."

I counted how much money Helen had given me. She gave me the exact amount, and I held it out to the woman behind the counter.

"Enjoy your stay in America!" she said cheerfully as I turned to the door.

"Thank you, Ma'am," I said, smiling at her.

The smell wasn't as bad as it had been yesterday. She didn't smell as tempting. Nevertheless, I quickly walked to the door.

When I stepped outside, Helen and Tobias were standing with their back turned towards the exit. Neither turned. Instead they spoke in low voices.

I looked around. There was nobody here but the three of us. As I looked back to them, the two of them were looking at me nervously. They both darted to me in an instant.

"Alice?" Helen asked. "How did it go."

I beamed at the two of them.

"It went amazingly well. The smell didn't bother me as much."

"That's fantastic!" Helen said. "You're getting a better grasp on your self control."

"At the rate you're going now, you may make it through your first year without a single slip!" Tobias said, excitedly.

"As bad as I hate to say it, because don't get me wrong Alice, you're doing extremely well, I don't want us to get ahead of ourselves. She only a day old."

"But, Helen—"

I stopped him.

"Tobias, she's right. A year is a long time."

"It's not that," Helen said. "It's just that the first year is the hardest. I don't want him to have your hopes so high, only for them to crash if you slip up."

"No, no, no," I said. "I understand."

I smiled at her. She and Tobias smiled at me.

"So," I said, as I fastened my cloak. "Shall we get going?"

They smiled.

"It shouldn't surprise me that you're anxious to get to Philadelphia," Tobias said.

"One of the days before we go see Jasper, I'm taking you to go get a new outfit," Helen said, taking my hand. "You are going to look amazing."

I chuckled as the three of us broke into a run.

The more I thought about it, the more I didn't think that anything Helen did, would ever make me compare to my angel.

"It won't take us long to get there," Helen said. "At most about an hour and a half."

"So what are we going to do for the next five days?" Tobias asked.

I couldn't help but think of my family. I thought of my funeral.

"I want to check on them," I said. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Helen and Tobias glance at each other. "It doesn't have to be tonight. I was thinking tomorrow."

They glanced at each other again, and then to me. Before they both came to a complete stop.

I stopped too, a couple feet ahead of them.

"What?" I asked.

"Alice," Tobias said slowly. "We know you're worried about them. But we're scared that if you continue to go back to them, you won't like what you see."

"I didn't tell you," I said quietly.

They looked to each other, than to me.

"Tell us what?"

"Tell me something. When you met me, did I ever look for my family?"

They looked to each other again, while they thought.

"No. You looked for Carlisle. Any sign of where he could be. But you never talked about going to see them."

"Last night, while you two were talking about where to look for James, I was thinking."

"And?"

I took a deep breath, and I felt my throat start to tighten.

"I can't move on if I keep looking for them. I see what I've done to them, and it makes me miserable. How can I be happy like that?"

"Alice, what are you saying?" Helen asked, stepping towards me.

"I'm saying, that in order to keep my family safe," I paused as my voice broke off. "I have to let them go. After this, I won't be looking for them."

I saw pain shoot across her face as she looked at me. She rushed forward and pulled me into a hug.

"Alice, that's a very brave thing you're doing."

I shook my head.

"It's not bravery. I did this to keep them safe. I know that you're going to keep them safe. So I don't need to look out for them. What you're doing, saving people you don't know, that's bravery."

"But we do know you," Tobias said, stepping towards us, "and when you told us about them, it made us feel like we knew them too."

Helen pulled away, and put a hand on my shoulder.

"Things are going to work itself out, Alice. You're family will be safe again."

"I know," I said, smiling. "I trust you guys."

"You know," Tobias said, with a goofy grin on his face. "Didn't Remus ever teach you to talk to strangers? You trusted us right off the bat."

I laughed.

"He did teach me that. But I thought if you were going to kill me, you would have killed me while I was passed out."

"She's got a fair point, Toby."

"Besides," I said, as we began to run, "Helen was too much like my mother to kill me. That's why I trusted her."

Helen smiled.

As we ran further North, the sun started to peek out from behind the clouds.

I paused, and looked up to the sky. I hadn't seen the sun since I was changed.

As the clouds spread, the sun poured out onto the ground, and through the trees where the three of us were safely hidden. Helen and Tobias watched as I lowered the hood of my cloak, and took off my sunglasses. I looked up to the sky, and the sun beat down on my face.  
It was warm, and when I opened my eyes, I could see my skin glittering like a hundred diamonds.

"Amazing," I murmured to myself.

Helen and Tobias grinned as I looked up to them again. Helen stepped forward, and returned my hood and sunglasses.

"We have to get going," she said. "We're almost there. Then in a few little days, you get to meet Jasper."

I thought I felt my heart flutter, hearing the angel's name.

It took us only another half an hour after our pause to get to the city limits of Philadelphia.

"Welcome to Philadelphia, Alice," Tobias said. "This is where your life begins."

We walked from the point of entering city limits to the motel where we planned on staying for the next couple days.

The sun was starting to fade back into the clouds.

"It won't rain," I said, looking at the sky. "Rain is coming. But not yet."

"I still think she sounds like she should join the circus," Tobias said.

I grinned.

"I'd make a great performer."

"Oh, I could see it now," Tobias said. "Mystic Mary Alice."

The three of us burst into laughter, causing a few kids, who didn't look quite old enough to be a teenager, but didn't look young enough to be considered children.

"Shouldn't they be in school?" I asked Helen, glancing over at the kids.

"Alice, they've been out of school for a couple weeks. How long did Hogwarts stay in school?"

"We'd still be in school for another couple days."

"When did you start?"

"September first," I said. "That's when we'd go to Platform 9 ¾ to catch the train."

I twisted the ring on my finger as I spoke.

"Fred, George, and I, we always rode in the same compartment, and I always bought us sweets with my monthly allowance from my mother's vault, and my parents joint vault."

I smiled weakly.

"I remember wishing I was a Gryffindor so I would be able to spend more time with Fred and George."

"You told us about the different traits of the different houses. I think you fit Slytherin more," Helen said. "You're very ambitious and resourceful and cunning. But you're even more determined."

"She has Gryffindor qualities too," Tobias argued. "She's brave and daring, and very courageous."

I grinned.

"Remus always used to tell me I was a Slytherin in the mind, but a Gryffindor at heart."

"He's not wrong."

I looked down at the ground.

"The Sorting Hat had a difficult time placing me. It debated between Gryffindor, Slytherin, and Ravenclaw."

"You never told us that part."

"I only told Fred and George that part. Remus didn't know, nor Harry or Dad."

"Why did it choose Slytherin?"

"It told me 'You will do great things in the Slytherin House. When the time comes, you will be more cunning than any other right until the very end," I chuckled. "I never understood what it meant until now. I went undercover for two years as a Death Eater. No one suspected anything until the end. I had been planning to kill myself for around the same amount of time, and no one ever suspected a thing."

I looked up and met their eyes. We never stopped walking, but even looking at me, they seemed to know where we were going.

"I was cunning until the very end."

I chuckled again.

Helen and Tobias turned their attention back to the road.

My smile faded as I worried what my family where up to. How were they holding up?

We reached the motel in the middle of the town not long after that.

"I'll be back in a moment," Tobias said.

We had decided that Tobias would go inside while Helen and I stayed outside.

I walked over to the stone wall and hopped on it.

"Alice?" Helen asked leaning on the wall next to me.

"Yeah?"

"Are you okay? I know this is a lot of changes in just a couple days."

I thought about it.

"I'm ready to find Jasper," I said. "As far as my family goes….I'm scared about what this is going to do to them."

"They're going to grieve. That's normal of course. But they're going to move on with their lives."

I smiled weakly.

"That's all I ask for."

Tobias came out not much longer after that.

"Come on," he said cheerfully.

We all quickly walked to the room on the far side of the motel lot.

The room wasn't very different from the other room, and the two of them were very different from the room that they had in 1998.

"We brought books," Helen said, as she set her bag down on one of the beds. "Televisions weren't very big during this period of time."

"That's fine with me. I've gone twenty-one nearly twenty-two years without one. Besides, I love reading."

They both smiled as I placed my bag on the other bed.

"I've bought books too," I said. "It was to help me with my cover until they found me. You can borrow them if you want."

"Did you bring The Tales of Beedle the Bard?" Tobias asked. "You had it when you met us. That was my favorite."

I nodded. It surprised me that he knew the title, but of course if Jasper and I stayed with them before they came to get me, then surely they would have read it at least once.

"It's my favorite too. What's your favorite story?"

"The Tale of the Three Brothers," he said, as I opened my bag.

I grinned as I dug for the books.

"That's my favorite too. It's a true story you know."

"I know," he said as he held his hand out for the book. "Harry's the Master of Death now."

I looked at him surprised.

"It amazes me how much you know," I said. "How much did I tell you?"

"You told us everything," Helen said.

"Everything," I repeated, as I turned and gave Tobias the book.

Helen was laying out books of her own.

"Take any book you like," she said as I walked towards the bed.

She had several books that I hadn't heard of.  
"This book," she said, pointing at a large book by The Brothers Grimm, "is like The Tales of Beedle the Bard."

I picked it up, and flipped through it.

"It's full of Muggle fairytales," she said as I moved back to the bed. I ended up curling back into my comforter as I read various fairytales, and my favorite quickly became Rumplestiltskin. It was dark, but I still liked it. In a way, it reminded me of The Warlock's Hairy Heart.

The night passed, each of us doing our own thing, and then the night turned to day.

"Are you sure you don't want to wait another day?" Helen asked as sat at the foot on the bed with my hands covering my face.

My eyes had the same dryness they had yesterday.

I nodded.

"If I don't do it now, I'll change my mind."

I crawled back to the top of the bed where my comforter sat in a pile.

"We'll be here," Tobias said, offering a small smile.

I twisted myself back into my comforter.

Helen and Tobias were quiet as I closed my eyes. I heard the sound of a page turning, but otherwise, it was quiet. I focused on George this time. It was George that I worried about the most. Harry was strong, but George lost Fred and I in a couple week span.

George's room at the Burrow faded into my view. It was like when they found my body. It wasn't like a vision, but more like seeing a memory in a Pensive.

 _George sat at a desk with his back to me, and I could hear the scratching of a quill. I walked closer behind him, and peered over his shoulder at the letter. It read:_

 _Dear Alice,_

 _Mum told me to write you a letter like I did for Fred. She says it will help with the grieving process. Today's your funeral. Harry and I have been working very hard to make it special for you. So many people loved you, Ali. Did you know that? We all loved you so much._

 _They gave me and Harry the stuff from your bag. We made copies of your photo albums, and we each got one. We gave Hermione the books she didn't have, and gave the ones she did have to Fleur. We left all your jewelry with you, so you can have a piece of us too. Your clothes that were in the bag is at your house now._

 _It's been so different without you and Freddie here. I can't cast a Patronus anymore. Any happy memory I had was with the two of you. Mum thinks it will pass, but I'm not sure it will._

 _The letter cut off then as George stopped writing. He crumpled up the parchment, and threw it in the bin at his feet. He buried his face in his hands, and his body shook as he began to sob._

 _There was a knock on his door. It was soft, but George heard it._

 _"Come in," he said, wiping the tears from his eyes as he turned to the door._

 _Harry stepped inside, with Ron and Hermione coming in behind him._

 _"Hey, George," Harry said, as George stood._

 _Harry wore a black button up shirt, and black dress pants. He had a black tie too. Ron was dressed the same way. Hermione wore a long sleeved knee length dress, and her wild hair was pinned up in a braided crown on her head._

 _"Hey, Harry. How are you?"_

 _"I've had my better days," he said. "I didn't think we'd be doing another funeral so soon."_

 _"I didn't think we'd be doing her funeral so soon."_

 _George was staring at a picture of him, Fred, and I on the wall._

 _"I still can't believe she's gone," Harry said, following his eyes._

 _George shook his head._

 _"It doesn't feel real."_

 _"She looked so peaceful," Hermione said, looking at the picture. "Just like in the pictures."_

 _"She used to be so happy and full of life," George said, chuckling through the tears._

 _"When Sirius died, and Remus left, that changed," Ron said._

 _"Did she ever get over Remus?" Hermione asked._

 _Ron, Harry, and George all shook their heads._

 _"He was the love of her life," George said._

 _"I feel like I didn't know her at all," Hermione said._

 _"She was amazing," George said._

 _Molly stepped in the doorway, and knocked on the open door._

 _"Can I come in?"_

 _"Sure," George said, waving her into the room._

 _"It's almost time to go," she said._

 _George looked at the clock on the wall. It was almost six-thirty._

 _He rose from the chair._

 _"Is everyone else ready?"_

 _Molly nodded._

 _"We'll meet you guys downstairs," Harry said, pulling Ron and Hermione out of the room._

 _"How're you holding up Georgie?"_

 _"I can't believe she's really gone," George whispered. "It doesn't feel real."_  
 _Molly put a hand against his cheek._

 _"I know it doesn't help now, but it does get better."_

 _"I know it will," he said, "but now, being happy again….it just doesn't seem possible."_

 _She sighed and pulled George into a tight hug._

 _"Does it help to hear that she's not suffering?"_

 _These words caused George's sobs to return._

 _Molly ran her hand through his hair as her eyes filled with tears._

 _"She's not in any pain. She's got Fred and her parents. She's happy, Georgie."_

 _"Alice could've been happy here," he whispered. "With me."_

 _"She loved you so much, Georgie. Never forget that."_

 _He shook his head._

 _"I could never forget."_

 _"Alice is still alive inside all of us."_

 _George nodded as he pulled away from Molly._

 _He turned to the table and grabbed a picture of him, Fred, and I on Christmas morning before my father died. We were smiling, and my arms were around their necks. As the picture moved, the two of them kissed either one of my cheeks, and my smile grew._

 _"She was so happy," George said quietly._

 _Molly didn't answer. She just looked down at the picture of Fred, George, and I, and ran her finger across Fred's face, and then mine._

 _"They're together," George said. "They're happy."_

 _George wiped the tears from his eyes._

 _"Come on, George. Let's go lay Alice to rest."_

 _George and Molly walked from the room._

 _"Do you have your speech?"_

 _"In my pocket."_

 _They were quiet until they got downstairs. All of the Weasleys were there, and Harry and Hermione stood with Ron at the back of the room._

 _"Andromeda is meeting us there," Arthur said._

 _"Draco and Narcissa Malfoy will be there too," George said._

 _"Everyone else should be filling in not long after."_

 _"Harry, dear," Molly said, walking over to him. "Do you have your speech and the pictures?"_

 _He nodded, and patted his back pocket._

 _"In here, Mrs. Weasley."_

 _"Good, good," she said._

 _As I looked around the room, I saw that each of the girls wore Slytherin chokers like one that I frequently wore, and Harry, Bill, and Charlie all wore the Black crest. Harry held out the same armband that he wore to George, who quickly snapped it into it's place._

 _"I think we're ready to go," Molly said, looking around the room._

 _Nobody spoke. They all sat quietly._

 _"Okay," Arthur said quietly. "Should we go in groups?"_

 _Hermione, Ron, Harry, and Ginny grouped together, and so did Percy and Charlie. Bill and Fleur walked over to George, and Arthur took Molly's hand. One by one, they each disappeared, and then the scene warped and changed._

 _We were back in the cemetery that I knew all too well._

 _"She's this way," George said. "Between Fred and Remus."_

 _"Why is she not next to 'er parents?" Fleur asked._

 _"Alice was never traditional," Bill said. "Alice, Fred, and George used to say that they wanted to be buried next to each other, and since Fred is close to Remus, it worked out well."_

 _Positioned next to Fred and Remus's graves, there was a new headstone. This one read:_

 _Mary Alice Black_

 _June 20, 1976-May 13, 1998_

 _Here lies a loving daughter and friend. She will be missed, forever._

 _The coffin was set up just like Remus's had been, and standing by it, was Andromeda with Teddy._

 _"Hey, George, hey Harry."_

 _"Hi," Harry said, as she pulled the two of them into a hug._

 _George stepped up to the edge of the coffin, and peered inside. I walked over to his side, and looked._

 _The body that I had made still had the scars on it's face, just like when I had first made it. It had on a black dress that was mid sleeve, and the same boots I wore to Remus's funeral. Inclosed in the hands of the corpse was the replica of my wand._

 _"She looks beautiful," Charlie said as he looked over George's shoulder._

 _"She always was."_

 _"There's no doubt about that."_

 _"She's missing something," George said._

 _He crouched down and waved his wand, and a bouquet of deep red roses sprouted from the end._

 _George picked up the bouquet and laid it next to me._

 _I returned to Harry's side, where he was talking with Andromeda, and looked down at Teddy. Teddy now had inky black hair, and muddy brown eyes._

 _"Did he do that on his own?" Harry asked._

 _Andromeda nodded._

 _"He did it while I was getting him dressed."_

 _George walked over to the two of them, and paused the second he laid eyes on Teddy, who was beaming up at him._

 _"Her eyes," he whispered._

 _Andromeda offered Teddy to George, who gladly took him._

 _I turned, and looked around. Draco and Narcissa were talking to Molly and Arthur. I walked over to them._

 _"She's really gone?" Draco asked, looking at the coffin behind them._

 _"We're truly sorry to intrude," Narcissa said softly. "Lucius doesn't approve of us being here, but Alice was family."_

 _"Of course," Molly said._

 _George, Andromeda, and Harry came over too._

 _"I'm going to go greet the officer," Molly said, looking over to the coffin where the same man who performed Remus's funeral was standing._

 _"We're sorry for you loss," Narcissa said to Harry and George as Molly and Arthur walked away._

 _"Thank you."_

 _"Thank you, Mrs. Malfoy."_

 _The Malfoys moved on, and Luna and Xenophilius Lovegood approached Andromeda, Harry, and George._

 _"Hello Harry, Hello George," Luna said. "We're sorry about Ms. Alice. She was very kind to me in the last several months."_

 _"She liked you very much, Luna," George said. "She said you reminded her of herself."_

 _"I liked her too."_

 _Luna held out a white rose to Harry._

 _"This is for her."_

 _"Thank you, Luna. Perhaps you should put it with her."_

 _Luna drew back her arm and the Lovegoods moved on._

 _Kingsley stepped forward._

 _"Harry, George. I'm sorry about Alice. She was a good person."_

 _"Thank you."_

 _"Did she say why?" Kingsley whispered. "Did she leave a note?"_

 _Harry and George nodded._

 _"She said she couldn't live with what she's done," Harry said._

 _Kingsley shook his head._

 _"Listen, I've been thinking. Given the circumstances that Alice died…."_

 _He trailed off as he tore his eyes away from the coffin._

 _"What is it Kingsley?" Harry asked._

 _"Given the circumstances, I was wondering how you would feel about Alice being listed as a war victim. It was after all the events of the war that drove her to this."_

 _Harry turned and looked at the coffin._

 _"Given the circumstances...I think that's only fitting."_

 _Harry turned back to Kingsley._

 _"Thank you for coming."_

 _"Of course. She was a good friend."_

 _Kingsley stepped away, and Oliver Wood, Angelina Johnson, and Katie Bell stepped up, each pulling Harry and George into a tight hug. When they hugged George, they were cautious of Teddy, but the hug was still tight._

 _"I'm sorry for your loss," Angelina said. "She was amazing. I know how much she meant to you."_

 _"Thank you."_

 _"She's gone," Oliver whispered looking at the coffin. "I almost didn't believe it was true."_

 _Oliver and I had been pretty good friends in Hogwarts. We stayed in touch afterwards up until I went undercover._

 _"I didn't believe it either," Harry said. "I still can't."_

 _"She had a good heart," Katie said, following their eyes to the coffin. "I don't understand why she'd kill herself."_

 _"She couldn't live with what she had to do," Harry's voice cracked. "She did it to keep me safe, but she couldn't live with that she did."_

 _"I thought it had something to do with Professor Lupin," Angelina said._

 _Harry shook his head._

 _"She loved Remus, but this….this had to do with Alice. Like you said, Katie. Alice had a good heart. She couldn't forgive herself for what she did, and this," Harry motioned to the coffin behind him. "This is what Alice had to do."_

 _George began sobbing again, and at the same time, he began to sink to the ground. Andromeda reached for Teddy as Harry and Oliver reached for George._

 _Bill and Charlie came running over too._

 _"Come on George," Bill said. "Let's go get you sitting down. Harry do you have it here?"_

 _Harry nodded, and Bill and Charlie pulled George to the chairs laid out in front of the coffin._

 _"He's not taking this well at all, is he?" Oliver asked._

 _"How can he?" Harry asked, watching the back of George's head. "He's lost Alice and Fred all within a couple weeks."_

 _I walked away from Harry and the group of people, and return to George's side. I crouched down in front of him. He had his face buried in his hands. I reached my hand out, and pressed it to the back of his hand._

 _As I pressed my hand to George's, he moved his hands away from his face and looked around. I moved my hand from his face to his cheek._

 _"Don't cry for me," I said._

 _This is where things differed from the pensive, and differed from my visions. In this, they seemed to be able to tell I was there, if I spoke or if I touched them. George looked around again._

 _"Alice?" he whispered. His head snapped up to the coffin. He rose from his seat, and approached the coffin._

 _"I'm okay, Georgie. Don't cry anymore," I begged._

 _"Come back to me," he sobbed. His voice was still no more than a whisper. "Please, come back to me."_

 _"I can't," I whispered in his ear. "I can't come back."_

 _"Why did you leave me?"_

 _"I did it to protect you, and Harry, and everyone."_

 _"I don't understand," he whispered._

 _"Forgive me," I whispered._

 _George nodded, but he didn't speak._

 _"This is a goodbye for you and Harry. Keep it between you too."_

 _He nodded again._

 _"I love you, Ali."_

 _"I love you too, Georgie."_

 _I reached up and kissed his cheek._

 _"Goodbye, George. Be happy."_

 _I turned away from George, and looked at Harry who stood alone. Minerva, Hagrid, Professors Flitwick, Sprout, and Slughorn, alone with Neville Longbottom and Seamus Finnegan, were moving away from him._

 _I walked to him. He was staring at the ground._

 _"Harry?" I asked quietly. Much like George, Harry's began looking around._

 _"Alice," he breathed. He shook his head and began muttering to himself. "She's not really here, Harry. Snap out of it."_

 _I put a hand on his shoulder._

 _"Harry, I'm so proud of you."_

 _A tear fell down his cheek. I tried to wipe it away, but it didn't work._

 _"Alice," he said again._

 _"You've done a fantastic job," I said._

 _"I miss you," he said. His voice was just as quiet as George's._

 _"I know, Har, but I need you to keep being strong."_

 _He shook his head._  
 _"You were wrong about something you know."_

 _"What?" I asked, moving my hand from his cheek._

 _"I still need you."_

 _"I know, Harry. I had to do this. I had to keep you safe."_

 _"I was already safe!" he growled._

 _"No. You weren't. I know you don't understand now, but I hope you will someday. Just know that I did this to keep you safe, and now you are."_

 _"Will I hear from you again."_

 _I shook my head._

 _"No Harry. I'm here to say goodbye."_

 _"George needs you. I need you."_

 _"I told him goodbye already."_

 _"What about me?"_

 _"Tell this to George, too. Whenever you need me, whenever you miss me, or if you just need someone to talk to, write it in a letter, put the letter in an envelope, and put it somewhere safe. Can you do that for me?"_

 _Harry nodded._

 _"You'll always be my brother. Don't you ever forget that."_

 _"I won't."_

 _"You're going to go far, Harry Potter."_

 _I hugged him tightly, and kissed his cheek._

 _"I love you, Harry."_

 _"I love you too, Alice."_

 _Harry turned to the coffin, and looked around. He quickly headed for George as soon as he spotted him._

 _"George, can I talk to you for a moment?" Harry asked._

 _George nodded, and walked with Harry back to where Harry was when I spoke to him._

 _"What's up, Harry?" George asked, looking back at the coffin. "I think we're going to start in a moment."_

 _"It's going to sound insane, I know it is, but did you hear Alice?"_

 _George nodded._

 _"She came to tell us goodbye."_

 _George's voice sounded empty as he spoke._

 _Harry wiped the tears from his eyes._

 _"She told me to tell you, that if you ever need her, miss her, or just need someone to talk to, to write her a letter, put it in a envelope, and put it somewhere safe."_

 _"She said something about how she did this to protect us."_

 _Harry nodded._

 _"She said the same thing to me."_

 _"We can't tell anybody," Harry said. "This has to stay between us."_

 _George nodded as he looked back at the coffin._

 _"I agree. It's what she wanted."_

 _"George, can I ask you something?" Harry asked, as they were walking back to the crowd who were taking their seats._

 _"Go ahead."_

 _"You liked her didn't you? Alice?"_

 _"In what way?" George asked._

 _"Like she loved Remus."_

 _George sighed._

 _"No that was Fred actually. I did, for a time, but she and Fred….When Remus left her, Fred found her. Fred stayed with her while I went to get Mum. I thought after a while, she fell for him too."_

 _"Did she?"_

 _George shrugged._

 _"I don't think she ever got over Remus. That was her first love."_

 _"Alice never told me about the night Remus left. I only know what she said in the hospital wing the night Snape killed Dumbledore. When he cornered her thinking she was an imposter."_

 _George and Harry were at their seats now._

 _"It's the one story Alice couldn't tell. She only told it once."_

 _George was staring at Fred's grave._

 _The officiator stepped forward, behind the headstone where there was a podium. As he stepped forward, I sat between Harry and George on the ground._

 _Everyone quieted down, and the officiator cleared his throat._

 _"Family and friends, we meet here today, to honor the life of Mary Alice Black. We give our condolences to her family and friends during this time."_

 _George fidgeted in his seat, and Molly laid one of her hands on his._

 _"For Mary Alice, the journey is now beginning. But for us, there is loss, grief and pain. Every one of us here has been affected - perhaps in small ways, or perhaps in transformative ones- by Mary Alice. Her life mattered to us all. "Mary Alice is preceded in death by her mother, Johanna Black, and her father, Sirius Black. She was also preceded in death by godfathers, James Potter and Remus Lupin, godmother, Lily Potter, and close friend Fred Weasley."_

 _He looked down to his notes._

 _"She is survived by godbrothers, Harry Potter and Edward Lupin, as well as close friend George Weasley, and several cousins."_

 _He paused, and looked out to the crowd._

 _"It is important for us to collectively acknowledge and accept that the world has fundamentally changed with her passing. We are all grieving. Life will not be the same - nor should it be. Together, let us open our hearts and commemorate the impact Mary Alice had on us."_  
 _The officiator fell silent for a few moments._

 _"I know welcome Harry Potter to share his thoughts."_

 _Harry rose from his seat, passed me and to the podium where the officiator was stepping down._

 _I stood up and followed._

 _"I didn't think I'd have to speak at another funeral for a long time. The time that I hoped for was cut short. Today I say goodbye to another piece of my family. Today, I say goodbye to my sister, Alice," Harry paused, and looked down to his notecards. "When I was told Alice was dead, I hoped it was a joke. A cruel, and awful joke. But when I saw her, she looked so much more peaceful than I had seen her in almost two years. I knew Alice was struggling. She lost her mother and her father, and then she lost her best friend and someone who she loved very, very much. I don't think I knew just how much she was struggling," he paused but he didn't look at his notes. "I was too caught up in my own pain, that I never realized that she lost people too. She told me she was moving to Italy, and I now wished that was true. I would rather lose my sister that way."_

 _He wiped the tears from his face._

 _"I now want to take this time to remember Alice for who she was when she was alive," Harry said, looking down at his hands, and tried blinking the tears away. "Alice saw the good in almost everybody, and gave everyone second chances. She put her own life at risk to make sure that this world was safer for all of us. She was intelligent, and brave, and she made the best out of everything. Alice was the type of person that showed you that you are not your name, and you are not your house."_

 _He sniffled again, and for the first time since he had began speaking, he looked directly at the face in the coffin._

 _"We can't change the past. We can only dream of what could've happened. I know that if I could go back, I would make sure Alice knew how much she was loved, and how much she meant to everyone. I will miss and think of Alice everyday. She will forever remain in my heart."_

 _Harry stepped down from the podium and as everyone applauded behind him, he stepped up to the coffin and dropped to pictures inside._

 _The first was of Harry and I on Christmas before Dad died. We were laughing, at Fred behind the camera. The second one was of Dad and I a couple days before he died. He had me in a tight hug, and as he let me go, Remus stepped into the picture, kissing my temple._

 _Harry returned to his seat, and the officiator stepped forward again._  
 _"We now invite Mary Alice's close friend, George Weasley to speak."_

 _He stepped down again, and as George stood, Harry laid a supportive hand on his shoulder._

 _George stepped up, and like Harry, I stepped by him side as he cleared his throat._

 _"Alice Black was an amazing person. She was talented, smart, kind, forgiving, and so much more. She's been my best friend for eleven years, and she has supported me so much over the years." George broke off as his voice began to shake. "At the end of her life, Alice's biggest problem was that she believed she wasn't loved, and that she wasn't worth it. Seeing you all here today helped me to prove her wrong."_

 _He gave a small smile to the people in front of him. From the back, Hagrid's sobs broke through the crowd that caused George's tears to return._

 _"Alice meant everything to me. I could never imagine my life without her. Since I've gotten the news, I've found it harder and harder to believe that she's gone. It's hard to believe I will never hear her voice, or hear her laugh," George broke off again and quickly wiped the tears from his eyes. "Alice and I were both grieving. She was grieving the loss of her mother, father, and Remus. Together we grieved the loss of Fred. I hoped that we would be able to get through it together. I now would like to think that Alice and Fred have found each other. Alice is no longer suffering, and she can be happy again. The one thing I wish is that she has spoken up. If she had actually moved to Italy, I would have gone with her so she wouldn't have to be alone. If she asked me to stay here, I would have. Like Harry said, I could lose Alice that way. This way will always be harder. For me, for her friends, and for everyone. Like everyone else, Alice will live on in our memories."_

 _George stepped off of the podium, and stepped down to the coffin. He stared inside for a moment, before dropping in the picture he had grabbed off of his desk before leaving the Burrow._

 _As he took his seat again, the officiator stepped forward again._

 _"We have been remembering, with love and gratitude, a life that touched us all. Remember to appreciate each day and to live it to the full in honor of Mary Alice Black. We often take life for granted and yet it is the greatest gift we have."_

 _The officiator stepped down, and Molly rose from her seat, and moved to the foot of the coffin._

 _"Will everyone please rise, and draw your wands?"_

 _Everyone stood, wand in hand._

 _"We want to take a moment to remember all the lives lost in the war," Molly said, loudly and clearly. "Please join me, in raising our wands, as a tribute to our fallen."_

 _Molly raised her wand, followed by Harry, then George. Soon enough, everyone, including the officiator, had their wand raised to the sky._

I could feel myself being pulled from the place. My time here was up.

My eyes fluttered open, and the room was dark now. I didn't sit up, and I didn't move.

The dryness in my eyes returned and my throat tightened.

No matter how hard I tried to fight it, a sob broke through my lips, alerting Helen and Tobias that I was back.

"Alice?" Tobias asked worriedly. "Alice what is it?"

Tobias was at my side in a flash, untangling me from my blanket.

"Where did you go?" Helen asked.

"My funeral," I said. "They could hear me."

"What do you mean?"

"If I focused, they could hear me when I spoke to them, and they could feel if I touched them."

"Who'd you speak to?"

"George and Harry. I told them goodbye."

Helen and Tobias looked at each other, and Tobias pulled me into a hug.

"They're going to be okay, Alice. I promise you," he said.

"I know they are," I said.

Helen and Tobias didn't leave my side for the rest of the night. I rewrapped myself in my blanket and Tobias pulled out my photo albums and asked me to tell them the story behind each picture.

"Things will be better soon," Helen said. "They'll be safe and you'll be happy."

* * *

 **Okay, here's chapter eight! So with Harry and George, because this was the last year Alice could jump to their present, I wanted Alice to be able to say goodbye on her own. I hope you're enjoying the chapters, and this isn't the end of the wizard world.**

 **Follow, Favorite, Review:)(:**


	9. Jasper Whitlock

**A/N: Hey guys! I figured I'd let you know, that this is a very long chapter. I wanted to give more background on Alice's life before the war, so as you can see by the title, she meets Jasper, and then she tells him her story. So you get to learn more about her history, which causes the chapter to be long. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _"If you love them, and they love you they will always find you." ~Mary Margaret Blanchard (Snow White), Once Upon a Time_

* * *

Chapter 9- Jasper Whitlock

I spent the next day in the motel room, drawing out a sketch of the diner where I was supposed to meet Jasper.

"It's not that far from here," Tobias said, looking at a map of the city. "Just a few streets over."

I closed my eyes, and focused on Jasper.

He wasn't in Pennsylvania yet. He was a couple states west, but I was certain he would make it here in the two days he had left.

The day before Jasper and I were due to meet, Helen took me shopping to get new clothes.

"I don't have anything against your old clothes," she said as we walked to a nearby store. "They just don't exactly fit this time frame, and not many people wear cloaks in this time."

I chuckled.

"I didn't think so."

We spent a good portion of the day in that shop. She bought me three new dresses, all long sleeved, a couple coats that resembled my cloaks, and she also got me several pairs of pants and shirts.

Along with the new clothes, she got me two new bags to sort my stuff into.

"This should hold you out until you meet us again."

I nodded.

"Thank you for this, Helen. It means a lot."

"Of course. It's what friends are for. Besides, if you have clothes that aren't in style for another fifty years, people are going to get suspicious."

I laughed.

"You're right about that."

The walk back to the hotel was quicker than the walk to the retail store.

"How was it?" Tobias asked as we stepped inside the room.

"We got her covered for a while."

"I am still able to wear my old clothes, right?" I asked, looking between the two.

Tobias turned to Helen.

"I think it should be okay for days that you're not going anywhere or if you're traveling. Perhaps it's not the best thing to wear if you're going to be in public for a long time though."

I nodded.

"That sounds reasonable enough."

"When you come to stay with us, you wore some of your older clothes," Tobias said. "You didn't leave very often."

"Was there any reason why?"

They shook their heads.

"New York isn't always cloudy," Helen said. "We're inside most of the time too."

I thought for a moment.

"Perhaps some of the clothes I can't pass off for this time can be used for when I go hunting."

I emptied out my bag onto the bed as I started to sort clothes from books, and books from my potions and potion making stuff. Tobias started looking at the potions that were lined up on the table while Helen helped me organize everything from my bag.

"You can take that Brothers Grimm book if you'd like," Helen said. "Seems like you could use a book that's a touch more….normal."

"Thank you," I said, as I started putting the books into one of the new bags.

"So what are you going to do with all the potions you can't use anymore?"

He pointed to the couple vials of sleeping potions on the table.

"Depending on the quality, you can sell them," I said, glancing up at him. "Maybe I can convince Jasper to go to Massachusetts. That's where the American wizarding school is, and I'm pretty sure there is the equivalent to Diagon Alley there. Ilvermorny I'm pretty sure it's called."

"So you're going to sell them?"

I nodded.

"I haven't used most of them. Just kept them around in case they were needed."

"How did you sleep after the war ended?"

"I stayed awake until I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I worked on a book of memories for Teddy, and I was straightening up the house to get everything in order for when I….you know."

They were quiet for a few moments. I paused as I reached for the camera.

"Hey you guys?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I could get a picture of the two of you? I think it's be a great start to the photo album."

The two of them smiled.

"Of course."

Tobias returned to his spot next to Helen and put his arms around her. They both grinned at me as I put the viewfinder to my eye.

As soon as I snapped the picture, the long sheet of picture paper slid out.

I grabbed the picture from my lap and moved to the floor, grabbing the developing solution from the bedside table.

I pulled the cork off the top and reached inside for the dropper. Helen and Tobias watched curiously.

"You always did your pictures in private," Helen said as I began coating the picture in the potion.

"You've known me for how long?"

They looked at each other.

"About six months, I guess."

"You've known me for less than a year, yet you trust me. Why?"

"Tell me something," Tobias said, sitting on the floor in front of me. "Name a friend of yours besides the Weasleys, Remus, Harry, Hermione….the typical people you tell in your story."

I thought for a moment.

"Oliver Wood," I said. "We were pretty good friends in school. We kept in touch after school until I joined the Death Eaters."

"How old were you when you became friends?"

"Twelve. We met when we were eleven, but didn't become friends until we started playing Quidditch the year after."

"When you became friends, did you trust him?"

"Maybe not with my deepest, darkest secrets."

"But did you trust him?"

"Yes, I did."

"Well it's kind of like that for us. We've known you for six months. You knew us for a year. Even when we didn't know you, we felt like we could trust you," Helen said.

"Time travel is a funny thing," I said.

Helen grinned.

"It certainly is."

"Could you time travel in your human life?"

"Not in the same way that I can now."

I looked at her curiously.

"What I could do….it was kind of like your gift, but reverse."

"How so?"

"I saw visions, of the past. I could think of a time and a place and I saw any event that I wanted for as long as I wanted."

"What made it turn into traveling through time physically?"

"I don't exactly know."

"Can I asked another question?" I asked as I grabbed the box of gifts from Helen and Tobias off the bed, and for my wand from the nightstand.

"Go ahead."

"Well it's two really."

"Ask away. It's what we're here for."

"Okay, so the first, does every vampire have the extra gifts?"

They shook their head.

"No. We told you before we changed you. Only a selected few. Jasper has one too, but I want to see if you can figure it out for yourself."

Helen laughed as I paused.

"I hope that wasn't your second question," she said, with a grin from ear to ear.

I shook my head.

"No, no, no. It's not."

"Then out with it," Tobias said, with a grin as wide as Helen's.

"Those who have gifts….how do we get them, and why are they so specific?"

"Well nobody knows how we get them, but there's this theory about why we have them. Some believe that we take our strongest qualities from our human lives, into our new lives."

"So how would you explain somebody like Tobias? The closest thing I've heard to memory alteration in the human world is the Memory Charm. But as far as I'm aware, you're not a wizard."

Tobias laughed.

"You're right. I'm not a wizard. In my human life, I was very….manipulative. It came in handy at times that I needed it most."

"Hmmm," I paused, and looked down. The picture of Helen and Tobias was still sitting on the floor. I opened the box and pulled out the scrapbook. I opened it to the first page and places the picture at the very top against the corner of the page. I quickly casted a Permanent Sticking Charm on the picture and placed my wand back on the table. "So your manipulation turned into being able to change, replace, and destroy memories. Helen's visions of the past turned into time travel backwards and forwards in time."

"In theory, yes."

"How did yours change, Alice?" Tobias asked me.

"My visions are clearer. I can pick up on smaller details. My magic is a lot more powerful, and a lot more easier to perform….I can still change into my Animagus form, right? I can part with the Apparition. I didn't like it much anyhow. My Animagus form, it makes me feel….free."

They both smiled.

"We told you in the beginning. You still have that ability," Tobias said.

I turned to the nightstand behind me and grabbed my quill and ink.

Under the picture I wrote: Helen and Tobias Blanchett (June 25, 1948).

I thought more of my Animagus form. It was the same form as my father's. A large black dog. Like the Grimm. The difference between mine and my father's Animagus form, is that I was slightly smaller, and I was less shaggy. I kept my hair shorter once I became an Animagus. Usually in the pixie cut that I had now.

"I suppose you would have seen it in the past six months?"

They nodded.

I beamed and stood. The two both slid out of the way as I walked passed them. I looked around the room, making sure all windows were closed, and stepped back to the furthest wall.

I focused on my animagus form, and more quickly than any other time in my life, I was morphing into the form of a large dog.

I decided to stay in this form for a while, running back and forth in the room as Helen and Tobias watched me. The pair laughed as I bounded through the room, jumping from one end of the bed to the other.

I jumped back to my spot and shifted back.

"Are you content?" Helen asked, grinning.

I nodded.

"It feels wonderful."

I looked at the photo album on the bed. The picture was now moving. Helen and Tobias looked at each other before looking at the camera.

"And there we go," I said, showing them the picture. "First picture down."

I spent the rest of the night reorganizing everything, and placing it in my bag, and in the early hours of the next morning, the rain started. It started as nothing more than a drizzle.

"How do you keep those potion bottles from breaking?" Tobias asked as I put them back into their original spots.

"Charms."

I looked at the clock. It was a little bit after three in the morning.

"Maybe I should get dressed," I said, looking at the clothes I had laid out at the foot of my bed. It was a long sleeved knee length dress, tights, and the same strappy ballet flats I wore quite often.

"Go ahead," Helen said.

I pulled the clothes off the bed and headed straight for the bathroom.

The dress showed some of the scars on my shoulders, but it covered up the Dark Mark, and that was enough for me.

I returned to the room, and slipped into one of my new coats.

"We've still have another six hours before we have to leave," Helen said, watching me as she sat on the other bed with a book in her hands. "You don't have to be fully ready now."

"She doesn't have her shoes on yet. She's not completely ready," Tobias teased.

When I didn't answer, they looked at me cautiously.

"Alice, are you okay?" Helen asked, closing the book and moving across the room to where she was sitting across from me.

"I'm just nervous," I said.  
"What's there to be nervous about?" Tobias asked. "He's going to love you. You know that."

"From what you've told me, yes I do know that Jasper is going to love me, but there's everything in the world to be nervous about."

"Tell me what makes you nervous about it," Tobias said. "It may make you feel better."

"The only person I've ever dated I knew for seventeen years before dating. We dated for two years, then the same night my father dies, he leaves me, and then marries my cousin."

"Well we can assure you that Jasper isn't going to marry your cousin," Tobias said with a grin.

Helen hit his arm, and turned back to me.

"Alice, Jasper loves you. He's not going to leave you. We told you in the beginning. This is different than you and Remus. Jasper is your soulmate."

"What else worries you?"

I looked down at my arm. It was covered by the dress sleeve and the jacket sleeve.

"What if he can't accept the awful things I've done?"

"Alice, keep in mind, he does currently drink human blood."

"Still," I said, frustrated. "I killed just to kill. He kills because he has to!"

"Alice," Helen said, taking my wrists. "I need you to calm down. Can you please do that?"

I took a deep breath in.

"I'm sorry," I said, burying my face in my hands. "I just….I don't want to mess this up."

"You're not going to mess this up."

"Can you tell me something about Jasper?"

"What do you want to know?"

"The magic….how does he respond to it?"

"He loves it," Helen said smiling. "He says it's what makes you so special."

I sighed.

"I don't think I've ever been this nervous in my life."

"Not even when joining the Death Eaters?"

I laughed.

"Not even when I joined the Death Eaters."

"Hey Alice?"

"Hmm?"

"What's Voldemort doing right now? Like is he dangerous now?"

I nodded.

"He finished Hogwarts about three years ago. He's already made a couple of his Horcruxes."

"When does he rise to power?"

"Around 1950. Right now, it's kind of a calm between wars."

"War? I thought the first war didn't start until 1970."

"It doesn't. But only three years ago, Dumbledore defeated another dark wizard. Gellert Grindelwald."

"You mean Dumbledore killed him?"

I shook my head.

"Voldemort killed him in March of 1998."

"So where's Grindelwald now?"

"Numengard."

"What's that?"

"It's a prison that Grindelwald built. After Dumbledore defeated him, he was sent there."

"You learn all of this stuff in Hogwarts?"

I shook my head.

"I learned it all through books."

I pulled my bag into my lap and opened it up, opening the bag of books.

"Have you not read all the books I had?"

They shook their heads.

"No. Jasper has a thing for history, so at any given chance, he was reading all the history books."

I laughed.

"Would you like to read one?"

"I would like to hear more about this Grindelwald, but I suppose you could tell me everything that I could read in there," Helen said, pointing to the book.

To pass the time, I told them the story of Grindelwald, his rise to power and his downfall. I told them about the duel that ended Dumbledore and Grindelwald friendship, and the death of Ariana Dumbledore.

"Who would you say is worse? Voldemort or Grindelwald?" Tobias asked as I finished the story.

I thought about it for a moment.

"I'd say Grindelwald. Voldemort has done horrible things and he was very powerful, don't get me wrong, but Grindelwald was more skilled."

"So if they dueled each other—"

"Grindelwald would win."

We all looked at the clock. It was nearing eight in the morning.

We sat in silence for a moment, and then Helen handed me a small piece of lined paper.

"This is for you," she said.

I looked at the paper, and an address located in Manhattan, New York.

"It's how you'll find us in a year," Tobias said.

"Thank you," I said. I pulled out the photo album that laid on the top of my pile with the camera, and tucked it inside the front cover. "Thank you for everything."

"Of course."

"Be careful, when you go to find James."  
"We have a good idea of where he is, so it should be quick."

"How did you find him?"

"When Tobias was trying to find you in Ottery St. Catchpole, I was tracking a scent I had found. The two of them were in an alley in London, trying to figure out how to lure you out."

"I still don't understand. How did James find me?"

"They were in England, trying to find someone who would strengthen their coven. They came across your sent in the home of a husband and wife who had been murdered, but not found."

"Two weeks before the end of the war, I was called away from Hogwarts. Voldemort wanted to make sure my loyalty was still with him," I said, recalling the Muggles they had to be referring to. "He brought me there to kill them because he thought that if I was loyal to Harry, I wouldn't kill innocent people."

"James caught your scent there. He started following you."

"Why wait for three weeks after he caught me?"

"Because from the way they talk, he didn't pick up your scent until two weeks after the final battle. I suppose you Apparated away from there?"

I nodded.

"I Apparated to Malfoy Manor, and then used to Floo Network to the castle."

"And you don't go into Muggle London often?"

I shook my head.

"He had to of picked up your scent somewhere along the lines."

"I saw flickers of me dying after the war," I said. "I didn't understand it until now. I didn't understand why they were flickers when I had already made the decision to die."

"Do you understand them now?"

I nodded.

"It wasn't me making that decision. I couldn't see who was behind it. I couldn't see vampires until I became one, so I couldn't see anything other than me being dead."

We sat there for a while longer, talking about various subjects until we were down to ten minutes until check out. At that time, my excitement grew.

"Do you have everything?" Tobias asked Helen and I, looking around the room.

I nodded. Everything was placed back in my bag, and my wand was in its holster on my right arm.

"I think we're good to go," Helen said.

"Then let's go."

I swung my bag over my head, adjusting it on my side, and followed Helen and Tobias out the door.

My excitement grew, and the more it grew, the more my impatience grew as Tobias checked out of the hotel.

"Be patient, Alice," Helen said, patting my back as I tapped my foot. We were standing under the outside roof of the motel's office as the rain poured outside. "He's almost done. Then we will get going to Delphi's."

Sure enough, Tobias came out of the office a couple minutes later.

"Are you ready?" Tobias asked putting up an umbrella.

"Of course. Are we running?"

They nodded.  
"It's going to attract too much attention to ourselves if we're walking," Helen said.

Tobias led the way, darting in the same direction he had shown me on the map.

It took only a couple minutes to get to the diner, and all three of us were had rain dripping from our hair.

"In you go," Tobias said, holding the door open for Helen and I. I stepped inside quickly with the other two behind me.

"We'll be right over here," Helen said, pointing to the booth I saw them at in my vision.

"Thank you again," I said, hugging both of them. "I know I can trust you to keep them safe."

"Of course," Tobias said. "Don't worry about anything. We've got this."

I stepped back and smiled.

"Remember," Helen said. "In a year, come see us. Just keep in mind, we won't know who you are."

I nodded.

"I look forward to it."

"Are you going to be okay?" Helen asked looking at my eyes. They were somewhere between red and black.

I nodded.

"It doesn't bother me."

"You still have two more bags left," Tobias said.

"I don't want them."

"Well I suppose it would be a good idea to start hunting."

I chuckled, and looked at the clock.

"I expect he'll be here soon."

"Go now, Alice. We're going to wait the storm out, then we'll be heading out."

Each gave me another hug, then turned away and walked to the back of the restaurant, and I took my seat at the high stool.

"Welcome to Delphi's," the waitress said, laying a menu in front of me. She was about middle aged, and she was very enthusiastic. "Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?"

"Not just yet. I'm waiting for someone," I said, smiling warmly at her.

"You're not from around here," she stated.

I shook my head.

"No. I moved here not too long ago."

"The person you're meeting, is it an old friend?"

I nodded.

"I'll come back in a little while."

"Thank you, Ma'am."

She smiled at me as she moved down the line, refilling someone's cup with coffee.

The food that surrounded me didn't smell appetizing, and by looking at the menu, it was stuff I used to eat frequently. Even the coffee, that I had drank every morning since I was fifteen, smelt horrible.

"Are you doing okay, Alice?" Tobias asked. His voice was quiet, and when I glanced at them, they were both bent over menus.

"I'm doing fine."

"You may have to order something to keep from looking to suspicious," Helen said.

"I want to wait until he comes," I said.

Tobias met my eyes for a moment, then looked away.

I waited for almost ten minutes before glancing up at the clock.

I looked down at the newspaper that had been left beside me.

Like in the vision, it read June 26, 1948.

"When will he come?" I muttered under my breath.

I looked up and met Helen's eyes before we both looked away.

"Soon, Alice," she said. "Be patient."

The waitress walked back to me.

"Can I get you anything while you wait?"

I shook my head.

"Not just yet, thanks," I said.

Suddenly it clicked that this was the conversation I was supposed to have before Jasper came.

As I looked over to Helen and Tobias, the door opened behind me. The two of them grinned as I spun around in my chair.

"Jasper!" I said, excitedly and I slipped out of my chair. I walked quickly to him. "You're finally here! You've kept my waiting for a long time."

He looked down at me bewildered, but nevertheless ducked his head.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am."

I beamed up at him.

"I'm Mary Alice Black, but please call me Alice," I added a touch quieter.

"Nice to meet you, Alice. I'm Jasper Whitlock. From the looks of it though, you seem to know that already."

I held out my hand to him, and he looked down at it hesitantly before taking it.

I walked with him to a booth a couple spots in front of Helen and Tobias.

I took the seat facing them, and he took the seat with his back to them. The waitress came back with a large grin on her face. Jasper was still holding onto my hand, and his grip tightened and he tensed as she set a menu in front of us both.

"I see your friend finally came."

I nodded.

"He did."

"I'll give him a second to look at the menu, and then I'll be back."

She gave Jasper a smile and turned away from us.

"Sorry about that," he said, dropping my hand.

My smile grew as I shook my head.

"That's alright. I expect we better order something before we draw too much attention to ourselves. "

He nodded and looked down at the menu.

"I don't mean to be rude, but how is it that you know who I am, and where to find me?"

I laughed.

"Well I saw you coming. But my creators helped me find you."

"I know your creators?"

"No. Not yet. But you will."

"I'm sorry," he said again putting the menu down. "I don't think I follow."

"I'll explain in a moment," I said quickly and quietly, "but the waitress will be returning in a moment."

Sure enough, the waitress came back us with her notepad ready.

"Alrighty," she said, looking between the two of us. "What can I get for you today?"

"Just a coffee," I said.

"I'll have what she's having," Jasper said quietly.

"I'll be right back with that."

I nodded and flipped open my bag. I opened the envelope that laid on the top with my camera and the photo album and pulled out a couple dollar bills.

"Now, can you please explain to me what you meant?"

I nodded.

"Well as far as me seeing you coming, it's my gift."

"You're a tracker?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"I see the future. In visions. But they're very subjective."

"How so?" he demanded.

"I can only see things based on decisions that people have made. I don't see the reasons behind them, only the possible outcomes of that choice. You were a part of my future, and I saw you coming to Philadelphia."

"So where do your creators come in? How long have you been looking for me?"

"Well I've been looking for you for the same amount of time that I've been a vampire, which is seven days."

I paused as the waitress set down our cups of coffee.

"Thank you very much," I said.

"No problem," she said grinning. "If you need anything else, just holler."

She turned away from us, and I glanced over to Helen and Tobias. Tobias had moved from one side of the table to the other, and the two looked to be talking quietly. Helen, who was facing me, was smiling.

"Now, back to your creators," Jasper said, reclaiming my attention.

"Right," I said, reaching for the sugar. "Well. See when I met Helen and Tobias, they already knew us, and had for quite some time."

"You've lost me again."

"Well Helen is a time traveler. She met us a year from now, and then she and Tobias came to 1998 where they changed me."

"1998," Jasper said, with wide eyes.

I nodded.

"When were you born?"

"1976."

He shook his head.

"That's not possible."

"But it is. If we exist, why shouldn't time travel?"

His eyes met mine.

"You've got me there. But why bring you back to 1948?"

"Because that's when I was destined to meet you."

"What about your family?" Jasper asked. "I'm sure they're worried sick.

I looked down at my cup.

"They're not actually. They think I'm dead."

When I met his eyes again, they were soft.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know."

"That's alright," I said, smiling. "It was the only way to keep them safe."

"Safe from what?"

"From a tracker called James. He had picked up my scent and to try and lure me out, he was going to kill my family."

"So let me get this straight," he said, watching me carefully. "You were born in 1976, and in 1998, a vampire starts tracking you, and to save your family you turned into a vampire and came back to 1948 to meet me?"

I nodded.

"How does that keep him from killing your family?"

"Well that's where Tobias comes in. See his gift is memory altercation. He can replace, alter, or destroy any memory he wants. So I created a story for them to replace. Putting me here fit that time line from that story."

I stopped and gave Jasper a moment to process everything.

"Can I asked a follow up question?"

I nodded.

"Go ahead. Ask anything you'd like."

"How did you keep escaping him? If he was tracking your scent, he should've came across a new one."

"Well that's because I disappeared from the place where he caught my scent."

"You've lost me again. A human can't just disappear from a spot without a vampire catching their scent."

I grinned up at him.

"They can if they can Apparate."

His eyes narrowed.

"Is anything you're telling me true?"

My smile fell as I nodded.

"Let me explain. See in my human life, I was a witch. Apparition is where you can teleport to a desired place."

"Witch," he repeated. His eyes didn't soften. "So let me guess. You have a wand?"

I nodded and slipped my right arm out of my jacket, and pulled up the sleeve to reveal the holster. I pulled it up so he could see most of it then slipped it back down.

"I can prove it to you if you'd like," I said. "I understand this can be hard to believe."

"Please do."

I pulled my jacket back over my arm, and flipped open my bag. I reached inside to pull out my photo album.

"That's a very interesting bag you have there," he said.

"I'd say so," I said, placing the book on the table and sliding it to him.

He flipped open the book, and looked at the picture on the page. His eyes widened as the picture moved. He snapped the book closed again.

"I can show you more. But not here."

"Of course."

I looked outside.

"The rain should lighten soon. Then I can show you more."

"Can you show me the Apparition?"

I shook my head.

"I can't Apparate anymore. But I can still take my Animagus form."

"What's that?"

My smile returned as his eyes softened.

"An Animagus is a witch or wizard who can turn into an animal at will."

"What animal do you turn into?"

I smiled as I looked down at my cup. I brought it up to my face to hide my grin.  
"Why are you nervous?"

I looked up at him with amazement.

"How did you know that?"

"Like you and your creators, I have a gift. I can feel what you're feeling, and I can change how you feel."

I looked at him curiously.

"I can prove it if you'd like," he teased, tilting his head to the side as he grinned.

"Please do," I said. Grinning at him.

"You feel happy, and nervous. But you also feel love."

I looked down at my cup again.

"Now you're just nervous," he said, putting a finger under my chin, and pushing my face up to his. "Why?"

"According to Helen and Tobias, we're soulmates. But I wanted you to get to know me first before I told you."

"It's okay," he said softly.

Suddenly I wasn't nervous anymore. I felt happiness and love.

I looked up to him and smiled.

"I want to get to know you first," Jasper said. "But I do feel it too."

I grinned at him.

He dropped his hand from my chin and brought the cup of coffee to him mouth. As he took a drink, he wrinkled his nose.

"Does it taste as bad as it smells?"

"Take a drink," he said.

I sipped the coffee, and immediately wrinkled my nose.

"That's not very good is it?" I asked. "I used to love coffee."

"What about tea?" he asked, grinning.

I laughed.

"I was never big on tea."

We sat quietly for a moment.

"You never answered my question," he said.

"Oh about my animagus form?"

He nodded.

"I turn into a large black dog."

"How big?"

"On all fours, I'd say about five feet and five inches."

"You're not that tall in your human form are you?" he asked grinning.

I laughed and shook my head.

"Nope. I'm only 4'10.'' I've been this height since I was fifteen. I take the same Animagus form as my father, and he is a touch larger than I am."

"How tall is his form."

"I'd say his form was about 5'9'' give or take a few inches."

"Was?"

I nodded.

"He was killed about two years before I was changed."

"I'm sorry," he said. "That must of been hard for your mother."

I shook my head.

"She died when I was four."

"If you don't mind me asking, how?"

"She was killed."

He looked at me with wide eyes.

"Both your parents were murdered?"

I nodded.

"I will tell my story when we leave here," I said, looking down at the cup. "Forgive me, but this probably isn't the best place."

"Of course."

About fifteen minutes later, we both finished our coffee, laughing when the other wrinkled their nose. It took another five for the rain to lighten up.

"I'll go pay the bill," I said. "Then we can go."

I put my bag over my shoulder, and walked with the bills in hand to the counter.

"What can I do for you?" the waitress asked smiling at me. "Can I get you and your friend more coffee?"

"No thank you. I'd like to pay the bill please."

She nodded as she gave me the bill. I gave her the money that I had in my hand.

"Ma'am, this is more than you owe."

"One dollar goes to the bill, and the rest is your tip."

"Thank you!" she said looking at me with wide eyes.

"It's no problem," I said, giving her a smile as I turned away from her. "Have a good day."

"Same to you."

I approached the table, and held a hand out to Jasper.

"Walk with me?" I asked. He took my hand, and over his arm, I saw Helen and Tobias grinning at me.

I gave a small wave as Jasper led me to the door.

"Where to?" Jasper asked, not letting go of my hand.

"How about a motel? This might be easier to do in private."

"There are a couple nearby."

We walked to a nearby motel, that was closer than the one I had been at this morning.

Jasper stayed outside as I went in, and filled out the information for the room, and I decided to go ahead and pay for it while I was in there.

"Follow me," I said, leading him to our room on the far side of the lot.

"For a newborn, you have an amazing amount of self control."

"There's something I'd like to talk about late if you don't mind. It may have some explanation to that. I'd like to get through my story first if that's alright."

"Of course."

I slipped off my jacket, and laid it on the bed next to me. I took a spot at the headboard. Jasper sat across from me.

"Where should I start?"

"How about from the beginning?"

"Are you sure about that?" I asked, smiling. "I have almost twenty to tell you about."

"We have time."

"Alright then. I was born on June 20, 1976. My parents were Sirius and Johanna Black, and they had me when they were only sixteen."

"Sixteen?"

I nodded.

"What was funny, was my mother hated my father until she had a falling out with one of her friends, and she fell in love with him not long after."

"Please. Go on."

"I was born the summer before they entered their sixth year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

"They have a school for magic?"

I nodded.

"Did you go?"

"When I turned eleven. But that comes later in my story."

"Please. Go on."

"I spent the school year of my parents last two years bouncing between teachers. I spent the most time with the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore."

"What about in the evenings?"

"They had a special place in Gryffindor tower that was their own."

"Gryffindor tower?"

"All in due time. Now when I was born, we were in the middle of the First Wizarding War. It had began six years prior to my birth."

"Who were you at war with?"

"A dark wizard called Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters. Now when my parent graduated, they immediately joined the Order of the Phoenix. This was a society Dumbledore created to defeat Voldemort. It was formed in 1970. They joined with my godfathers, Remus Lupin and James Potter, and my godmother, Lily. James and Lily got married not long after they graduated from Hogwarts, and in May of 1981, my mother was killed by Death Eaters. James and Lily had been marked for death by Voldemort. There was a prophecy that predicted the downfall of Voldemort. The person who would bring him to his downfall was the Potters son. My godbrother, Harry. So the Potters went into hiding."

I paused and opened my bag. From there, I pulled out the bag with my books, and opened it up dug through it, and pulled out my photo album.

I opened it to the first page, and gave it to Jasper.

"That my mother and my father," I said, then flipped the page to a picture of my parents with James, Lily, Remus, and Peter Pettigrew. "That's Remus, James, Lily, and that, is another one of my father's friends. Peter Pettigrew."

"I'm sorry, but what does any of this have to do with your mother's murder?"

"When the Potters went into hiding, they were protected under the Fidelius Charm, and my father was their Secret-Keeper. Voldemort knew they would choose my father, so he sent people to find him, so they could get the information on the Potters. I saw them coming, but my father didn't believe me. He didn't want to believe this vision. Then again, he never wanted to believe my visions."

"Why did they kill your mother?"

"He was going to see James and Lily that night. I tried telling him and Mum what I saw. Dad told me 'Alice, please don't worry your mother any further with these silly stories. I'm going to be okay tonight,' and then he left. The Death Eaters came to the house, and my mother hid me."

I looked down at our hands. I had his hand enclosed with both of mine, all though I never remembered taking his hand.

"They tried asking her where he was, and she said that I saw them coming, so he took me and ran. They killed Mum because they couldn't kill Dad or me."

"That was a brave thing to do," Jasper said.

"That's why she was in Gryffindor. But I will explain to you all that in a moment."

He nodded, and moved next to me.

"So what happened next?" he asked, as I leaned back and looked up to him.

"Halloween of 1981. I didn't go trick-or-treating that year, but Remus came over to see me and see how Dad was holding up. I was on the floor, and I had a vision of a man going to the Potter house. Dad figured he'd go check it out and Remus stayed with me."

I paused and looked up at him. Jasper was watching me closely.

"The man I saw was Lord Voldemort. He used the Killing Curse, the same curse that my cousin Bellatrix used to kill my mother, and killed Lily and James. But that night, history was made. When he went to kill one year old, Harry, the spell rebounded. Harry was and still remains to be the only person who has ever survived the Killing Curse."

"Your cousin killed your mother?" he asked, looking at me with disbelief as he looked down to the picture of my parents.

I nodded.

"Yes. But the night that James and Lily died, the war ended. Voldemort was gone. As far as anybody knew, he was dead."

"What happened to Harry?"

"Well James was one of my godfathers, and Dad was Harry's godfather. So naturally Dad tried taking Harry. Dumbledore told Dad that Harry had to go live with Lily's sister Muggle sister, Petunia and her husband Vernon Dursley."

"Muggle?"

"Non-magic people."  
"Am I a Muggle?"

I nodded.

"But that night, was also the night I lost my father."

"I thought you said he died two years before you were changed."

"He did, but if you listen, you will understand."

He chuckled as I smiled up at him.

"See, what nobody knew was that Dad had convinced James and Lily to change their Secret-Keeper to Peter Pettigrew. He knew that everyone would expect Dad to be their Secret-Keeper. So they changed it, and they didn't tell anyone. That's why the Death Eater's came for Dad the night Mum died."

"I don't get it," Jasper said. "What is the purpose of a Secret-Keeper?"

"When the Fidelius Charm is casted on a place, nobody can find it unless the Secret-Keeper tells that person directly. So when they changed the Secret-Keeper to Peter Pettigrew, Pettigrew went and told Voldemort the location of the Potters. The night James and Lily died, Dad went after Pettigrew. He was going to make him pay for what he'd done. Pettigrew knew Dad would come for him, and when Dad finally found him, Pettigrew yelled that Dad betrayed the Potters, blew up a street with a Blasting Curse that killed twelve Muggles, then faked his own death by cutting off his finger, and transformed into his Animagus form."

"What was his Animagus form?"

"Well Dad, James, and Pettigrew were all Animagi. Dad was the same form as me, a large black dog, James was a stag, and Pettigrew was a rat. Which rightfully fit him."

"So it made his escape easy?"

I nodded.

"And through the memories of the Muggle witnesses, Dad was arrested on the charges of killing twelve Muggles, Peter Pettigrew, and as an accessory to the murder of James and Lily. All of this got him sent to Azkaban."

"Azkaban?"

"Wizarding prison."

"What happened to you?"

"I went to live with Remus."

"What was that like?"

"Well I was over the moon with joy. Remus was one of my favorite people in the entire world. But every once a month, I was sent to stay with the Weasley family."

"Why?"

I laughed.

"Remus was kind of a werewolf."

"Kind of a werewolf?" Jasper said with wide eyes. "How is somebody kind of a werewolf?"

"Okay, so he was a werewolf," I said. "But to keep me safe, I went to stay with the Weasley family once a month. Which it wasn't a bad thing. I met my two best friends there, although we didn't become friends until I was nine. They were seven."

I let go of his hand and flipped the page to the picture of Fred, George, and I.

"That's Fred, and that's George."

"How did you tell them apart?"

"I don't know," I said. "For the longest time, I just guessed, and usually I was right. I was the one person who they couldn't trick."

I smiled at Jasper.

"You all seem really close," he said as Fred and George kissed my cheek.

"We were. They were my best friends in the whole world. Nothing could separate us."

He smiled as I continued my story.

"Now let me tell you about Hogwarts, cause that's where we are in our story."

"Okay. Let's hear about it."

"Okay, so when you're eleven, you get a letter, inviting you to come to Hogwarts. You leave on September first, come home for Christmas, then come back a couple days after New Years. We get two weeks off for Easter, then go back until the third week of June. This continues for seven years. Usually you graduate when you're seventeen. In my world, you're a legal adult at seventeen, and the trace drops."

"The trace?"

"It's how the Ministry watches for underage magic. No witch or wizard is allowed to perform magic outside of Hogwarts under the age of seventeen. Although if you grow up in a magical household like I did, then you can get away with more. Muggle-borns, and people like Harry who are raised by Muggles are monitored more."

"Muggle-born?"

I sighed.

"Maybe I should have explained blood purity in the beginning."

Jasper laughed.

"Okay," I said, "there's five different types of blood. Muggles, Muggle-borns, Squibs, Half-bloods, and Pure-bloods. Now as I've told you, Muggles are people who do not possess magic. Muggle-borns, are witches or wizards who are born to two Muggles. Lily Potter was a Muggle-born. Half-bloods, are witches or wizards who have either a Muggle or Muggle-born parent or grandparent. Harry is an example of a Halfblood. Next we've got your Purebloods and if you're a Pureblood, you can't find any non-magical ancestor for several generations. Most of the time, a pureblood will marry into other Pureblood families to keep the bloodline pure. There is only twenty-eight families left in Britain who are seen as 'truly pure."

Jasper laughed as I put finger quotes around the last two words.

"And Squibs?"

"A Squib is basically a reverse Muggle-born. It's a child that's born to one or two magical parents, but has no magical abilities."

"What are you? I mean you're obviously not a Squib, considering you have a wand."

"I'm a Pureblood," I said. "Both my mother's side of the family, and my father's side of the family are a part of the Sacred Twenty-Eight as their called."

"How much does blood purity matter?"

"Well during the times Voldemort was in power, he wanted to cleanse our world of Muggles and Muggleborns. He believed that Purebloods were superior. Oddly enough, he was Half-blood."

"So back to Hogwarts," he said.  
"Right. Now, in your first year, you're sorted into a house. You keep the same house for all seven years. Your house is supposed to be like your family. There's Gryffindor. Gryffindor is where the brave go. Usually if you're a Gryffindor, then you're brave, courageous, daring, all that stuff. My mother, father, Remus, James, Lily, and Peter were all in Gryffindor. So was the entire Weasley family, Harry, and Harry's friend Hermione. Next you have Hufflepuff. Hufflepuff is for those who are loyal, kind, and patient. Then we have Ravenclaw. Ravenclaws are intelligent, creative, and accepting."

I paused.

"What about the fourth house," Jasper asked, taking my hand.

"The last house is Slytherin. If you're a Slytherin, you're cunning, ambitious, and determined. Usually Slytherin house is seen as a house where all the dark witches and wizards come from."

I looked up and met his eyes.

"I was a Slytherin."

"Alice, why do people think Slytherin is where dark witches and wizards come from?"

"Voldemort was a Slytherin. Most of his followers were from Slytherin. I'm not saying all, because some of his followers came from the others houses. Hell, some of his followers came from other schools. But because most of his supporters, came from Slytherin."

Jasper smiled.

"I don't think your a dark witch," he said.

I smiled.

"That's very kind of you. But you may change your mind."

"Well now that I know all about Hogwarts, and all about blood purity, please continue with your story. I'd like to see if you're right."

"Alright then. Well like I said. Nothing separated Fred, George, and I. When they came to Hogwarts two years after I did, we spent every possible moment together. In your third year, you can go to Hogsmeade Village, which is right outside of the grounds of the castle. The year they came, I was a third year, and Remus signed my permission slip, so I spent the summer saving up all my allowance, and then when I went to Hogsmeade, I spent the morning gathering sweets and drinks to bring back for Fred, George, and I to enjoy. Then in their third year, they joined me. We only separated during the night, seeing as I spent most my meals at Gryffindor table."

"Sounds like they were good friends to you," Jasper said, smiling at a picture of Fred carrying me on his back and we chased after George. It was taken the day I graduated from Hogwarts.

"They were. In their third year, my fifth year, Harry came to Hogwarts. That's the year all the trouble began," I said smiling. "I did the best I could to stay out of his way. He had no idea who I was or who my father was, but Harry always managed to get into some sort of trouble."

"Tell me about it."

"In his first year, he made two friends. Fred and George's little brother Ron, and a girl named Hermione. The three of them all eleven years old took on challenges to protect the Philosopher's Stone. That was the year that some of us learned Voldemort wasn't truly dead. See Voldemort had made what were called Horcruxes. A Horcrux is a piece of your soul that is put into a common object. Voldemort had seven, but for a time we only knew of six. That comes later in my story though. Anyways, a piece of Voldemort latched itself onto a man named Quirinus Quirrell. Quirrell managed to get himself the position of the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, and at the end of the school year, he attempted to steal the stone. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went after him."

"I'm assuming they beat him?"

I nodded.

"When Voldemort fled, Quirrell was killed, and the Stone was destroyed. The summer was okay, Harry went back to the Dursleys, and he didn't even seem phased by anything that happened."

"So what about his second year?"

"Well let me give you some background information first."

"Okay," he said. "Let's hear it."

"Okay, so Hogwarts was founded by four people. Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin. Each had very different views of how the school should be ran, so each of the houses was formed. But Slytherin believed that no Muggle-borns shouldn't be permitted in the school. Because the other founders were against him, he left the school. Before leaving, he created a secret chamber below the castle. The chamber became known as the Chamber of Secrets. Inside the chamber, he put a large basilisk."

"They're real?"

I nodded.

"But this one, Slytherin made sure only his heir could control the basilisk. Now it's 1948, so about six years ago, the chamber opened."

"The heir came to Hogwarts?"

"The heir had been in Hogwarts for sometime. His name was Tom Riddle. He later took the name of Lord Voldemort."

"So how did it open the second time?"

"Remember those Horcruxes I mentioned?"

He nodded.

"Yeah the soul things."

"Well one of them was a diary. One of his followers, Lucius Malfoy, my cousin Narcissa's husband, dropped the diary in Ginny Weasley's caldron and with the help of the Horcrux, she opened the chamber."

"How's Harry involved this time?"

"Well Hermione was petrified, so she gave clues to Ron and Harry. When the memory of a sixteen year old Voldemort took Ginny into the chamber, he was going to take her life to restore his. But Harry defeated the basilisk, and his destroyed the first horcrux with a basilisk fang."

I paused and as Jasper looked at me worriedly, I smiled.

"His third year, and my final year at Hogwarts wasn't so bad. In the summer between my sixth and seventh year, Remus and I started dating."

"You started dating your godfather?"

I nodded, and he dropped my hand.

"He was the only person I ever dated."

He looked away from me, and shook his head. I swore I saw a look of jealousy in his eyes.

"Can I ask you something?" he asked.

I nodded, and he continued.

"How old was Remus when you got together?"

"He had just turned thirty-three."

He shook his head again.

"Let me ask you something, Jasper," I said turning to him.

"Go ahead."

"What year were you born?"

"1844."

"So you're about 104, is that right?"

He nodded.

"Okay, so given that I won't be born for another twenty-eight years, that puts you at being about 132 when I was born. Now, pardon me for saying this, but I think most people would prefer the sixteen year age difference compared to the 132 year difference."

Pain flashed in Jasper's eyes and I immediately regretted speaking.

"Jasper I'm so sorry," I said, moving away from him. "That was horrible of me to say."

Jasper took my hand, and pulled me back to him.

"Please don't be sad," he asked. "I don't have any place to judge you. I'm assuming you loved Remus."

I nodded.

"Very much."

I reached over and turned a couple pages to a picture of Remus and I.

"The same year Remus and I got together, he became my Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and my father broke out of Azkaban."

"How'd he get passed the guards?"

"Well the guards of Azkaban are creatures called Dementors."

I brought back the memory of the Dementors the day the swarmed the train.

"Dementors suck out all the happiness. If it can, the Dementors will suck the life out of you. That's called a Dementor's Kiss."

"They kill you?"

I shook my head.

"Receiving the Dementor's Kiss is worse than death."

"But you said—"

"I know what I said. It doesn't kill you. It just sucks out your soul."

His eyes widened.

"That's horrible."

"That's why it's a fate worse than death. But see the Dementors don't have a face. They feel He told me that one day, he saw a copy of the Daily Prophet with Peter Pettigrew in his Animagus form on it. He lost a lot of weight in Azkaban, and when he shifted into his Animagus form, he was able to slip through the bars. Azkaban is on an island, so he swam across the North Sea. I was staying at the Weasleys, and then Remus and I were summoned to the Ministry of Magic because they thought he'd come to see me. They thought he was going to kill Harry so they all started taking precautions to keep him safe."

"What about you?"

"Well once they learned that I wasn't helping him, or that I hadn't heard from him, they figured I was safe."

"So to them you didn't matter?"

"It's not that I didn't matter," I said quietly. "I'm just not as important as The-Boy-Who-Lived."

Jasper frowned.

"Why did they think he wouldn't come after you?"

I shrugged.

"I don't know. But they kept Harry safe. Remus became a teacher at Hogwarts, and he focused on making sure Harry and I were safe."

"Did you guys still date? Even though he was a teacher?"

I nodded.

"It wasn't a secret among the staff, but the only students who knew were Ron, Fred, George, Ginny, and Percy. Although I'm sure that Ron told Harry and Hermione."

"Is Percy another one of Fred and George's brothers?"

I nodded, and flipped through the book to a page with a picture of me and all the Weasleys.

"That's all of them. That's Molly and Arthur. Then this is Bill, Charlie, and Percy. Then here's Fred and George, that's Ron, and that's Ginny."

I drug my finger across each face.

"Who's the oldest?"

"Bill. I showed them to you in birth order."

Jasper chuckled.

"Well that's one way to do it. So Remus made sure you two were safe?"

I nodded.

"One night, my father sent Remus a letter, telling him to bring me, and meet him in the Shrieking Shack."

"What's the Shrieking Shack?"

"Oh, that was a place built for Remus during the full moon when he was at school. They planted the Whomping Willow, and Dad, James, and Pettigrew became illegal Animagi to spend the full moon with him."

"Illegal?"

I noddd.

"They were unregistered."

"Are you registered?"

I nodded.

"I registered the month after I turned seventeen, although I had been able to do it for about a year."

"Do I get to see it?"

I nodded again.

"Once I finish telling my story, I'll show you some of what I can do."

He leaned back, listening. His hand was still holding tightly onto my own.

"Can I ask one more question?"

I gestured for him to continue.

"Why is it called the Shrieking Shack?"

"Because like I said, when Remus was in school, he was go there each month for his transformation. The people of the village thought that his howls were shrieks, and because nobody but the staff, Dad, James, and Peter knew Remus was a werewolf, they thought the place was haunted."

"That's actually perfectly reasonable," he said.

I laughed.

"Now the night that he called Remus and I to the Shrieking Shack, he told us the story of what truly happened the night he was taken to Azkaban. Remus and I weren't sure whether or not we should believe him, until one night, Harry was wandering the halls, and Remus confiscated what is called the Marauder's Map."

I reached into my bag, and pulled out my copy of the map.

"When Dad, James, Remus, and Pettigrew were in school, they branded themselves with the name, Marauders. They each had nicknames. Remus was Moony, Dad was Padfoot, James was Prongs, and Pettigrew was Wormtail. Together, they made the Marauder's Map. It was a map of the school, and it showed who was in it, and where they were."

I pulled up my sleeve, and took my wand out of the holster.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," I said, resting my wand on the map and handed it to him.

He opened the map, and began flipping through.

"Here's Professor Dumbledore," I said, pointing to the headmaster's office.

"Why are there so many people at the castle?" he asked.

"I guess they haven't gotten out for the summer yet, though I expect if we check back in a week or two, most of them will be gone."

"So Harry had this?"

I nodded.

"This is just a copy of the original. Harry had the original."

"So what about this map made you and Remus believe your father's story?"

"That's just it," I said. "Harry saw the name Peter Pettigrew on the map. The map never lies. So we knew that if Peter appeared on the map, then he had to be alive."

"And he was," Jasper stated.

I nodded.

"I had actually spent one night near him once a month."

"I don't understand," Jasper said, shaking his head.

"Well remember what I said, about him getting away in his Animagus form?"

I paused, and Jasper nodded.

"Well the stayed in his Animagus form for twelve years."

"He was a rat for twelve years?"

I nodded.

"He took shelter with the Weasley family. Percy found him in the garden, and then when Percy grew up, he gave him to Ron who brought him to Hogwarts. One day, Dad was able to get to Pettigrew, but he had to get through Ron. When he took Ron, Harry and Hermione went after him, then Remus came and got me from the Slytherin common room, and we went after them."

I paused again.

"Sirius and Remus forced him to turn back into his human form, and I stood guard at the door, making sure nobody got out. We were going to take him to the castle, prove he was alive, and make sure Dad was set free, but Peter escaped, and it was a full moon. Remus transformed, and Dad and I went after him while Severus stayed back and watched over the children."

"Severus?"

"He was the Potions professor. He was the friend my mother had a falling out with."

"What caused it?"

"Well Mum, Lily, and Severus were all friends. One day, in their fifth year, Severus called Lily a Mudblood, and that ended their friendship."

"What's a Mudblood?"

I shook my head.

"I keep forgetting that you're not from my world. I assume you know things….anyhow, a Mudblood, means dirty blood. It's a foul name that Pure or Half-bloods call Muggle-borns."

"You never—"

"Called anyone a Mudblood? I have. But that comes later in my story. I still have two years to tell you about before we reach that point in our story."

"Is that what you meant? When you said I might change my mind about how I see you?"

I nodded.

"Sort of. But that night, I almost lost my father for good. The Dementor was about to give him the Dementor's Kiss. Harry casted the Patronus Charm that drove them away. A Patronus is the only thing that can drive away the Dementors."

"Can you cast one?"

I nodded.

"It takes the same form as my Animagus form. That'll be one of the things I show you if your interested."

"I'd like that."

"Now, Harry and Hermione helped him escape on a hippogriff. That required time travel. In my world, we had time turners, so they went back in time, stole a hippogriff, that's what allowed Harry to cast the Patronus, then they helped my father escape. I graduated a couple weeks later, and word got out about Remus being a werewolf, that led to his resignation."

"Good timing for you to graduate, huh?"

I laughed.

"I always said so too."

"What did you do after you graduated?"

"Well I decided I wanted to be an Auror," I said, smiling. "A dark wizard catcher. I started my training."

My smile faded.

"I never finished training though. During Harry's fourth year, the Triwizard Tournament came to Hogwarts. In the Triwizard Tournament, there's three witches or wizards picket from three of the largest schools in Europe. They compete in three very hard tasks, and the one who wins at the end, is given money and fame. You had to be seventeen to compete in the tournament, yet a Death Eater, who had went under disguise as the Auror, Alastor Moody, who was suppose to take Remus's place as the DADA professor, and he placed Harry's name in the Goblet of Fire."

"Let me guess, Harry's name was drawn?"

I nodded.

"Harry was only fourteen, but that year, they had four champions, instead of three. At the end of the tournament, Harry won, but Voldemort also came back to life."

"How?"

"The cup that signaled who won, was a Portkey. A Portkey, is another form of transportation. Harry and the other Hogwarts champion, Cedric Diggory, decided that they were going to take the cup together so they could win together. It teleported them to a graveyard. When Pettigrew escaped the year before, he went to Albania, where he found what was left of Voldemort. He took care of him, and he performed a ritual that brought Voldemort back. Cedric was killed."

I paused again.

"You can take a break if you'd like," he said.

"I apologize, Jasper. This point in my story is where things became unhappy."

I took a deep breath, then looked in his eyes.

"In 1995, not long after the school year ended, Dad moved back into his childhood home, and that became the headquarters for the new Order of the Phoenix. I went to Dumbledore a couple hours after Remus got the message, and asked to join."

I moved the neck of my dress down to show some of the scars.

"Any scar I still have was given to me by magic. Magical scars don't heal the same way."

He traced the scar that went across my collar bone.

"I dropped out of my Auror training, and I worked with the Order most of the time."

He squeezed my hand as I paused again.

"On June 18, 1996, two days before I turned twenty, my father was killed by my cousin, Bellatrix. The same one who killed my mother. Because we could prove that Peter Pettigrew was alive, Dad was cleared of all charges, but that night, Remus left me."

Anger flashed in his eyes.

"So he breaks up with you the same night your father died? The is cruel. Did he at least give a reason?"

I nodded.

"He told me, 'Alice, you know as well as I do, this was a mistake. It was a foolish crush. That's all it should have been.' I tried convincing him that it wasn't a mistake, but he told me that he didn't love me anymore. Not like I loved him."

I felt my throat tighten.

"Fred and George stayed with me through the next morning. Two weeks later, I moved back into my childhood home, and about a week after that, the Order sent me undercover as a Death Eater."

"Why would they do that?" Jasper asked. "You have every reason to hate the Death Eaters."

"But I also had every reason to hate the Order."

"You've lost me again."

"Think about it. Remus was a part of the Order, and he left me. My father seemed to favor his godson more than his daughter, seeing as all he left me was a little bit of the Black vault, and any Slytherin heirlooms that my family might have acquired. When my mother died, I got the house and her vault, and my parents joint vault considering Dad was in prison, so money wasn't an issue, but he left everything to Harry. To Dumbledore, it seemed that I would have more reason than anybody to want Harry gone."

"Did they believe you wanted to join?"

I nodded.

"Even if they didn't believe I was genuine, my gifts appealed to Voldemort. Not may witches or wizards can see the future, and not many could perform wandless magic. I was powerful, and Voldemort felt that it was better to be on my side than on the side I was fighting. I moved quickly through the ranks. All the way to the inner circle."

I let go of his hand, and pulled up my left sleeve.

"I was even branded with the Dark Mark, which only Voldemort's inner circle got."

"That was put there with magic?"

I nodded.

"Between the wars, it will resemble more of a scar. It will be more of a bright red outline, and that will make it easier to cover."

"This is why you thought I'd change my mind about you."

I nodded.

"I had to kill innocent people, torture people….when referring to Hermione, I usually refered to her as the 'Mudblood Granger."

"That doesn't change my opinion of you," Jasper said. "You did what you had to do to keep your cover."

"You're kind, and very forgiving. I don't think I entirely deserve it."

"I know what it's like to be in a war. I was a soldier in the Confederate Army during the American Civil War."

I gazed up at him curiously.

"Is that where these came from?"

I traced the scar above his eye, and then the ones on his jaw.

He shook his head.

"Those come from another type of war. I'll tell you about that later. Right now, I'm more interested in your story."

"Okay. So we're at June 30, 1997. On Dumbledore's orders, Severus killed Dumbledore to prove to Voldemort that Severus was not loyal to the Order. A fight broke out and Bill Weasley was mangled by a werewolf called Fenrir Greyback. This is the same werewolf who changed Remus. The difference between the two, was that when he attacked Remus, it was during a full moon. When he attacked Bill, he wasn't in his werewolf form, so Bill didn't become a true werewolf. I was starting to forgive Remus until that night. That night, Remus and my cousin Andromeda's daughter, Nymphadora had a row, because Nymphadora was in love with Remus. I later learned, Remus was in love with her two."

I paused and flipped through the picture book until I could find a photo of the two.

"They got married a couple weeks after. That was the thing with Remus. He said that we could get married, but we'd never have kids."

I paused and flipped the book the very back where the picture of Teddy and I was.

"That's Edward Remus Lupin. Remus and Nymphadora's son."

I looked back up at Jasper who was watching me carefully.

"The last thing I ever told Remus was that I hated him," I said as I shook my head. "I didn't hate him though. I was still in love with him."

I leaned my head back against the headboard and looked up at the ceiling.

"With Dumbledore dead, Voldemort was able to take over the school. Severus became the new headmaster, and I became sort of like the Deputy Headmistress. Although the official title was given to Alecto Carrow. But because Voldemort was only using me to track people, I spent most of my time at the castle. During Harry's fifth year, before Dad died, he formed the group that they called Dumbledore's Army. They met in secret in a part of the castle called the Room of Requirement. I used to go in and bring them food and make sure they were all okay."

"See? I knew you weren't a dark witch," Jasper said.

"I've used every one of the Unforgivable Curses. I've used one against a child….I couldn't live with what I had done. On May 2, 1998, Harry returned to Hogwarts. He, Ron, and Hermione had been looking for Horcruxes, and he thought the last one was at Hogwarts."

"Was it?"

I nodded.

"There were seven Horcruxes. Voldemort's diary, Salazar Slytherin's locket, his grandfather's ring, his snake Nagini, a goblet of Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw's diadem, and before Dumbledore died, he told Severus and I about the final Horcrux. It was Harry himself. When Voldemort went to kill Harry, and the spell rebounded, a piece of Voldemort's soul broke off, and attached itself to the only living thing it could find. Which was Harry."

"So Harry would have to destroy himself?"

I shook my head.

"Voldemort had to kill Harry. Then somebody else had to kill Voldemort after Harry was gone. When Harry returned, it sparked the final battle. We call it the Battle of Hogwarts. I fought the first half with the Death Eaters. There was sort of an intermission between the two halves of the battle. In that intermission, Voldemort told Harry that if he gave himself up, then Voldemort would leave Hogwarts untouched. He gave Harry and hour and in that hour, he allowed me to go see if I lost any of my family."

I closed my eyes, and suddenly, it felt like I was back in the Great Hall. I could see Fred and Remus's bodies, lying lifeless at my feet.

"I lost Fred and Remus. Nymphadora was killed as well, and whether I liked it or not, she was my family."

I opened my eyes, and turned to face Jasper.

"I lost my best friend, and the only man I ever loved in an instant. There was nothing I could do to bring them back."

He let go of my hand, and brought his hand up to my face.

"I'm sorry."

"Seeing them reminded me of why I couldn't live with myself. I had already decided that I would end my life, but that night, confirmed it. When that, I returned to the Forbidden Forest, and I waited. When Harry came, Voldemort already figured out that I wasn't loyal to him, but he wasn't going to let me go. He was going to force me to stay with the Death Eaters, and try to use me to get others to join. I watched him kill Harry."

I paused again, and closed my eyes.

"It destroyed the Horcrux, and then Neville Longbottom killed Nagini. It turns out Harry did die, but he came back to life. I avenged my mother and father by killing Bellatrix, and Harry killed Voldemort, and that was the end of the Second Wizarding War."

Jasper was still watching me. He hadn't moved his hand from my cheek.

"I went to every single funeral, and I decided I would tell my family I was moving to Italy. That was the only way I could think of them letting me go."

"They believed you didn't they?"

I nodded.

"On the night of Remus's funeral, we had a gathering at the Weasley house to remember the people we lost during the war. After that ended, I was walking around Ottery St Catchpole when Tobias found me. I passed out from fear and he carried me back to the hotel where he and Helen were staying. I thought maybe he had killed me, and when I opened my eyes and saw him, I thought he was God."

I laughed, and Jasper smiled.

"He and Helen explained everything to me, about James and his mate Victoria and why it was important that I changed into a vampire, and came back to this time. So I decided that I would make a replica of my body so my family would have some closure."

I looked into his eyes as I brought my hand to his cheek.

"When I was transforming, I saw you for the first time. I thought maybe something had went wrong, and that I died. I thought you were an angel. I knew then that I loved you. When I woke up, I saw you fully. I saw us meeting in Delphi's dinner, and Helen and Tobias told me about you. When they met us, we were dating."

Jasper closed his eyes as I traced his face.

"I don't think I'm still fully convinced that you're here."

He opened his eyes as I leaned away from him.

"I'm hardly an angel, Alice," Jasper said, as I took his hand again.

"You got me through my transformation. If anything, you're my angel."

We sat in silence for a moment before I dropped his hand and slid off the bed.

"Where are you going?" he asked, sitting up.

"You want to see the magic don't you?"

He nodded as I walked to the window, and closed the curtains. I rolled up my right sleeve and slipped off my holster.

"What do you want to see first?" I asked, taking my wand out of the holster, and setting the holster on the table.

"How about the Patronus Charm?"

I smiled and turned away from him, pointing my wand at the door.

I thought of the moment I saw Jasper for the first time during my transformation.

"Expecto Patronum!" I cried, and from the end of my wand, the silver dog jumped out the end. Jasper stepped closer, and looked at the dog that came up to his elbows.

"That's a very large dog," Jasper said.

I laughed.

"My father was slightly larger than that."

His eyes widened as I waved my wand again, causing the dog to disappear. I moved back to the table and placed my wand down on the table and walked back to the door.

"Ready?"

He nodded eagerly and I focused on pulling myself down into my Animagus form.

The shift happened very quickly, and Jasper watched with wide eyes.

He reached out his hand, but he didn't touch me.

Instead, I closed the space, by putting my head under his hand.

"Amazing," he whispered as he looked down at me.

I focused on returning to my human form, and when I returned, I was crouching on the floor, and his hand was still hovering over my head.

As I stood, his hand dropped to his side.

"You're amazing, you know that?"

I grinned as I shook my head.

"I'm hardly amazing."

"You are to me."

I smiled at him, and for the first time since I left Britain, even though we were in a motel, I felt like I was home.

* * *

 **I did mention that it was going to be long right? On Google Docs, which is where I write the chapters, the chapter itself equaled up to 28 pages, which is about double the size of a regular chapter that ranges anywhere from 12-15 pages. From this point, until I get to the point that I was at before removing the story, chapters are going to go up in twos, threes, and occasionally fours, so for a while, I may have a strange schedule. I am going to clear up something things first. I thought I mentioned it before, but I can't seem to find it. Sirius's Animagus was never given an exact height, and the La Push wolves are said to be the size of horses which can be anywhere from 4.5 feet tall to 6 feet. So assuming Sam is the largest wolf, we'll put him at about six feet tall, and I planned for Jacob and Sirius to be the same size, which is about 5'9'' to 5'8'' and then Alice is the same size as Leah, who is smaller than the males. I thought of those two at being around 5'5'', despite in the Twilight books, Alice is only 4'10'', and Leah is listed as being 5'6''. I hope that this give you all a good idea of how tall the wolves and Alice and Sirius's Animagus form would be.**

 **I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Follow, Favorite, Review :)(:**


	10. First Hunt

_"The first time you do a thing, is always exciting." ~ Agatha Christie_

* * *

Chapter 10- First Hunt Alice's POV

"You should hunt soon," Jasper said, tracing under my eyes.

We were laying on the bed, and Jasper had been flipping through all the photo albums I had asking questions about every picture. At some point through the night, the burn had returned.

"That's what I want to talk to you about."

He sat up a touch more.

"I'm listening."

"When I woke up in this new life, you weren't the only person I saw. I saw this family of vampires. This family hunts animals instead of humans."

He was watching me carefully.

"Tell me more about the vision."

"Their leader is named Carlisle. I approached them, and told them that we wanted to join their family."

"This is a decision that's already been made?"

I nodded.

"Well if it's what you want, then I'm willing to try it."

"I don't want to hunt humans, Jasper. I want to find this family. I want to join them."

"I don't want to hunt humans anymore, either."

I smiled up at him.

"So does that mean you're willing to try it?"

He nodded.

"If it keeps that smile on your face, I'm willing to try anything."

I beamed up at him.

"Maybe when we check out of here, we can go hunting."

"I'd like that very much," he said.

My smile faded.  
"What?" he asked, panicked. "What is it?"

"It's just that I've never hunted before. When Helen and Tobias came to me, they had bags of blood that they gave to me. It was easier that way."

"Well I'm sure hunting an animal isn't much different than hunting a human. I can teach you. It's more of a reflex though."

"Thank you," I said.

"So the Cullens. Do you know where they are?"

I shook my head.

"I haven't got the slightest clue. When we see Helen and Tobias a year from now, we're still looking for them."

"So where do we start?"

"Well I have potions that I don't have use for anymore, so I was wondering if we could go to Massachusetts to sell them. I have money, but this can help us, and I think I need to stock up on some things if we're going to be on the road for a year."

Jasper chuckled.

"That sounds like a good plan to me. What potions do you not need?"

"Mostly Sleeping Potions, Calming Draughts, and a bunch of bruise, burns, and cut pastes."

I looked in my bag, and pulled out the smaller bag filled with potions.

I slid off the bed and began setting up the potions.

"I brewed all of them about a week before the war ended. I didn't know how long it would go on, and kids were having trouble sleeping."

"Why are they all full?" he asked, slipping down to where he was sitting next to me.

"I never found a use for them. I felt that I deserved everything I got after the war. I couldn't sleep, I was always depressed, and I always felt like somebody was coming for me."

Jasper looked at me disapprovingly.

"That's not good, Alice."

I shrugged.

"What was good or bad didn't matter at the time. I was just ready for it all to be over."

"And now?" he asked quietly. I looked up to him.

"Now I'm happy."

He sat quietly as I sorted what potions I would need, and what I was selling. I paused as I looked at my energy potions.

"What is it?"

"I don't know," I said. "I feel like I need these, but I can't think of any reason why I would need them."

"What are they?"

"Energy potions…." I trialed off and looked at them. "Maybe I'll keep them just in case."

"Do what you feel is right, Ali," he said.

I looked at him surprised.

"What?" he asked.

"What did you call me?"

"I'm sorry," he said quickly. "It just kind of slipped out. I was thinking about nicknames for Alice. I thought of Ali and Al. I can just call you Alice if you'd like—"

I held up my hand.

"Jasper, calm down, it's okay," I said, smiling. "I like it. You just surprised me, that's all."

"I thought I upset you," he said, shaking his head.

"Harry called me Al, and George and the Weasleys called me Ali. Everyone else called me Alice, so it took me by surprise."

I grinned as I set the energy potions with my Sleekeazy's Hair Potion.

"So," I said, as I placed the potions I was selling in a different part of the bag. "If you get a nickname for me, do I get nickname for you?"

"Angel isn't my nickname?" Jasper teased.

I shook my head.

"No. You being an angel is a statement."

"So lay it on me. What do you have in mind?"

I thought for a moment.

"How about Jazz?"

He grinned.

"I like it."

I worked quietly, checking what ingredients I had, and what I'd need. Jasper sat quietly next to me, thumbing through the pile of the books I had laid out.

"Are you carrying anything with you?" I asked, looking at him carefully. "I can carry it in my bag. There's more than enough room."

He shook his head.

"I don't have a lot. This was all I brought when I left my companions Peter and Charlotte."

"I can help you with that," I said. "While we're in Massachusetts."

Jasper smiled.

"You're very kind, Alice, but I can't ask you to do that for me."

"You're not asking," I said. "I'm insisting."

He looked at me in wonder.

"You barely know me, yet you're already willing to do so much for me."

I looked down at my notebook that I had been writing in.

"Why are you embarrassed?" he asked, taking my hand.

"Because. Like you said. I barely know you…."

"But?"

"But I love you…."

I didn't meet his eyes.

We were quiet for a long time before Jasper put a finger under my chin and pushed my face up to where I was eye to eye with him.

"Alice, I feel something between us. I have since you approached me in the dinner this morning. I just want to get to know you first."

I didn't say anything, instead I stared into his black eyes.

"I don't ever want you to be embarrassed for something like that. I don't want you to be embarrassed for who you love."

I grinned and he took my hand again.

"Is this okay?" he asked, glancing at our hands.

I nodded.

"That's okay."

When the morning came, Jasper helped me pack up my bags as I went to go change. I changed into a pair of jeans and a button up shirt.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked, putting my bag over my shoulder, and grabbing the key from the table.

"I'm ready. Are you sure you have everything?"

I nodded.

"I double checked everything. It's all in it's place."

He walked closely to me as we walked out of the room. It was still drizzling outside.

"It won't be so rainy in Massachusetts. I don't think it will matter so much when we get to the Wizarding part."

"Witches and wizards, they know about vampires?"

I nodded.

"We learn about them in our third year at Hogwart in Defence Against the Dark Arts."

We made it to the office, and Jasper stepped inside the office with me, holding tightly onto my hand.

"Take a deep breath," I said.

Jasper did as I told him.

"Hold your breath, but move your shoulders so it looks like you breathing."

With his other hand, he gave me a thumbs up and together we stepped into the office.

"Good morning," the man behind the counter said.

"Good morning. We'd like to check out please."

"Of course, Ma'am. What's your room number?"

"Two-Twenty-Five."

"Did you enjoy your stay?"

"We did."

"You paid for it in total yesterday?"

I nodded.

"Then you are good to go, I just need you to sign here."

"Of course," I said.

I set the key on the counter, and let go of Jasper's hand.

He shot me a panicked look.

"It's okay, Jazz," I said, quietly. "I'm right here."

I quickly signed the paper before the man turned back around.

The second my hand left the paper, Jasper took my hand again, and he relaxed.

"Okay," the man said, turning back around to face me. "You're all set to go Ms. Brandon."

"Thank you very much," I said.

"Have a good day."

"You too, Sir."

I turned and led Jasper out of the office, pulling him to a cluster of trees.

He let out the air he had been holding in, and let go of my hand.  
"I'm sorry," Jasper said, as he dropped my hand. "You make me feel calm."

"Don't be sorry," I said, smiling up at him.

"Where should we go to hunt?"

I thought about it for a second.

"Massachusetts is up north, right?"

He nodded.

"If we head north, than we should hit a patch of a forest before we exit state limits."

"Salem is towards the coast, so we don't want to stay to far from the coast."

I nodded.

"Do you know how to get there?"

He nodded.

"I can see what paths we should take if you'd like. I should be able to see where we can get the best prey."

"That would be very helpful."

I closed my eyes and began focusing on the different outcomes of each path Jasper and I could take.

When I opened my eyes again, Jasper was hovering close to me.

"If we go North, and then turn East towards the coast when the sun starts to come out of the clouds, we should hit a family of deer."

"Is that still in state limits?"

"Depends on how quickly we run I suppose."

"We'd better get going then," he said.

The two of us took off, heading North.

"Tell me more about yourself," Jasper said, glancing over at me.

I frowned.

"We spent all of yesterday talking about me. The only thing I know about you is that your name is Jasper Whitlock and you were born in 1844."

"I know your story, but I know nothing about you. What's your favorite color, what was your favorite subject. That kind of thing."

"My favorite color is grey, and my favorite subject was Transfiguration and Potions."

I glanced at him grinning.

"Why grey?" he asked. "That's not a color most people pick."

"I don't know really. I've just always like the color," I paused as a memory flashed. "My dad's eyes were grey, but I don't think that affects my favorite color is anyway."

"What color were your eyes?"

"I had brown eyes. Like my mother."

"I had brown eyes too," he said.

"Mine looked like mud," I said, wrinkling my nose. "I didn't like them for the longest time. I wanted grey eyes like Dad or amber eyes like Remus."

"You grew to like them though, right? You said you didn't like them for the longest time."

"I did grow to like them in my last year at Hogwarts. Everyone always told me how much I looked like my mother, and I don't remember much about her. So I grew to like them."

"What do you remember?"

I focused on the road ahead of me.

"I don't remember anything about her, except for the day she died. That's the only memory I have of her. Dad, Remus, and Severus told me about her though, but I don't remember any of it."

Jasper didn't respond right away.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

I shook my head.

"Don't be sorry. It's not your fault."

"What do you remember about your dad?"

I thought for a moment.

"I remember everything from the night Mum died until he got arrested, and then I remember the first time I saw him after he broke out up until the night he died. Like Mum, I remember the night he died better than anything else."

We didn't talk for a little while. Jasper glanced in my direction worriedly every few minutes.

When the sun started to poke out the clouds, we paused.

"If we turn here, they shouldn't be too far ahead," I said as I adjusted my bag to where the opening was on my back rather than my side.

Jasper looked in the direction I had pointed.

"You have to be quick," Jasper said. "With deer, they'll try to run as soon as they spot you."

I nodded and Jasper and I took off again.

Almost five minutes later, I heard several soft heat beats. Six to be exact.

"Follow your instincts, Al," he said quietly. "You've got this."

I looked at him, then focused on the sound of the heart beats.

I walked closer to the sound, Jasper following behind me.

Hiding behind the tree, I peered around it, and looked at the deer ahead of me. There was three does, two stags, and a fawn.

"Take your pick," Jasper whispered behind me. "I'll chase after one after you get yours."

"I can stun it for you," I said, turning back to look at him.

He shook his head.

"I've got this. You focus on you."

I focused on one of the does.

"Once you pick the one you want, let your instincts take over."

He patted my back, and stepped back.

I refocused my attention on the same doe as before, and launched myself at her.

She didn't have the chance to run before I was there. Behind me, I could hear Jasper running after one of the deer that escaped.

I crouched over the deer that I had knocked over when I pounced on it. She bleated beneath me.

I could feel and hear the skin of the doe tear beneath me as I sank my teeth in it's neck. The blood was hotter than the blood Helen and Tobias gave me. It tasted fresher than that blood too. I liked this blood more. The bleats of the deer grew louder, but then they cut off and were replaced with a gurgling sound.

As the deer was ran dry, the burn returned to a more bearable level.

I pushed myself away from the deer, and looked down at my shirt. My shirt had blood on it, and it went town to the top of my pants.

I pulled my wand out of my holster that had been returned to my arm, and pointed it at my shirt.

"Tergeo," I muttered quietly.

The blood vanished, and as I turned around, Jasper appeared behind me, looking at the carcass of the deer.

I turned my wand on the deer.

"Evanesco!"

The deer faded away, and I turned to Jasper.

He had some blood on his shirt, but less than I had.

He grinned at me.

"You did amazing, Alice."

"Thank you," I said, smiling at the floor of the woods.

He stepped closer to me, looking into my eyes.

"They're still dark," he said quietly. "Are you going to be okay?"

"Your's are dark too," I said, tracing under his eyes. "Besides, the eyes may scare people."

I paused.

"Alice?" Jasper said, panicked as he placed his hands on my face. "Alice what is it? What's wrong?"

I shook my head.

"Nothing's wrong! I thought of a spell. A spell that could help conceal our eye color."

Jasper sighed as he moved his hands off my face.

"I thought you saw something," he said quietly.

I shook my head.

"I was worrying about our eye color. Most Muggles don't take well to red eyes. But I remembered. There's a spell, that can change your eye color. It goes away within an hour, but it will be helpful for whenever we're around humans. At least until our eyes change to amber."

"Do you feel full?" Jasper asked, smiling as he took a step back from me.

"I don't feel full, but the burning in my throat is bearable."

I looked at the blood on his shirt.

"Maybe I should of waited until we were done before cleaning my shirt….I thought one would be enough, but it wasn't."

The burn felt like it was slowly creeping back. Through the week, it wasn't like this.

"You said you were turned a week ago?"

I nodded.

"You're young. It will probably be like this for some time."

I frowned, which caused Jasper to laugh.

"It won't be like this forever, Alice. Just for a little while."

I sighed.

"Let's go then."

"Follow me. They went this way," Jasper said taking my hand. I put my wand back in the holster, and then we took off.

He led me in the direction he had came from.

"Do you smell them?" Jasper asked at the same time I caught a scent that smelled the exact same way as the doe I had downed.

I nodded.

"They shouldn't be too far ahead."

"They're not," he said, coming to a stop. "Listen. Tell me which way they went."

I listened closely. I could hear the faint sounds of heart beats East of where we stood.

"They're that way," I said.

"Very good," he said, grinning at me. "You doing fantastic."

I grinned as the two of us took off in the sounds of the heart beats.

Soon enough, we were upon them again. None were looking at them. There was only one doe now. Both stags were still there and the fawn was there too.

"Go ahead," Jasper said. "I'm right behind you."

I watched one of the stags, and listened to its thudding heart.

Jasper and I flew out from behind the tree together, both going after stags. The last doe, and the fawn fled the second we overpowered the stags.

I could feel the antlers crushing from beneath my hand, as I sank my teeth into the stag's neck.

It didn't call out like the doe. It stayed quiet and before long, I heard its thudding heart take its final beat before stopping completely.

As Jasper finished he came and sat next to me.

"What do you think?" I asked, looking at him.

"It's different," he said, looking at me. "I don't feel bad about this."

"I agree. I don't feel like I'm killing an innocent person. I can't say it's different though...this is the only life I know."

I pulled out my wand again and looked at the two stags.

I pointed my wand at the first one, and levitated it in the air, and placed it next to the other stag. With another wave of my wand they both vanished. I then looked down at my shirt. Blood covered the sleeve and the parts of my shirt that were loose.

I groaned.

"Will it always be this messy?"

Jasper laughed.

"Not always. It gets easier."

I pointed my wand at the shirt and waved it again, and the blood faded away. I also pointed it at my knees to get the dirt off them.

I turned to Jasper.

"You have some blood and dirt on your shirt. Do you mind if I—"

"No, no, no. Go ahead."

I pointed my wand at him.

"Tergeo," I said, and watched as the blood and dirt vanished. "There you go. All clean."

He looked down at his shirt.

"You don't always have to say the incantation?"

I shook my head.

"No. I usually do out of habit. We don't learn non-verbal magic until our sixth year."

"What about wandless magic?"

"Well that I don't need an incantation for. I usually have to just picture it, but I usually use the same movements for the spell I want."

I walked closer to him and looked in his eyes. They were more red now.

"That's better," I said. "I've never seen you without black or gold eyes."

He chuckled.

"I've never seen you without black eyes."

"Is that such a bad thing?" I asked, shaking my head. "They scare me."

He held a hand up in mock offence.

"Do my eyes scare you?"

I laughed and shook my head.

"Not on you. Your eye color doesn't matter. You still look like an angel either way."

He smiled.

"So," I said, adjusting my bag again as we began walking. "How did I do for a first hunt?"

"You did fantastic, Alice. Out of all the newborns I've seen, you've done the best."

When we made it closer to the border of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, the two of us broke off into a run, heading straight for Salem, Massachusetts.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you liked the chapter! As of right now, I am so much happier with the way that this story has turned out so far. Despite the hand holding, Alice and Jasper are not a couple yet. Alice does have feelings for Jasper, and vice-versa, but they do want to take the time to get to know each other. I did say that, but rereading it, I don't think I made it very clear. Next chapter is more of the pair traveling to Salem. I read somewhere that Ilvermorny was in Massachusetts and because of the Salem Witch Trials, I thought it would be a good idea to put the equivalent to Diagon Alley in Salem. Also on the Harry Potter Wiki, it has a list of Wizard communities, and there was three different ones in Massachusetts, and I liked Salem. Again, I hope you've enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review :)(:**


	11. The Search Begins

_"Family is not an important thing. It's everything." ~Michael. J. Fox_

* * *

Chapter 11- The Search Begins Alice's POV

"So," Jasper said, glancing over at me as we ran through a patch of trees. "I know your favorite color, and I know your favorite subject in school. What else should I know about you?"

"What else do you want to know about me?"

He thought about it for a moment.

"What is your favorite flower?"

"I know it's cliche, but I like roses. Roses and lilies."

He paused again as he thought of another question.

"What about your favorite gemstone?"

"Alexandrite," I said automatically, looking at my ring.

"Is that from Remus?" he asked quietly.

I shook my head.

"It's from Fred and George. It was supposed to be my Christmas present, but George gave it to me to see if it would cheer me up for a while….Fred picked it out. "

He didn't ask me anymore questions for a while.

We slowed our run into a walk in another patch of trees.

Jasper took my hand, and pulled it to his face, studying the ring.

"It's a beautiful ring," he said, moving our hands back down to our side.

"Thank you," I said, smiling at the ground.

"I didn't upset you earlier, did I? When I assumed Remus gave it to you."

"I think you know the answer to that," I said, still smiling.

"I just want to hear you say it," he said, pulling me to a stop in front of him.

"You didn't upset me, Jasper. Don't worry about that."

He smiled.

"Good."

I looked around the forest.

"How far would you say we are to Massachusetts?"

He thought about it for a moment.

"If I had to guess, I'd say about an hour away."

He listened closely for another minute, then grabbed my hand.

"Come with me. I want to show you something."

We ran in the opposite of the direction we were originally going. As we walked further West, I began to hear the sound of rushing water.

"I found this place a couple years ago when I was passing through here."

He pulled my hand as we slowed back down again. I could feel his excitement radiating off of him.

"I didn't realize where we were until you asked about how far we are from Massachusetts."

He paused, and stepped behind me, placing his hands over my eyes.

"Jasper, what are you—"

"Trust me, Al. Please?"

I smiled and sighed.

"Okay. I trust you."

"Keep walking forward," he said in my ear, with one hand on my shoulder while the other remained covering my eyes.

I could see flickers of someplace green. I assumed whatever it was, was the place Jasper was taking me to.

"Please tell me you're not searching in the future, and ruining my surprise," Jasper teased.

"I can't help it," I said, placing my hands over his. "You're making decisions, and I'm getting used to you being around."

I patted his hand as I spoke, which seemed to make him chuckle. The sound of rushing water grew louder and louder, then suddenly Jasper wrapped his arm around my shoulders, pulling me to a stop.

"Open your eyes," he murmured.

He moved his hand and I opened my eyes.

There was a wide river that was quickly flowing passed us. At the very end of the river, there was a wide waterfall. Inside of the river, there appeared to be water lilies growing. There were purple ones and red ones.

"Jasper, it's beautiful!" I said, stepping closer to the edge of the river.

I sat on the edge of the river, and he moved next to me.

"I thought maybe I could do something to cheer you up."

I grinned at him.

"You have."

I leaned over, and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you, Jasper. I know this is all a lot to take in, but thank you so much for being patient with me."

"Of course," he said, giving me for a small squeeze.

I pulled away from him.

"Are you through with your questions?" I asked, grinning.

He shook his head.

"I haven't even gotten through half of them."

"Well go ahead. Ask away," I said, laying down in the grass. I took off my bag, and laid it on the ground beside me.

"Would you want to go back to Britain one day?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"Unless James dies, I'm not sure I can go back and I promised Helen and Tobias I wouldn't try looking for him."

"So say that he died. Would you want to go back?"

"Of course. I think Harry and George would like you, so I'd want them to meet you."

"How do you know they'd like me?" he asked, as I closed my eyes.

"Because they'd like anybody who makes me happy, and I think they'd like you because you're the first person I've been in love with since Remus."

Jasper was quiet for a moment.

"Tell me more about Hogwarts," Jasper said. He sounded closer than before.

"Well it's a big castle in Scotland, and it's surrounded by a forest on one side, and a giant lake on the other. Fred, George, and I spent a lot of our time by the lake."

"What about the forest?"

"Well I liked the forest, but as a student, it's forbidden. That's why we call it the Forbidden Forest. I think the only time I went inside it as a student was to help Hagrid."

"The groundskeeper right?"

I nodded.

"He was my friend too."

Jasper had asked me about my other friends aside from Fred and George. I had named Hagrid, most of the Gryffindor Quidditch team, and Cedric Diggory.

"Tell me about him."

"Well he's half-giant, so I never really came up above his waist. Hagrid has one of the kindest hearts you'll ever come across, for humans and monsters alike."

"Monsters?"

"Hagrid kept an assortment of creatures as pets."

"Like?" he pressed.

"He had a three-headed dog, a dragon, hippogriffs."

"He had a three-headed dog?" Jasper asked, astonished.

I nodded.

"He called him Fluffy."

"Fluffy," Jasper repeated.

I opened my eyes and he was staring back down at me.

"What?" I asked as he started smiling.

"You sound like you had an interesting life."

I smiled too.

"I did. I still do. I'm happy again," I said, reaching up to touch his cheek. "Although, I still haven't fully convinced myself you're really here."

His smile grew.

"Still convinced I'm an angel?"

"Whether you're here or not, you'll always be an angel to me."

I looked up at the sky. The sun was still poking out of the sun.

"What are we going to do? When we get to Massachusetts?"

"Do you want to go to sell those potions first, or would you rather see if we can find the Cullens first?"

I groaned and covered my face with my hands.

"Don't leave it to me to make decisions," I mumbled. "I'm indecisive."

Jasper laughed, and moved my hands from my face.

"Please make this one, for me?"

I looked into his crimson eyes. Something about the way he looked at me, and about the way he spoke, made me want to give him anything he wanted. It was never like this with Remus. With Jasper, everything was different.

I exhaled deeply, and closed my eyes again.

"How about we go clothes shopping for you first, then to sell the potions, and then to the police station. I'm not sure how Muggles find people. So I'd assume we start there. They have all the information on people right?"

"You still want to do that clothes thing?"

"Of course. Why wouldn't I? I told you, Helen and Tobias gave me more than enough."

He frowned at me.

"I don't want you to go through all that trouble for me."

"It's not trouble, and nothing you say will change my mind."

I looked at the sky again. Jasper watched as I extended my arms, stacking one hand on top of the other. It was about 2:45.

I sat up quickly.

"We better get a move on," I said, grabbing my bag and putting it back over my shoulder. "I don't know what time the shops close here."

Jasper paused as he stood, and into the pond and grabbed one of the red water lilies before holding it out to me.

I grinned as I took the flower.

"Thank you," I said, quickly placing protection charms on the flower to keep it from crumbling when I tucked it away inside my bag. "It's beautiful."

He smiled at me as he took my hand and the two of us began walking.

"Alice?" Jasper asked, as we walked through the forest, making our way back to the main road.

"Hmmm?"

"Are you happy here?"

"I've only been here for a little over a week."

"But so far? Are you happy?"  
I nodded without thinking.

"It's different here. I like this place. Being here with you."

I turned away from him, but he reached out and grabbed my hand.

We started running then. Hand-in-hand, going down the main road as the clouds disappeared. We didn't talk for a while. We ran in silence, and neither one of us felt the need to break that silence. We left each other to our thoughts.

I thought about the differences between the short time I had been with Jasper, and the six or so years I had been in love with Remus, including the year before we got together, and the two years after we broke up. With Jasper, we didn't feel like we had to fill the silence with small talk. With Remus, silence was awkward. We always found some way to fill the silence, either through music or talking.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that in the end of mine and Remus's relationship, I didn't feel the same pull that I had in the beginning. The same pull I felt now with Jasper. I couldn't figure out why I fought so hard for the two of us, or why it angered me when he married Tonks. Even though the pull was stronger with Jasper, I was still scared that I'd wake up, and this life would disappear. My angel would disappear.

We stopped again about five minutes away from the Massachusetts borders.

"You know," Jasper said, "I was thinking. We don't have to do all this stuff in one day. We can do the clothes shopping today, the potions stuff tomorrow or the next day, then go to the police station sometime after that."

I thought about it for a moment.

"I like that idea. I've spent so much time moving….I wouldn't mind staying put for a while."

I looked into his crimson eyes.

"If we're doing the clothes shopping today, I'll have to change our eyes."

He eyes my wand cautiously.

"It won't hurt. I promise," I said.

He nodded, and I moved his hand to my shoulder.

"I trust you," he said.

"What color?"

"Brown," he said quietly.

I put the wand against the corner of his eyes. I focused on his eyes changing color, and suddenly the crimson faded into a chocolate brown eyes. I smiled as I looked at him.

"What?" he asked, panicked. "Did something go wrong?"

"No," I murmured. "Nothing wrong."

I traced under his eyes as I grinned.

"My angel is more human now."

It felt more real now. Like he wasn't going to disappear.

Jasper grinned, and I waved my wand again, and a small rock turned into a handheld mirror.

"Can you hold this for me?" I asked, extending the mirror to him. He gladly took it, and held it at eye level as I turned my wand into the corner of my own eye. I watched as the blood red eyes slowly faded into the same mud brown eyes I had as a human.

As I looked back up at him lowering my wand, his grin grew.

"You had beautiful eyes," he said.

I smiled.

"They're certainly are a step up from the red eyes. They terrified me. I didn't look like myself."

I laughed as I shook my head.

"We'd better get going. Before the spell wears off. We have about an hour and a half before the brown starts to fade, and by the second hour, they'll be red again, so we'll probably have to do it again before going into the motel."

Jasper took his hand off my shoulder, and took my hand again.

"Let's go then."

We took off again, moving quickly to the border of Massachusetts. We had decided we wouldn't be staying in Salem, but in the city of Peabody which was a little over five minutes away from Salem. The sun seemed to be disappearing again, behind clouds that just barely seemed to cover the sky. .

When the trees stopped, Jasper and I stopped running. We were just outside of Peabody.

"Why are you nervous?" Jasper asked, as I began fidgeting with the sleeve on my shirt.

"I haven't really been anywhere without Helen and Tobias. I didn't go into the Muggle world often in my human life."

Jasper took my hand again.

"You've got me now."

He squeezed my hand and I instantly felt calmer.

"There we go," Jasper said as we started to walk. "That's better."

When we entered the city, Jasper started leading me to a nearby store.

"We don't have to get a whole lot right now," Jasper said. "If we're still looking for Helen and Tobias by next year, I'm sure there will be many stops along the way."

"We need enough that lasts for two weeks," I said. "At the end of the first week, I wash the clothes you wore that weeks, and so on."

Jasper looked at me carefully.

"Have you lived like this before? Always on the go?"

I shook my head.

"No. But I had a plan for everything. I always kept a bag packed with two weeks worth of clothes, potions. I always had back up everything. Except for my wand. There's only one of these."

"Can wands break?"

I nodded.

"They can. They are still wood after all."

"Have you ever broke yours?"

I shook my head.

"No, I've had the same wand that I've had since I was eleven. I have always been careful. When I wasn't using it, it was in its holster or its box."

"Box?"

"Well it's more a case than a box. The case it came in when I bought it."

"You've kept that for eleven years?"

I nodded.

"Most people threw it away. I didn't. I still have it. In my bag."

We walked quietly again, heading into the center of the town.

* * *

 **Okay, I know there's not much to this chapter, but it's more to fill space and give a reference for time between the previous chapter, and the chapter after this. I also wanted to put this chapter in specifically for the scene with Alice and Jasper in the woods. I had a dream about it and figured I'd put that part into a chapter.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	12. A Trip into the Wizarding World

_"Everyone wants some magical solution for their problem and everyone refuses to believe in magic." ~Jefferson (Mad Hatter), Once Upon A Time_

* * *

Chapter 12- A Trip into the Wizarding World Alice's POV

After Jasper and I had finished his shopping, we went to a nearby motel to check in for the next week.

"Are you going to do any shopping tomorrow?" Jasper asked as I started sorting out his stuff into bags of their own.

I nodded.

"We'll have to stop at the bank before going to the Apothecary. To switch out the currencies."

"How do you know where to find it?"

"Maps. There's one in one of my books. I had thought about visiting America when Remus and I first got together. I had bought a couple books."

I reached over the bed to grab my bag and pulled out the books. I dug around until I found the books I was looking for, and tossed them to where he sat on the bed across from me.

"We hide in plain sight," I said, returning to folding the clothes in front of me. "But it's my understanding that American witches wizards are more cautious about Muggles, and I think they call him No-Majs here."

"Why are Americans more cautious than British witches and wizards?"

"Well it's European witches and wizards as a whole. But have you ever heard of the Salem Witch Trials?"

Jasper nodded.

"That's why. Americans see Muggles as dangerous, but where I'm from, they're curious."

"How so?"

I laughed.

"You know those television boxes?"

He nodded again.

"We don't have those. Nor do we have the floor cleaning machines, or the dishwashing machine," I waved my hand around as I chuckled. "I don't know how to work any of them."

"How did you clean things?" Jasper asked, looking at me curiously.

"By hand or by magic."

I took out my wand, and waved it over the clothes on my lap, and on the bed. The folded clothes started piling on top of each other in stacks between us, while the unfolded clothes folded itself, and added it to the pile.

"Why were you doing it by hand?" Jasper asked, watching the clothes.

I shrugged.

"I've always folded clothes by hands. But dishes," I shook my head, "I did those by magic."

"What about in school? How did you wash clothes then?"

"The house-elves."

"The what?"

"House-elves. They serve witches and wizards."

"Did you have one?"

"Sort of. When I lived with Remus, no. But the Black family does have one. His name is Kreacher. But when Dad died….he was left to Harry."

"It seems a lot was left to Harry."

I shrugged.

"Everything that didn't have the Slytherin crest or the Black crest. Or anything that wasn't in my mother's vault or the money in my mother and father's joint vault."

"Where're they all at now? It seems you don't have any of it with you now."

"In my house. In Britain. All locked away in a jewelry box. I expect Harry and George will make sure it stays there."

I began putting the piles of clothes in the bag for Jasper.

"So tell me about the stuff you want to see tomorrow."

"I want to see everything," he said, flipping through the book.

I smiled.

"Well I'm sure we'll have plenty of time for that."

He smiled too, looking up from the book. I reopened my bag, and moved stuff around for Jasper's bag to fit.

"There we are," I said, placing the bag back on the floor next to the bed before laying down and closing my eyes. "All done."

I felt the bed shift under me as Jasper moved next to me.

He began humming a song I didn't recognize quietly. For a second, I felt like I could fall asleep.

After the sun had risen, I changed into a sundress, with heels instead of flats, and instead of a jacket, I put on my cloak. Jasper, who wore a button down shirt and jeans, looked at me curiously.

"Do you have a pointed hat too?" he teased, slipping on his jacket as I put my bag over my shoulder.

"Not with me. Although I'm sure I can find a tailor somewhere here. I think they'd have one."

Jasper laughed.

"Is there any stereotype about witches and wizards that aren't true?"

I thought about it.

"Well I'm not green, and I've never had a wart. I think I have a fairly normal sized nose if you ask me."

"You're actually quite beautiful for a witch."

I looked down at the ground.

"I wouldn't say beautiful."

Jasper shook his head.

"She's unbelievable," he muttered, suddenly irritated.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked, putting up the hood of my cloak.

He looked around the room.

"Do you have the key?"

I held it up, before placing it in a pocket on the inside of my cloak.

I looked at the book with the map.

"From the looks of things, we have to go to the town center. I'm not sure if you'll be able to see the pub there, but I should be able to lead you in."

I traced the road to the center of Salem, before looking up at Jasper.

"Are you ready to go?"

He nodded, and smiled.

"Let's go."

The sun was peeking out behind the clouds today. Jasper and I had to get to the trees before we could run, and we had to get to the center of town once we got to Salem. Jasper had a hat and gloves, while I had my cloak and gloves.

"When we get into Salem, stay close to me," I said, as we walked to the patch of trees a few blocks from the motel that would lead us to where we need to go. "I've never seen vampires in the Leaky Cauldron. I don't know if they can see it unless they have magic in them."

Jasper took my hand as we walked.

"Is this okay?" he asked, bringing our hands up for me to see.

"Yeah," I said, looking carefully at our hands. "Yeah, that's okay."

He glanced at me at the same time I looked away from him. He didn't say anything. He just watched me as the two of us broke into a run.

It took about two minutes to get from the patch of trees, to the inside of Salem limits. We slowed to a walk while we were covered by the trees, and left the trees. The sun, that was beating down on us, didn't cause our skin to do the odd sparkling thing. My hood was low on my face, and his hat was sitting low enough down to where his eyes were covered.

"Such a strange outfit," one woman whispered to her friend. I peeked around the edge of the hood, and learned the two women were staring directly at me.

I hid my face further in my hood, and began to quicken my pace, pulling Jasper along beside me.

"Al, it's okay."

"I stick out, Jazz," I said quietly.

"Not a lot of people wear cloaks. They haven't for about a long time."

"Either way it goes. I stick out."

"Well soon you won't."

I gave him a small smile, but didn't slow down.

We walked quickly and quietly to the town center. The closer we got, the more I started to focus on the path from the map. Before too long, we were standing in the center of the town.

"Okay," I muttered, pulling out the book and flipping to the map. "It should be over here," I said, turning to the west.

We walked a touch further from where we were. As I got closer, an alley, started getting filled.

"There!" I exclaimed, quietly. "Do you see that?"

Jasper looked to where I pointed.

"Alice, I don't see anything but an alley."

I showed him the map.

"That's where the pub is."

I pulled his hand, to the pub with a sign that read Eye of Newts.

When we got to the door, I looked around. Nobody seemed to be paying attention to the two of us. I pushed the door open and stepped inside, pulling Jasper in behind me.

The pub had the same feel as the Leaky Cauldron. It was dark, and not very crowded. There was a stair case on the far end of the wall, but I wasn't sure whether or not it led to an inn.

"I'll be with you in a moment," the woman behind the counter said, as Jasper and I approached. I put down my hood and tucked Jasper's hat away inside of my bag.

She didn't look to be much older than I was. She had blonde hair, that reminded me so much of Draco's, that was pinned up in a bun on the top of her head.

She was smiling when she came back to us.

"Good morning, I'm Ayallah. What can I do for you today?"

"Good morning," I said, looking around behind her. "We need to get to Roundhill Alley."

I glanced down at the book to make sure I had given the right name.

"Of course. Do you have a wand?" she asked glancing warily at our eyes.

"I do," I said, pulling it from the holster.

"Follow me."

She led me and Jasper from behind the counter.

"You're not from around here," she stated as we walked.

I shook my head.

"No. I'm from Britain."

"You went to Hogwarts!" she exclaimed turning to me. "What house were you?"

"I was in Slytherin."

She frowned.

"I hear that house has a bad reputation."

I shook my head.

"I'm not like the other students."

"I can see that," she said, pointing at my eyes. "I went to Ilvermorny. I was in Wampus. That is like your Gryffindor."

I smiled.

"My best friends were in Gryffindor."

"And you?" she asked turning to Jasper. "What house were you in?"

"I'm not a wizard," he said, simply. "Just a vampire."

"Oh," she said, bewildered. "I'm sorry. I have a tendency to assume things."

"That's okay," Jasper said, as the three of us came to a stop.

The girl turned back to me.

"Okay," she said, clapping her hands together. "It's not much different from how you get into Diagon Alley from the Leaky Cauldron. How did you get in there?"

"From the trashcan, we went three up and two across."

I pointed to a trash can that sat in the same spot as it did in the Leaky Cauldron, then traced my finger upwards and across.

"Yes, not much different from that at all. It's just one more brick to each side. Just tap your wand four up, three across from the trash can."

I did as she said, tapping my wand on each brick.

When I drew my wand back, the bricks started to fold into a large archway.

"There you are!" she said cheerfully.

"Thank you, very much, Ayallah."

"Of course. I don't believe I caught your name."

I turned and looked at her.

"Mary," I said, stepping into the archway, pulling Jasper in behind me. "My name is Mary."

"Well it was nice to meet you Mary. Welcome to America!"

The archway folded back into a brick wall.

"Well she was something," Jasper said, smiling at me.

I nodded.

"She was very….direct," I said, as I started laughing.

He smiled and shook his head.

"Where to first?"

"The bank," I said. "If it's set up like Diagon Alley, then it should be at the end up here," I said, pulling his hand.

Sure enough, at the end of the street, a large towering building stood. It was built the same way as Gringotts.

"I wonder if this place is run by goblins too," I muttered.

Jasper looked at me worriedly.

"Goblins?"

"They're very intelligent creatures," I said, shrugging as I paused to pull out my coin purse with the Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts inside, and pulling out some Muggle money as well.

"Okay. Let's go," I said, taking his hand.

"They're not going to attack me, are they?" Jasper asked cautiously.

I laughed again.

"No. But you'd have to be mad to try and steal from them. As long as you don't try to steal from them then you'll be alright. Just stay by me."

He took my hand, and followed me up the remaining stairs.

As I stepped inside, it reminded me of Gringotts. There were Goblins filling the isle, and one that sat at the very end.

I pulled Jasper along behind me to the single goblin at the end.

The goblin peered at me from over the desk.

"What can I do for you?" he asked.

"I'd like to exchange my money for the American currency."

He held out his hand, and I dropped the coin pouch and the dollars in his hand.

"Is it just Muggle money?" he asked, glancing at the coin pouch.

I shook my head.

"There's Galleons, Knuts, and Sickles in the pouch."

"That will be a moment," he said, glancing at Jasper, then turning back to me.

"Of course."

I stepped to the side as he began counting through the money, and refilling the bag with a different kind of coin.

"We have Dragots here," the goblin said, passing back down the coins, which was now heavier than it had been before. "Only Dragots."

"Thank you, sir," I said.

"Is that all you need today?"

"Yes, sir."

"Enjoy your day, Madame."

"You too," I said, tipping my head before turning away from the desk.

Jasper looked around again as we headed for the exit.

"They're nicer here than in Britain," I said once we got outside.

"The ones aren't nice in Britain?"

I shook my head.  
"Goblins do not trust witches and wizards. They think we're arrogant, although I don't think they're completely wrong. They were nice to some. I treated house-elves and goblins like I treat witches and wizards, so they were always nice to me."

There was a stack of maps on a stand near the steps of the bank. I stopped to grab one before continuing.

"Okay. The Apocarthery is down here," I said, more to myself than to Jasper.

"Hey, Alice?" Jasper asked, pausing.

"Hmm?"

"Is that an owl?"

I looked at where he pointed. Inside the window of a pet shop, a barn owl sat on a perch.

I nodded.

"I could have sworn that I told you we deliver our mail by owl."

"Did you ever have one?"

I nodded.

"Remus got me one when I started Hogwarts."

"What happened to it?"

"He's one of the Hogwarts owls now."

"What was his name?"

"Regulus. After my uncle," I said, pulling him behind me as I walked.

"I didn't know you had an uncle."

"I had a few actually. But I only knew of Regulus. My dad's only sibling. He died in 1979."

I added the last part under my breath.

"How?"

"Trying to destroy one of Voldemort's horcruxes. He was a Death Eater, but I think he only did it to please my grandmother Walburga and my grandfather Orion. When he realized it was wrong, he tried leaving. But leaving Voldemort comes with a price. Regulus knew he would die, so he stole the Horcrux and replaced it with a fake."

"Did Sirius tell you this story?"

I shook my head.

"Kreacher told me after Dad died."

We made it to the Apocrathy then, and Jasper stepped closer to me.

"I think America is partial to planting their own plants," I said, looking at the seeds on the outside rack.

I picked up a few packets of different seeds, such as Asphodel, the seeds to make Standard Ingredient, and Dittany before stepping into the Apocrathy.

"Good morning!" the man behind the counter said. "Can I help you with anything today?"

"I need to buy ingredients and I have some potions to sell."

"Of course. Well get everything you want to buy, and then we'll see those potions."

"Thank you, sir."

"Of course."

I walked around the store, looking through the ingredients and potions. I grabbed a couple jars of the Sleekeazy's Hair potion and other ingredients.

When I came to the counter, I had a good amount of ingredients, ranging from ingredients to make my own hair potion myself, with others.

"Is that all?" the man said.

I nodded.

"Now we can do your potions one of two ways. One, we can total up how much you'll earn and take that off your total for this and pay any leftover money we'd owe you, or two, you can pay for this on your own, and we can pay you back what your potions are worth."

"I think I'll take the first option," I said, opening my bag, and setting all the bottles on the counter. "Well we have a tester here on hand. It'll take about an hour or two possibly three to test them all. Can I get a name?"

"Mary Black," I said, pausing to decide whether I'd add the Alice onto my name.

"Okay, Miss. Black, we'll see you shortly, and we'll keep these on hand," he said, waving to the ingredients.

"Thank you," I said, turning to the door.

Jasper followed me out of the shop, staying close to me.

"Oh!" I exclaimed, as I looked down of the map.

"What?" Jasper as panicked, squeezing my hand. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong! Come with me. I want to see something."

Down the street, on the right hand side, sitting in between a wand shop and a robe shop, there was the American branch of Honeydukes Sweet Shop.

"A candy store?" Jasper asked stunned as I pulled him through the door. "Alice do you not remember the coffee?"

"No, no, no. This is a candy for vampires."

I began moving around the store, until I found the section I was looking for. I picked up one of the blood-flavored lollipops, and looked at the ingredients.

"It's blood flavoring," I said. "I wanna see if this tastes better than the rest of human food. I never had one as a human."

"It has no actual blood in it?" Jasper asked cautiously.

I shook my head.

"I wouldn't think so. Maybe it could help us adjust to the new diet. You still get the same taste, but you won't have to actually kill anyone."

Jasper sighed.

"What happens when we run out?"

"Salem isn't the only wizard community in America," I said, pulling out the book and showing him the different maps. "Salem, and three other towns in Massachusetts, New York, two in Texas and there's others."

"Okay," he said, "I'll try them."

I grabbed four, and moved to the counter.

"Good morning," the woman said,glancing down. "Will that be all?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"That'll be four Dragots," she said, watching as I dropped the already pulled out coins into her hand.

She passed me the bag, and smiled.

"Have a good day."

"You too."

Jasper and I headed out the door, and I paused to look down at the map.

"Where to next?" Jasper asked, putting his chin on the top of my head as me look down at the map.

I pointed to a spot on the map to a store that sold outdoor supplies.

"I wanna see if there is something there."

"Can I ask what that something is?"

"A tent," I said, as we walked to the store.

"A tent," he repeated, amusement radiating off him.

I nodded.

"Wizard tents, so we don't always have to stay in a hotel."

"And how do these differ from a regular tent?"

"Well these have bedrooms, and a kitchen, and a bathroom."

"It's not like you need any of that," he teased.

When I didn't laugh, he looked at me, concern radiating just as strong as the amusement had only a couple seconds before.

"Alice? I'm sorry was it something I said?"

I didn't answer right away. I couldn't figure out why I had taken it the wrong way. He was only joking. I knew that.

Jasper put a hand on each one of my shoulders and guided me to a chair. He pulled it out, and pressed on my shoulders to make me sit, then crouched in front of me.

"Alice, please talk to me. What's the matter?"

I shook my hand.

"This is all new to me. Everything in this world, it's all I've ever known. I never had a reason to be in the Muggle world. It's things like the tent that make this feel more normal to me. I wanted it to feel like home, but I could also have you."

"I didn't mean to offend you, Al."

"I know that...I guess I've just been more sensitive since the war."

He chuckled.

"Soon that'll pass."

I smiled at him, before jumping to my feet.

"Come on," I said. "We've got things to do before we go back to the Apocrathy."

He smiled and took my hand.

We continued to the shop, and the streets were becoming more crowded.

Jasper, who had become very tense, relaxed as we stepped in the shop.

"Okay," I muttered, more to myself than to Jasper.

"Can I help you?" a woman asked from behind the counter.

"You wouldn't happen to have any tents would you?" I asked, stepping closer to the desk.

"We do. Is there a specific size your looking for?"

I planned ahead. If Helen and Tobias were right, and there were two more males, Emmett and Edward, then in total there would be seven of us.

"Big enough to fit seven people… So I'd say one with four rooms."

She nodded and then walked into a back room.

"There's five of them already," I explained to Jasper. "Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward."

Jasper nodded as the woman came back carrying a large stack of tent packages.

"Here's all the four rooms we have," she said, laying them all on the counter. "These," she pointed at a group of tents, "already have Anti-No-Maj charms."

I shook my head.

"They're all Muggles except for me."

She looked at Jasper concerned, then turned back to me as a heavy wave of acceptance filled the room.

"Perhaps one of these then," she said, pointing to the other pile.

I nodded.

I pointed to the grey one, and she pulled it out.

"Sixty Dragots, please."

I counted the coins and passed them to her.

"Thank you," I said, turning to the door, after taking the bag of the counter.

"Have a good day," she said.

"Same to you."

I looked down at the map.

"How about you pick a place," I said, passing it to him.

I watched him as he studied the map. His hair fell from behind his ear to where it was covering his eyes.

"How about Esperanza's Book Store?"

I looked at the map.

"Let's go," I said, taking his hand.

The book shop was only two doors down from where we were. Between an ice cream parlor, and a quill shop.

Jasper held the door open for me, then quickly returned to my side.

"I don't want you to feel like you have to be attached to my hip," I said, smiling up at him as I reached up to sweep his hair out of his eyes. "Look around, find some books you think you'd like. If you see anything you'd like, I'll buy them for you."

"I don't want to risk anything," Jasper said quietly.

I smiled and pulled my bag around.

"Here," I said, handing him one of the lollipops from my bag. "This should help you."

"If I didn't know better, I'd say you were trying to get rid of me," he teased, stepping closer to me.

I shook my head.

"I could never do that. You make me feel like I'm home."

He smiled down at me, before stepping back.

"I'll meet you back here in a half an hour," he said,opening the wrapper as he turned.

I smiled and turned to the books on the shelf.

It was forty-five minutes before Jasper and I actually met up again. He returned to me with a stack of books ranging from Numerology to History of Magic.

I laughed as he shook his head.

"I can put some of them back," he said, quietly. "I think I went overboard."

"No, no, that's quite alright," I flipped through the titles. "I don't have any of these."

"I found a book on Hogwarts," he said, shuffling through the stack. "At least I'm pretty sure it's about Hogwarts."

He passed me a leather bound book. On the front cover, the Hogwarts crest glared up at me.

I nodded, and opened the cover.

"It's not Hogwarts; A History, but it is about Hogwarts. Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."

I traced the words that was on the front cover.

"What does that mean?"

"It's Latin. It means 'Never tickle a sleeping dragon."

Jasper chuckled.

"Is it true?"

I laughed.

"Yeah, I suppose it is. You'd be lucky if you live to tell the tale."

I picked up my smaller stack from the floor, and the two of us began heading for the counter.

"Quite the load you have there," a man from behind the counter said.

I grinned.

"He's very curious about our world," I said, smiling at Jasper.

"Well that'll be about fifty-five Dragots," he said, counting the books.

I paused to count out the amount I needed, and placed it on the counter.

"Have a good day. Come back soon!" the man said, after quickly counting through the change.

Jasper walked,carry the bag of books with one hand, and taking my hand with the other.

"Hey, Jazz?" I asked, as I put the books inside my bag.

"Hmm," he asked, leaning closer to me.

"Do you think we can push the police station trip to later in the day tomorrow? I've got to rearrange my stuff again after all this shopping."

"Of course," he said, squeezing my hand. "Whatever you need."

We didn't go to another store. Just walked up and down the streets.

"I see why you like it here so much," he said, as we sat at a table. "It's amazing."

"One day, I'll take you to London," I said, closing my eyes. "Maybe James will be dead and you can meet my family."

My eyes, even though they were closed became dry, and I felt a lump growing in my throat.

"They'd love you."

I felt Jasper pull me to him, squeezing me tightly.

"It's okay, Ali," he breathed in my ear. "I've got you now. It gets easier. It really does."

The sadness slowly started to fade. Heavy waves of happiness washed over me.

"Open your eyes," Jasper said, his voice louder than before, but still too quiet for a human to hear.

I opened my eyes, and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Jasper."

"Of course. It's what I'm supposed to do."

I smiled, and pulled back.

"Do you think we should go back to the Apocrathy?" I asked, looking at the large clock on the building behind him. It was after four-thirty now.

He turned, and looked at the clock behind him, then turned back to me.

"Are you okay now?" he asked, taking my hand. "We can stay here for a little while longer if you need to."

I shook my head and pulled him into another hug.

"I'm okay. Thank you Jasper."

I pulled back again, and kissed his cheek.

He was grinning ear to ear.

We walked quietly to the Apothecary, both of us wrapped in our own thoughts. Jasper's smile didn't fade, and he occasionally glanced over at me.

As I pushed open the door of the Apothecary, the same man behind the counter looked up, and his face lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.

"Ms. Black!"

"Did things go well?"

"Very," he said. "You were able to cover your entire purchase, and gain twenty Dragots. You're very talented. And you are a very lucky man."  
Jasper beamed.

"I know. She's amazing," he said.

"That she is. Feel free to send us potions at any time."

"I'm not to sure about that. We're just passing through Salem," I said.

"Well if you're ever in Salem again, feel free to stop by. Judging by those eyes, you have a long life ahead of you."

"Of course," I said.

He reached behind the counter and pulled up my ingredients, and a small pouch.

"This has your money inside," he said, pointing to the small pouch.

"Thank you very much," I said, as Jasper and I began pulling the bags with jars filled with my ingredients and the small pouch before stowing them all away in my bag.

"Enjoy your day, Ms. Black."

"Thank you, sir. Have a good day."

Jasper and I turned from the store.

"Are you ready to go back to the motel?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Maybe you could tell me more about that family of yours."

I smiled as I took his hand, and pulled him back down the road to the pub walls.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I don't think I can thank you enough for your support. I am much, much happier with how this is turning out so far. The next round of chapters should be up soon. The next chapter will show the first police station visit, and other surprises!**

 **Again, I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review :)(:**


	13. First Slip

**A/N: Okay, so this chapter starts after Alice and Jasper return from Roundhill Alley. It will have a start that doesn't seem to match the title, but it will appear in time. This chapter is going to be longer, seeing as Alice will learn more about Jasper. Some of that dialogue comes from Jasper telling Bella his story in Eclipse, but it was altered, and things have been added, changed, and taken out to make it to where he is talking to Alice. Enjoy!**

* * *

 _"We don't make mistakes, just happy little accidents." ~Bob Ross_

* * *

Chapter 13- First Slip Alice's POV

When we made it back to the motel room, I immediately emptied out all the bags, except for Jasper's, and began reorganizing.

"So," Jasper said, as he began stacking up all the books on the floor beside him by subject, "tell me more about your family."

"Which side? Mum or Dad?"

"Whichever."

"Well I know more about Dad's family, so we'll start with his."

"Sounds like a plan," he said, beaming up at me.

I looked up from the ingredients, and eyed him carefully.

"Let me start out by saying, my family is….well it's odd."

"Aren't all our families?"

I shook my head.

"Remember how I told you that a lot of purebloods try to keep the bloodline pure by marrying only purebloods?"

He nodded.

"Well in the Black family, we did that but—"

"Al, why are you nervous? It's your family. How bad can it be?"

"It was common in the Black family to marry your cousins to keep the family pure," I said, not meeting his eyes.

When I glanced up, he was glaring at the floor.

"Well then," he said. "That makes more sense."

"My grandparents for example, Walburga and Orion, they were second cousins."

"What about your mother and father?"

I smiled.

"All purebloods are related one way or another. Mum and Dad were more distant."

I moved around the bed and began helping him to stack the books.

"I'm the last person with the last name Black in my family," I said. "Until….well if, we get married."

"You don't think we will?" Jasper asked, not meeting my eyes.

"I hope we will. One day. But we'll cross that line when we get there."

I smiled as I looked up at him. He was smiling too.

"How much of your family did you know?"

"Well from my Dad's side, I knew I had an uncle, and I knew my grandparents name. I knew they disowned my father, but I wasn't after I became a Death Eater. I knew anything Remus told me growing up, and everything Dad told me when he broke out of prison."

"And your mom's?"

"Severus Snape, my old Potions professor, and another Order member who was Undercover with me, I told you about him."

"I remember him."

"He and my mother were close growing up. They lived near each other, Severus lived on Spinner's End, and my mother lived somewhere nearby. They were close, and eventually, Harry's mother, Lily, joined their group. Severus used to tell me stories of Mum and Lily. I know I had an uncle, and my cousin Theodore was in Harry's year. That's all I really know. I did meet my uncle, he was a Death Eater, but I always called him Nott. I don't remember ever hearing his first name."

Jasper looked at at me curiously.

"Were all your family Death Eaters?"

"Mum and Dad weren't. I was my cousins Bellatrix and Narcissa were, Tonks and her mother Andromeda weren't."

"What about your grandparents?"

"They believed Voldemort had the right idea, but no. They weren't Death Eaters."

He reached for my left arm and pushed up my sleeve.

"Did that hurt?"

"I think it hurt more when I tried to claw it off," I said, smiling weakly at him. "Dumbledore found me. Cleaned the blood off my couch, my pants, and my arm, and then he took me to Fred and George."

"How badly were you hurt?"

"Well I tried clawing it off, and I cut my arm with charms."

Jasper frowned at me.

"Promise me something?" he asked, not letting go of my arm.

He stared in my eyes, and I couldn't bring myself to look away.

"Anything."

"Promise you won't try to hurt yourself again."

I didn't have time to think. His eyes didn't leave my face, and I instantly wanted to give him what he wanted.

"I promise."

He smiled as let go of my arm.

"Good."

"What about you?" I prompted. "Do I ever get to hear your story."

His smile faded slightly.

"You don't have to," I said, quickly. "I just feel like all we ever do is talk about me."

He shook his head.

"You had an interesting life."

"You've lived for a hundred and four years, and you mean to tell me that there's nothing interesting about your life?"

He didn't answer, he suddenly became very focused on the books in front of him.

"Jazz, you don't have to tell me," I said placing a hand on his arm. "I just want to know more about you."

He sighed.

"I'll tell you what," he said, taking my hand. "Give me today to talk about you. Give me today, and tomorrow when we come back from the police station, I'll tell you my story. Deal?"

"Deal."

We didn't talk for what felt like a long time. I got flickers of something that I couldn't entirely see, but whatever it was, was bright. I blinked a couple time, and Jasper looked up at me.

"What is it?" he asked, suddenly concerned. "What do you see?"

I shook my head.

"They're flickers."

"What does that mean? If they're just flickers?"

"It means someone is changing their mind too quickly for me to see."

"You can't focus on it?"

"I don't know who is making the decision."

He looked at me and tilted his head to the the side.

"Your visions are interesting. I've never seen anything like them."

I chuckled and reached on the bed for one of the bag that held my crystal ball.

"Ready for more stereotypes?"

He leaned forward as I stacked to piles of books on top of each other to where it looked like a table.

I pulled out the base, placed it on the books, then carefully pulled out the ball.

Jasper grinned.

"So they actually exist?"

I nodded.

"They help me center my focus, and the Order charmed it to let other people see what I see."

I closed my eyes, and focused on Carlisle Cullen, as my hands hovered over the ball. As soon as I pulled a picture of him in my head I opened my eyes, to see Jasper staring wide eyed at the picture in front of him.

"This is Carlisle Cullen," I said, breaking Jasper's gaze from the ball. "He's who we're looking for."

I stared down at the ball, and focused. The picture slowly changed to the house.

"This is where I saw them."

"And you don't have a location?"

"Nope."

He watched as the picture changed to the vision of the day I met them, the sounds echoing through the quiet room.

"I thought you said there were five," he said, when the vision ended.

"Edward and Emmett are away. I'm not sure where they were."

I focused on Edward Cullen, trying to see if I could find him. Surely if he was destined to be in my future I'd be able to find him.

The picture was clear. He looked to be around my age, maybe a bit younger. He looked about as tall as Carlisle, and had the same golden eyes, but his hair was bronze.

"Who is that?" Jasper asked.

"Edward Cullen."

I pulled pictures of each of them into the crystal ball, and told them by name.

Emmett was much different than the rest of them. He was taller, and bulkier. He looked like in a past life, he could have been a weightlifter that I occasionally saw on Muggle magazines. His hair was black, like mine, but his eyes were gold.

"He kinda looks like you," Jasper said with a wide grin on his face.

I rolled my eyes and smiled.

I moved my hands from the ball, and the picture faded out.

"Why did they charm it?" he asked, as I began moving all pieces back into their cases.

"It made it easier when I was looking for a decision for the Order."

"Did you use it for Voldemort?"

"He never knew about it. It was a secret of the Order."

He thought about it for a moment as I started marking down all the books I had. After a moment, he got up, and moved next to me, rather than across me, and watched closely as I worked.

"You keep things fairly organized, yeah?"

I nodded.

"I think it makes things easier to find."

We stayed quiet for what felt like a long time. The sun had been down for a couple hours before I spoke again. I had moved from the books to organizing leftover potions, and listing them.

"You want to know something funny?"

"Hmmm?"

"Well it's not so much funny as a coincidence."

He rolled his eyes.

"Either way it goes. Funny or not funny, I want to know what you're thinking about."

"My mother died on May 17, 1981," I said.

"Right."

"My heart stopped beating on May 13, 1998. I was bitten the day before but my heart stopped beating on May 13."

"Al, I'm not sure I'm following you."

"My mother and I both died at 21, in May."

Jasper frowned.

"I never noticed that. What made you think about that?"  
"I was thinking of Mum and Dad. About how they would feel if they were alive at the time I was changed."

"They'd be heartbroken I'm sure."

"Do you think I still would have ended up here? Maybe you would've had a different soulmate."

"I think," he said quietly in my ear, "that you were destined to be here with me, whether your parents were alive or not."

I smiled, and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Do you believe in fate?"

"I do now. I didn't before I met you."

I looked into his eyes. He reached up and swept my hair of my face.

"You make it easy to believe anything is possible," he said, taking my hand.

"My angel," I muttered, closing my eyes, "made me want to give love a second chance."

We stayed quiet for a little bit. The rain that had started outside was the only sound.

A while later, I sat up and looked at the clock. It was nearing midnight.

The room was dark, and Jasper, at some point in the last couple hours, closed his eyes.

He was leaning against the bed, his eyes closed, and his chest raised and fell slowly. Even though it was impossible, it looked like he had fallen asleep.

I smiled, and pulled my bag into my lap. I pulled out my large comforter, and moved aside some of the clutter before draping the blanket onto Jasper.

He smiled, but his eyes stayed closed.

I took my place next to him, and returned to my lists.

It wasn't until the sun started to come up that Jasper moved. I had moved from ingredients to checking what instruments I had.

He reached up behind me, and wrapped the blanket around my shoulders.

"Good morning. So much for talking about me,huh?"

He smiled.

"I was comfortable. I would have slept if I could sleep."

"I don't know how you were comfortable in all this clutter," I said shaking my head.

Jasper looked around. Books sat in one corner, ingredients sat next to that. Instruments including my crystal ball, star charts, omnioculars, and my Sneakoscope all sat near those piles since I had already wrote them down. The tent sat in front of me, and my telescope, amongst other things, sat on top of it.

"I can start putting stuff away for you," he said, watching as I moved stuff to a new pile.

I shook my head.

"It's easier to have everything out."

I picked up one of the boxes from Roundhill Alley.

"I have something for you," I said opening the box.

Inside, there were two mirrors small enough to fit into a jacket pocket or even a pants pocket.

I picked one up, and handed it to Jasper.

"It's a two-way mirror. Say my name, and you can see what is shown in mine. So in case we're separated, for any reason, you'll have a piece of me."

He glanced at me, the back at the mirror.

"Show me Alice," he said, beaming when I peered into the mirror to her his flashing red eyes.

"Now you can do magic too," I said, as he grinned at me.

"When did you get this?"

"When I left you outside of that one shop. Delphi's. We can talk through them too."

He leaned over and hugged me.

"Thank you, Al."

"Of course."

He immediately put his mirror inside his jacket pocket.

"Dad had one for James….he gave that to Harry."

"What about you?"

"I was always around. Remus was trying to get Dad and I to rebuild our relationship. We never needed one," I paused. "If Dad had fell forward or to the side he wouldn't have died, you know. It was the veil that killed him in the end."

I was focused on the floor, and I began fidgeting with the bottom of my shirt.

Jasper pulled me closer, wrapping the blanket tighter around me.

"Don't be sad, Darlin'," he said quietly, tightening his hug. "He's with your mom now."

I hid my face. I didn't feel like crying, but I hid it out if habit.

"I have to lose them all, all over again."

"You'll have me this time, and if we find them in time, you'll have the Cullens."

I pulled back, and smiled weakly at him.

"You didn't use your gift," I said, cocking my head to the side.

"No, I didn't. I thought I'd see whether it made a difference."

I smiled, and sighed.

"One day you're going to get tired of this."

Jasper shook his head.

"I won't. I don't want you to be sad, but it's okay if you are sometimes. But each time you're sad, I'm going to be right here to make it better."

He smiled and pulled me back into a tight hug.

"You're never going to be alone again, Al."

I smiled against his shoulder.

He knew I loved him. If he didn't feel it before, he certainly did now.

We spent hours sorting everything. Clean clothes from dirty clothes, the dirty ones, I would wash the day after tomorrow. Objects that we would need sooner than others, like the tent, my crystal ball, blankets, and a few books, were put directly into the bag rather than being sorted into others. Everything else, was put into its respective bag.

We had worked at a slow pace, and it was nearing noon before we had finished. We had left the comforter out, and we both ended up on the now cleared bed, with me still wrapped tightly in the blanket.

"I suppose we'll have to change soon," I said, pointing to the two outfits that had been laid out at the foot of the second bed.

"Yeah, I suppose so," Jasper said, looking down at his jeans.

I closed my eyes.

"Do you miss being able to sleep?" I asked, moving my head back onto his shoulder.

"Sometimes. Do you?"

"You do know that I've been a vampire for all of two weeks, right? I don't think I get an opinion."

"Of course you do," he said. "Your opinions matters the most. To me anyways. So do you miss sleep?"

I thought about it for what felt like a long time.

"I do, but I don't."

"Tell me why you do."

"When I was sixteen, I started getting these dreams. They were about a baby. He had my brown eyes, but the rest of the features weren't mine," I opened my eyes, and looked up at the ceiling.

Jasper shifted from beside me, and he propped himself up with one arm, and watched me closely as I continued.

"I always thought they were Remus's. But I'm not sure. He was the only person I ever loved that way. I thought this baby was an angel….I miss seeing that baby, now that I know I can never have one."

"What don't you miss?"

I swallowed, and looked away from him.  
"At the end of the war, and after the war, I had nightmares. I watched everyone I loved, or anyone I ever cared about die, over, and over, and over again. I saw Fred die before he died, I saw Harry die in my dreams, and in real life….I watched Mum and Dad and Remus."

I shook my head, and squeezed my eyes closed as memories of each death tried floating into my head.

"Alice, Darlin', you're safe now," Jasper whispered, soothingly. "I've got you."

I shook my head as he tightened his arms around me, and started humming quietly.

The humming was soothing. It made me feel better as Jasper rocked the two of us back and forth.

"You went through a war," Jasper said quietly. "You watched people you love die. This is natural."

"How do you know?" I asked, just as quiet as he had.

"I've seen it. I was the same way. In time, it will all heal, you have to trust me on that. Do you trust me?"

"Of course I trust you. I'll always trust you."

"Then trust me. Soon you're going to be okay."

I smiled again, and pulled away.

"We better get going," I said, looking at the clock that was inching towards one o'clock.

I sighed as unwrapped the blanket, and sat it on the bed. As soon as I stood, a wave of happiness flooded the room.

I turned and frowned. Jasper smiled sheepishly, and bowed his head.

"That was accidental."

"It's okay."

I balled up my clothes and headed for the bathroom.

"So what else can you do with magic?" Jasper called.

"Have you ever heard of Legilimency?"

"Never heard of it," he said.

"You might call it mind reading," I said, peaking my head into the first room as I pulled on my leggings underneath the dress. "Using magic, I can navigate through the layers of your mind. I can also do the opposite. That's called Occlumency. I can shield my mind, parts I don't want others to see."

Jasper was quiet as I entered the room. He had changed already, wearing jeans, a navy blue long sleeved shirt, and a black unbuttoned trench coat.

"What?" I asked, crawling on the bed next to him as I pulled my boots on.

"After we get back, and I tell you my story, could you show me?"

I smiled, and picked up the holster from the nightstand and fastened it onto my right forearm.

"Of course."

I hopped off the bed to grab my jacket and my bag.

"Are you ready?"

He looked at my arm.

"Do you want to cover that up? In case you take your jacket off?"

I shook my head, and looked down at the knee length coat.

"I don't have anything to cover it with. Besides, it's raining, so being cold would be an easy thing to pass off."

I grabbed the room keys off the bedside table.

Jasper followed me to the door, and reached over my shoulder and unlocked the door, but didn't open it.

"Are we going to the police department here, on in Salem?"

"Salem," I confirmed. "I saw it on the way to the town center."

He nodded.

"It was a few blocks away."

I looked at his crimson eyes.

"We have to change these. I almost forgot about it."

"I suppose humans won't take well to red eyes, will they?"

"I don't think they will. So what color should we do for you today?"

He thought about it.  
"The same color yours used to be."

I pulled my wand out of the holster and held it up to his eyes. The red slowly darkened, and faded into a muddy brown. He smiled as he looked in the mirror next to the door. He looked just as amazed as he had when I first showed him magic.

"What color are you doing?" he questioned, as I turned to face the mirror.

"Grey. Like Dad's."

I put my wand against the end of my eyes, and the red brightened. It became a bright grey, almost silver.

"They match the sky," Jasper said, looking at my eyes in the mirror.

I nodded.

"After Remus and I got together, every time it rained, Remus would point to the sky and tell me that's what my Dad's eyes looked like," I remembered, looking at Jasper's face in the mirror. "He said Dad's eyes were the sky, and Mum's eyes was the earth."  
"And you?"

"I was the life in between," I said, turning to face him. "He said I brought light to everything around me."

"It doesn't make sense," Jasper said, as we moved to the door. "He seemed like he was completely in love with you. Then what? One day he's not?"

I chuckled.

"Remus was a good actor. He really had me going. I always thought he'd come back to me someday."

Jasper scoffed.

"Ridiculous," he muttered, shaking his head, side to side. "Well, Remus and I agree on one thing. You bring out the light in people."

I chuckled.

"Maybe I do have that magic touch," I said, winking at him.

He grinned and shook his head.

"You're impossible, Mary Alice Black."

"And you're amazing, Jasper Whitlock."

I paused for a second.

"Jaz, what's your middle name?"

"Pierce," he said.

"Jasper Pierce Whitlock," I repeated.

He nodded as we walked.

"I like it," I said, glancing up at his face. "It has a nice ring to it."

Jasper chuckled.

"Thanks, Al."

I took his hand, and he began tracing circles against the back of my hand.

When we made it back to Salem, the rain had stopped, but the clouds were still poking out.

"Maybe while we're here, we should buy an umbrella," I said, looking up at the sky. "I think it would attract too much attention to us if we didn't have one."

"How's the weather looking for the rest of tonight?" he asked, watching me.

I glanced around the empty street then closed my eyes. As I focused on the weather, I felt Jasper place his hands on my elbows as he guided me somewhere else.

"The rain will start again while we're in the police station," I muttered, as Jasper pressed on my shoulders. "It'll clear up tonight though, and tomorrow it will be sunny."

I opened my eyes, and focused on Jasper's face.

"Maybe buying an umbrella won't be such a bad idea," he said as he chuckled, and looked around at the shops.

"Wait!" I exclaimed, bending over to pick up a rock that was at my feet. "Maybe we don't need to buy anything."

I showed him the rock, and glanced around us. The street was empty still. I focused on the rock, and waved my hand over it. Jasper watched as the rock shifted, and turned from a rock to a softer material.

He took the umbrella from me, and opened it up.

"Magic will never fail to amaze me," Jasper said, as he closed it again.

I smiled, and stood up from the chair Jasper had led me to.

"Should we continue then?"

He held his hand out to me as we began walking.

"You take my hand on your own any other time," I said, taking his hand. "Why is today different?"

He shrugged.

"I thought about it, and I thought that maybe, seeing as we weren't dating, you wouldn't want to give anybody the wrong idea by holding hands."

I sighed.

"I don't care what people think. Even if we're not dating, I don't see why holding hands is a bad thing. I held Fred and George's hands."

Jasper smiled, and peaked at me from behind his hair.

"You're in a different time, Alice."

"Maybe. But just because we're not dating now, doesn't mean we're never going to."

"Fair point," he said, shaking his head.

We walked in the same direction to the town center, and before long, we came to the police station.

I looked up at the building.

"Okay," I said, turning to Jasper. "If we're not trying to give people the wrong idea about us, how should I introduce you?"

He frowned as he closed the umbrella.

"Introduce me?"

"Well I'm sure he'll ask what your purpose in being there is," I said, sitting on the bottom of the stairs and glaring at the ground. "If you don't want to give people the wrong impression, how should I introduce you?"

Jasper sighed, and squatted down in front of me. He lifted my chin with his finger and studied my face carefully.

"You're upset with me," he stated.

I shook my head.

"Not upset," I said. "I just don't want you to feel that way. Like I'm giving you the wrong idea."

"You're not," he said, softly. "Introduce me how I am. Your close friend, Jasper."

I nodded.

He pulled me to my feet.

"Come on, Darlin'," he said, pulling me up the stairs. "You've got a meeting."

He flashed me a smile that made my still heart feel like it was fluttering again.

The police office was warm, and when we stepped inside, Jasper moved slightly closer to me, as he tensed up.

"Can I help you?" a woman said from a desk.

She eyed Jasper and I as we stepped forward.

"Hello," I said carefully. "We're trying to find someone, and we were wondering if there was anyone here we could talk to."

She nodded, and looked down at a notepad on the table.

"You're just in luck. The sheriff just got in. I'll go talk to him and see if he'll talk to you. Take a seat over there."

"Thank you," I said, as I pulled Jasper to the chairs the woman had pointed to.

He held tightly onto my hand as we sat down. There wasn't many people here. A couple police officers stood closeby.

I held the both of our hands in my lap.

"Are you okay?" I asked, lowly looking at him.

He nodded, but didn't speak. As I turned my head, Jasper moved our hands into his lap, and began bending and unbending my fingers.

I turned my head back to him and chuckled.

"Having fun?" I teased.

"Hush," he muttered, turning away from me.

I laughed, and shook my head as I turned away from him.

"I don't think we'll be in here too long," I said looking at the clock. "The woman at the desk, she'll be coming back in a moment."

Sure enough, the woman came scurrying out of a back hall.

"Excuse me, Ma'am?" the woman from behind the desk said.

I looked up to meet her eyes.

"The sheriff can see you now. Follow me."

Jasper and I stood as she turned her back to us.

She led us down a long, narrow hallway with many different doors. At the end of the hallway, a door was opened.

The woman paused outside the door and knocked.

"Come in, Delila," a man with a gravelly voice.

The woman called Delila stepped to the side and waved Jasper and I forward.

The sheriff was a tall man with broad shoulders. He didn't look to be very old, early to mid thirties at the latest. He extended his hand to me.

"I'm Officer Daniels," he said, his voice less gravelly as he studied my face. "I don't believe I caught your name."

"I'm Alice. Alice Brandon," I said, shaking his hand. His shivered under my touch "This is Jasper."

Officer Daniels turned to Jasper, and extended his hand to Jasper.

Jasper glanced at me before shaking the sheriff's hand. The officer, as he shook Jasper's hands glanced at our intertwined hands. He glanced up to Delila who slipped out the door, closing it quietly behind her.

"Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea? Water?"

"No thank you," I said.

"Can I take either one of your coats?"

"I'd like to keep mine on, thanks," I said, flashing a grin at him. His face flushed a dark red.

"What can I help you with today?" he asked, gesturing to the chairs in front of his desk as he sat back down.

Jasper and I each took a seat, Jasper holding tightly onto my hand, and narrowed his eyes before scooting his chair closer to mine.

"We were hoping you could help us find someone."

"I maybe able to help. I know just about everyone in this town."

"Would anybody by the name of Carlisle Cullen of lived here recently?"

Officer Daniels leaned back in his chair.

"I can't say I've heard of him. Can you tell me anything else about Mr. Cullen?"

I shook my head.

"I don't know much about him."

"Then can I ask why you're looking for him?" he asked, tearing his eyes away from my face to look briefly at Jasper. I glanced at him to his eyes were still narrow.

"He may have known my father," I lied, turning my attention back to the sheriff. "I've been trying to find my father, and I think they went to school together."

The sheriff looked at me skeptically.

"Why do you think he'd be in Salem? No offence Ms. Brandon, but you don't exactly sound like you're from around here."

"I'm not," I said, frowning. "I've been trying to find my father, and Jasper and I were passing through Salem, so I thought I'd give it a shot. I know they both moved to America, and my trail on both my father and on Carlisle stopped after I left England," I lied.

"I'm sorry, but I don't think I can help you any," he said. He didn't sound sorry, but his eyes didn't leave my face. Officer Daniels glanced at Jasper then me again.

"Is there anything else I can help you with, Ms. Brandon?"

"I think that was it," I said, looking at Jasper.

"You mentioned you were passing through. Do you plan on staying in Salem long?"

I shook my head.

"We're only here for a couple more days," I said, gesturing to Jasper with our hands.

Officer Daniels's face seemed to fall, but he quickly recovered.

"Well I hope you enjoy your stay," he said, glancing from our hands to my face and giving me a wide smile.

"Thank you," I said, rising to my feet. Jasper stood as well.

"Have a great day," he said, jumping up to open the door. "Good luck in finding your father."

"Thank you. Have a good day."

Jasper moved quickly from the room, pulling me in tow before the sheriff could get another word out. He walked quickly down the hall, pausing when we got to the end.

"Did Sheriff Daniels help you with what you needed?" Delila asked, with a smile to Jasper and I.

"He gave us all the information he could," I said with a smile.

"Is there anything else I can help you with while you're here?"

"No thank you," I said. "Have a good day."

"You too, Ma'am!"

She walked cheerfully back to her desk.

"Are you ready to leave?" I asked, glancing at Jasper's face. He looked very tense, and very frustrated.

He nodded sharply and I pulled him to the entrance.

The second we stepped outside, he took a deep breath and pulled me into a hug.

"Jasper, what's wrong?" I asked, pulling back to look in his eyes. The brown was still as dark as when we left the motel.

"You shouldn't dazzle people like that," he muttered.

"Dazzle people?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"Officer Daniels liked you very much," Jasper said.

I pushed his hair out of his eyes.

"Are you jealous?" I teased.

He glared at me.

"Just because we're not dating, doesn't mean I don't like you, Alice. I'm just giving you the time you need to get to know me."

I grinned at him.

"Don't worry, Jaz. You're the only one whose caught my eye in America. My angel."

He smiled as he let go of me and took my hand.

"I believe I promised you a story," he said, as we bounded down the stairs into the rain. "So let's go back before anyone else catches your eye."

"Not possible," I said, leaning on his arm.

Once we were sure no one was nearby, we both broke into a run back to the hotel.

"Race you back!" I exclaimed, dropping his hand and pushing my legs as far as they could go.

I could hear Jasper laughing behind me as we both ran for a patch of trees.

The high pitched shrill of wind chimes rang through the forest as I shrieked with laughter as Jasper chased quickly behind me.

I slowed down to the end of the woods right in front of the motel. Jasper was further back. I could hear him, but I couldn't see him.

I looked up to the tree and grinned. I jumped up and grabbed ahold of one of the branches, and pulled myself into the tree. I watched as Jasper came skidding to a stop and the trees whipped around as he looked at me.

I grinned, and dropped from the tree in front of him.

"I win," I laughed.

Jasper sighed as he smiled.

"Come on, Darlin'," he said, taking my hand, and pulling me to our room. "Let's get you inside."

I danced across the lot to our room and pulled the keys from my jacket pocket.

When I pushed the door open, I shrugged out of my jacket and placed my bag on the bed. I took off my holster, and placed it on the nightstand with the keys.

Out of habit, I almost immediately wrapped myself in my comforter.

"Story time?" I asked, as he sat down next to me.

He sighed and nodded.

"Yeah, it's story of time. So I know where to begin, how much did you learn about vampires at Hogwarts?"

"Not a whole lot," I said, shrugging. "I didn't know about the Volturi, or any of the laws. I didn't know about drinking animal blood. We learn that the myths that Muggles say about vampires aren't true, but they create them to give themselves a fighting chance."

"Well," he said, chuckling. "I do want you to understand. There are some places in our world, where your new life is measured by weeks, and not centuries. I was brought into this new life under those circumstances, but all will be explained in my story. My story is nowhere near heroic as yours. I wish I could say that I was brought into this new life to protect my family, but I was nowhere near close to that."

"I'm not heroic," I mumbled, shaking my head back and forth.

Jasper smiled.

"You spent your life saving your family. You're the most heroic person I know."

I sighed and ran a hand through my hair.

"Okay. So for arguments sake, let's say that my transformation was for a heroic cause."

"Agreed," he said with a smile. "Now did Hogwarts teach you about vampire wars?"

I shook my head.

"No."

"What about your creators?"

I shook my head again.

"The most Helen and Tobias told me about any wars was that it was against vampire law to create a vampire for use of war."

Jasper nodded.

"That's true. But in some cases, where the human population is large, you could get away with wars without attracting to much attention to yourself. Vampires in the South, where I'm from, they didn't care about what humans took notice. The Volturi kept them in order."

The name of the ancient family sent a chill down my spine. Jasper, Helen, and Tobias all said the name with respect, but for some reason, they terrified me. Maybe it had to do with the warning Helen and Tobias had given me. The warning that the Volturi doesn't give second chances.

"Jasper?" I asked, looking up at his face. His eyes were slowly turning back to red.

"Hmm?"

"The Volturi, are they bad people?"

Jasper shook his head.

"Not at all. They keep the peace in our kind."

I was less afraid of them now. Jasper thought highly of them, so surely they couldn't be so bad.

"So the Volturi kept the Southern vampires in order," I repeated.

Jasper nodded.

"The immortals in the South, they were very careful. They came out at night, and spent the days planning their next move, finding ways to take down the competition for their food source. Because of the human population, humans would take very little notice of disappearances, but competition was a major thing. The most efficient method, was created by a vampire named Benito. Benito was more than likely the reason that the rule of not creating newborns for war was put in place."

"He made an army?" I guessed, sitting up slightly.

Jasper nodded.

"He made a large army of newborns. He wiped out several of the Southern covens, and he put a significant dent in the human population. Eventually the Volturi had to step in, and they executed Benito and anyone associated with Benito's army."

"Did Benito create you?" I asked, suddenly confused.

He shook his head.

"Benito was executed about a decade or so before I was born. But many immortals had the same idea."

Jasper paused, and studied my face.

"I was born in Houston, Texas in 1844," Jasper continued, his eyes never leaving my face. "When I was 17, I joined the Confederate Army during the American Civil War. Have you heard about that?"

I nodded.

"After Remus left me, before I joined the Death Eaters, I wandered into a Muggle library. They had books about it. I thought it was interesting."

Jasper chuckled.

"It was a hell of a war. I told the recruits I was twenty. I was tall enough to get away with it, so I was accepted. I always wanted to be a soldier."

He grinned widely at me.

"Over the next two years, I became the youngest Major in Texas."

"Major Jasper Whitlock," I murmured. "I like that."

Jasper shook his head as he smiled.

"I was in charge of evacuating women and children when the Union reached the harbor. I remember the night I started leading them to Houston," Jasper recalled, as his smile slowly faded from his face. "We arrived to Houston after dark, and I didn't stay long. I made sure my party was safely situated, then I got myself a new horse and I started heading back to Galveston.

"Just a mile outside the city, I found three women on foot. I assumed they were stragglers and dismounted at once to offer them my aid. But, when I could see their faces in the dim light of the moon, I was stunned into silence. They were, without question, the three most beautiful women I had ever seen."

He paused again, and looked back into my face.

"Until now of course," he added, the back of his hand grazing lightly across my cheek. I quickly reached up and held his hand there. He smiled as he continued. "They had the most pale skin I'd ever seen. I can remember being dazzled by it, the same way you dazzled the sheriff at the police station. The all looked young. Not much younger than you or I."

"Are you calling me old?" I teased.

"Of course not," Jasper grinned, taking my face in his hands. "Your twenty two, but you look like you could pass for seventeen."

I smiled and wrapped a hand around one of his wrists.

"So, tell me about the three women," I said, watching his face as the smile slowly falled.

"The tallest girl spoke first. Her voice was like yours —like windchimes. 'He's speechless,' she had said. She had fair hair, and her skin was chalky white.

"The next girl I noticed, her hair was more blonde than the first. She had the same chalky skin though. I thought of her, the same thing you thought of me. She had the face of an angel."

I couldn't help but feel jealous at how Jasper described the three girls. Jasper quickly picked up on this and sent a heavy wave of reassurance.

"Don't worry, Al," he said with a smile. "You're still the most beautiful angel I've ever met."

"You make me sound vain," I grumbled, closing my eyes.

"You're not vain," he said, soothingly, moving a hand from my face and resting it on my hip. "I wouldn't blame you."

I opened my eyes to his smiling face.

"Please continue," I said, with a small smile.

"The blonde haired girl, she leaned toward me and breathed in deeply. 'Mmm,' she had sighed. 'Lovely.'

"The last girl, she wasn't much taller than you, her hair was brown though, put her arm on the second girl. Her voice was to musical to be sharp. The way she talked though, I was sure that's how she intended it.

"'Concentrate, Nettie,' she warned."

Jasper paused as he looked down at my face again.

"From a young age, I could tell how people related to each other. I could see the brunette was the leader of these three.

"'He looks right — young, strong, an officer. . . . ' The brunette paused, and I tried unsuccessfully to speak. 'And there's something more . . . do you sense it?' she asked the other two. 'He's . . . compelling.'

"'Oh, yes,' Nettie quickly agreed, leaning toward me again.

"'Patience,' the brunette cautioned her. 'I want to keep this one.'"

I stared intently at him. He closed his eyes as he remembered his human life. Jasper, with his eyes still closed, pulled me closer to him. He kept one hand on my hip, and the other was under me.

"Are you okay?" I asked, bringing a hand up to his face.

He nodded.

"Like I've told you. I'm calmer when your closer."

"Do you need to take a break?"

He shook his head as he opened his eyes.

"Nettie frowned; I remember that she she seemed annoyed.

"'You'd better do it, Maria,' the taller blonde spoke again. I still didn't know her name, but at the time, that didn't matter. 'If he's important to you. I kill them twice as often as I keep them.'

"'Yes, I'll do it,' Maria agreed. 'I really do like this one. Take Nettie away, will you? I don't want to have to protect my back while I'm trying to focus.'

"My hair was standing up on the back of my neck, but I didn't understand anything they were saying. My instincts told me that there was danger, that the angel had meant it when she spoke of killing, but my judgment overruled my instincts. I had not been taught to fear women, but to protect them."

As he spoke, he moved one hand off of my hip and ran the back down my cheek before returning it to my side.

"Nettie and the blonde, whose name I still didn't know decided they would hunt. They took each other's hands, and the took off, darting off to the city. They were so fast, I thought they had taken flight. Their white dresses flew behind them, and it looked like wings. I was bewildered, and I turned to watch Maria, who was staring at me curiously."

He closed his eyes, and brought his forehead to mine before taking a deep breath.

A few moments passed, and he opened his eyes and moved his head back.

"I thought maybe they were ghosts, and not angels. I had never believed in ghosts or any of that nonsense before, but in that moment, I wasn't so sure.

"'What's your name, soldier?" Maria had asked me.

"'Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am' I responded. I couldn't bring myself to be impolite to her, even if she was a ghost.

"'I truly hope you survive, Jasper,' she said in her gentle voice. 'I have a good feeling about you.'

"She took a step closer, and inclined her head as if she were going to kiss me. I stood frozen in place, though my instincts were screaming at me to run."

He paused and looked down at me.

"I remember when she bit me. I remember the fire. It's the thing about my human life that isn't fuzzy."

I flinched as I thought of the fire.

"The fire," I murmured, "is where I first saw you. I thought something had gone wrong, and I had died."

He smiled at me, as I closed my eyes.

"Three days later, I woke up to my new life. I learned that the blonde girl's name was Lucy. Maria, Lucy, and Nettie hadn't been together long. Maria had found the other two and all three were survivors of recently lost battles. Theirs was a partnership of convenience. Maria wanted revenge, and she wanted her territories back. The others were eager to increase their . . . herd lands, I suppose you could say. They were putting together an army, and going about it more carefully than was usual. It was Maria's idea. She wanted a superior army, so she sought out specific humans who had potential. Then she gave us much more attention, more training than anyone else had bothered with. She taught us to fight, and she taught us to be invisible to the humans. When we did well, we were rewarded. When we did poorly—"

He broke off and I opened my eyes. He closed his eyes, and breathed in deeply again.

"Maria was in a hurry. She knew that the massive strength of the newborn began to die down around the year mark, and she wanted to act while we were strong.

"There were six of us when I joined Maria's band. She added four more within two weeks. We were all male — Maria wanted soldiers — and that made it slightly more difficult to keep from fighting amongst ourselves. I fought my first battles against my new comrades in arms. I was quicker than the others, better at combat. Maria was pleased with me, though put out that she had to keep replacing the ones I destroyed. I was rewarded often, and that made me stronger. "Maria was a good judge of character. She decided to put me in charge of the others — as if I were being promoted. It suited my nature exactly. The casualties went down dramatically, and our numbers swelled to hover around twenty.

"This was considerable for the cautious times we lived in. My ability, as yet undefined, to control the emotional atmosphere around me was vitally effective. We soon began to work together in a way that newborn vampires had never cooperated before. Even Maria, Nettie, and Lucy were able to work together more easily."

Jasper paused and he watched me carefully.

"Maria grew quite fond of me and after some time, she began to depend upon me. I worshipped the ground she walked on. I guess you could say that I loved Maria."

I closed my eyes and sighed. Hearing Jasper say he loved Maria, shattered my heart the same way it did when Remus told me he didn't love me, or when I learned that he loved Tonks.

"Alice?" Jasper said quietly in my ear. "Why are you sad?"

There was no point in lying. Jasper could tell easily if I was lying to him.

"You love her," I said, not opening my eyes.

"No, Alice," he said, soothingly. "Loved not love. I don't think I've loved Maria for a long time. Since about five years before I left. Besides, someone else has caught my eye."

I opened my eyes so his smiling face. I sat up, and kissed his cheek as the heavy waves of reassurance washed over me.

"You don't have to worry about me not loving you, Mary Alice Black," he said, taking my hand. "You're impossible for me not to love."

I smiled and settled back down.

"Should I continue?"

"Please."

"I had no idea that any other life outside of war was possible. Maria told us this was the way things were, and we believed what we were told. I fought alongside Maria and my brothers of sorts. That's where I got each of these from."

He pointed to some of his many scars. He closed his eyes as I lightly traced the one above his eye, and another that was along his jaw.

"You're still handsome with them," I said, quietly.

"The fighting in the South was intense. Many began to worry that the Volturi would return. Of the original twenty-three, I was the only one to survive the first eighteen months. We both won and lost. Nettie and Lucy turned on Maria eventually — but that one we won.

"Maria and I were able to hold on to Monterrey. It quieted a little, though the wars continued. The idea of conquest was dying out; it was mostly vengeance and feuding now. So many had lost their partners, and that is something our kind does not forgive."

He paused again, and pulled me closer. In a way, it was like he had me in a tight hug.

"Maria and I always kept a dozen or so newborns ready. They meant little to us — they were pawns, they were disposable. When they outgrew their usefulness, we did dispose of them. My life continued in the same violent pattern and the years passed. I was sick of it all for a very long time before anything changed.

"Decades later, I developed a friendship with a newborn who'd remained useful and survived his first three years, against the odds. His name was Peter. I liked Peter; he was more civilized than the others. He didn't enjoy the fight, though he was good at it."

"Do you and Peter still talk?" I asked, watching his face to make sure I hadn't upset him. I wasn't sure whether or not Peter had lived through this.

He nodded.

"He'll come back into my story soon.

"At this time, the newborns were outgrowing their strength; they were due to be replaced. Peter was supposed to help me dispose of them. We took them aside individually, you see, one by one . . . It was always a very long night. This time, he tried to convince me that a few had potential, but Maria had instructed that we get rid of them all, so I told him no. I wanted her to be happy.

"We were about halfway through, and I could feel that it was taking a great toll on Peter. I was trying to decide whether or not I should send him away and finish up myself as I called out the next victim. To my surprise, he was suddenly angry, furious. I braced for whatever his mood might foreshadow. He was a good fighter, but he was never a match for me.

"The newborn I'd summoned was a female, just past her year mark. Her name was Charlotte. His feelings changed when she came into view; it was his feelings that gave him away. He yelled for her to run, and he bolted after her. I could have went after them, but I didn't. I wasn't very open to destroying him. Maria was angry with me for that."

"I knew you had to be a hero somewhere in your story," I said, sitting up and smiling from ear to ear. "Is Charlotte Peter's mate?"

Jasper smiled and nodded.

"She is. Peter loves her very much."

I smiled.

"Love is one of the most powerful magics around," I said. "Even Muggles can perform some magic."

Jasper laughed, as he too sat up.

"So we can."

"So Maria was angry with you?"

He nodded.

"That doesn't make any sense," I protested. "Just because they don't want to stay with her, doesn't mean they shouldn't have a chance at another life. None of Maria's army should have been disposed of. They should of had the choice of whether or not they wanted to leave."

Jasper chuckled.

"You have a good heart, Darlin, but think about it for a moment. Voldemort. If someone wanted to leave his side, fight with the Order, would he have let them go?"

I sighed.

"No, I suppose he wouldn't."

"Maria was the same way. Once they were no longer of use to her, she disposed of them. That is just how things worked in the South."

"I still don't think it's right," I mumbled. "They still should have been given a chance."

Jasper paused, before taking my hand.

"Ten years ago, Peter came back for me. He came on a good day. Maria's feelings towards me changed. She felt fear and malice when she was around me. The same thing Nettie and Lucy felt before they turned on us. That's what tipped me off."

He paused as he turned away from me.

"When Peter came back for me, I was preparing myself to kill Maria. My only ally, and root of my existence. Peter told me about his new life with Charlotte. In five years, they'd never had a fight, though they'd met many others in the north. Others who could co-exist without the constant mayhem.

"In one conversation, he had me convinced. I was ready to go, and somewhat relieved I wouldn't have to kill Maria. I had been her companion for seventy-five years. When you live for the fight, for the blood, the relationships you form are tenuous and easily broken. I walked away without a backward glance. "I traveled with Peter and Charlotte for a few years, getting the feel of this new, more peaceful world. But the depression didn't fade. I didn't understand what was wrong with me, until Peter noticed that it was always worse after I'd hunted.

"I contemplated that. In so many years of slaughter and carnage, I'd lost nearly all of my humanity. I was undeniably a nightmare, a monster of the grisliest kind. Yet each time I found another human victim, I would feel a faint prick of remembrance for that other life. Watching their eyes widen in wonder at my beauty, I could see Maria and the others in my head, what they had looked like to me the last night that I was Jasper Whitlock. It was stronger for me, this borrowed memory than it was for anyone else, because I could feel everything my prey was feeling. And I lived their emotions as I killed them.

"For the first century of my life, I lived in a world of bloodthirsty vengeance. Hate was my constant companion. It eased some when I left Maria, but I still had to feel the horror and fear of my prey.

"It began to be too much. The depression got worse, and I wandered away from Peter and Charlotte. Civilized as they were, they didn't feel the same aversion I was beginning to feel. They only wanted peace from the fight. I was so wearied by killing anyone, even mere humans. Yet I had to keep killing. What choice did I have? I tried to kill less often, but I would get too thirsty and I would give in."

His face, that had twisted into a face of pain smoothed out.

"It wasn't until I met you that I believed there was hope for me. When you held out your hand, I felt hope. When I was sure you weren't going to attack me, I realized that I loved you."

I grinned as he turned to face me.

"I like this a lot more," he said softly. "Being here with you. I know you want to get to know me more before we go any further than this, but I do love you, Alice. I'll wait as long as it takes for you to be ready."

He smiled and leaned closer to me, and softly pressed his lips to my cheek.

"I know your story now," I said, leaning on his shoulder. "We're getting closer to me being ready."

We stayed like his for a while. After a while, Jasper turned to me.

"You never did show me the Legilimency," he said, moving his arm.

"You still want to see it?" I asked, pulling my wand from the holster. Technically, I didn't need it, but it was more comfortable to use it with a wand.

He nodded, then hesitated.

"It won't hurt, will it?"

I shook my head.

"Not at all. I'm just navigating my way through the layers of your mind. Chances are, you'll see what I'm looking at. Eye contact is everything though. Don't look away from me, okay?"

He nodded, and sat up straight as I sat down in front of him. Jasper reached for my hand.

"Just to be safe," he said with a smirk.

I grinned and pointed my wand directly at him.

"Legilimens!"

 _I could see Jasper. His eyes were brown instead of the red that I had come to know. He didn't look much younger than he did now. His face had dirt smudges covering it, and his face wasn't as scared as it is now._

 _Across from him stood three woman. Instantly, I could make out what this was. I turned to the shortest girl. Maria. She was of course as beautiful as Jasper made her out to be._

 _"What's your name soldier?"_

 _"Major Jasper Whitlock, ma'am."_

 _The scene in front of me shifted. Jasper had the same red eyes that I did._

 _I could feel anger rolling off him as he threw a newborn off of him._

 _"Focus!" he snarled at the boy._

 _The scene changed again. This time, Jasper was standing with a man and a short woman. The man was as tall as Jasper, and his hair was just as long but what a white-blond rather than honey-blond. The woman looked like she was as tall as I was, maybe a little bit taller, her hair was the same white-blonde as the man's._

 _"I'm sorry, Peter," Jasper said. "I'm just not happy."_

 _"It's okay, Jasper, really. I made you a list of dates and places in case you decide that you want to travel with us again."_

 _"Thank you," Jasper said, taking the small folded up piece of paper from him._

 _The two exchanged a quick hug before Jasper turned on his heels and ran._

 _Once more the scene changed. I saw the diner where we met._

 _I was sitting across from him in the booth, and grinning widely back up at him._

 _Suddenly, I felt love and hope._

Jasper was still watching me as I left his mind. He had a smile on his face as he watched me.

"Amazing," he said smiling as I took of my holster and sat it on the table.

"So that's what goes on in your head," I said, as I scooted back up to his side.

He shook his head.

"Not exactly. What I saw are all things I've thought about it the last couple days. Is that all you can see?"

I shook my head.

"No I can see what you're thinking about now if I chose to. I decided I wanted to see your memories, so I went there."

He pulled out a book as I closed my eyes and leaned my head on his shoulder.

When the sun had gone down, I slid off the bed and began walking around the room.

"Alice, are you okay?" Jasper asked, as he placed his book to the side.

I grabbed my wand holster and began strapping it to my right forearm, and grabbed my jacket off the bed.

"I think I'm going to go for a walk. I'm tired of sitting."

Jasper made a move to stand up.

"I'll come with you."

I shook my head.

"No, no. Stay here and read. I'll take my mirror, and I'll get through there if I need anything or you can get to me if you need anything."

I pulled my bag onto the bed, and grabbed my mirror, showing it to Jasper before slipping it into my pocket.

"Don't forget the keys," Jasper said, reaching over and holding them out to me.

"Thanks," I said, offering him a smile as I took the keys out of him hand. I swooped down and kissed his cheek.

"Be safe," he said, smiling.  
"Always am."

I watched as he returned to his book, before walking out the door.

I walked out of the lot, in the opposite direction that Jasper and I had taken to Salem.

The streets were quiet. Everyone seemed to be inside. The rain had stopped again, but the heavy warm air still lingered. The strong smell of the wet earth filled my nose. The sky was clear through. The moon shined down, causing the water droplets to glisten, and the stars twinkled.

I continued walking down the narrow sidewalk.

Before too long, I became aware that I wasn't alone.

Ahead of me, two blocks to the East, there was two quick, thudding hearts. I could hear a woman and a man laughing.

I followed the trail curiously. The way they sounded, they were both drunk. As I drew nearer,there was a sudden, sharp, breath and they both stopped. the man and the woman were standing outside an alley. The woman was was examining the man's hand.

As I took a step closer, the smell hit.

The blood that seeped from the man's hand had an earthy smell. I suddenly became aware of the man's thudding heart.

I didn't think twice about what I was doing. I instantly darted across the street in front of the couple, pulling out my wand as I ran. I pointed it directly at the girl and muttered a Stunning Spell, and a silencing spell.

I quickly snapped my wand back into the holster as the man turned to me wide eyed.

"Who the hell are you?" he demanded as he stepped further into the alley. I reached down and pushed the girl further back to where she couldn't be seen.

I turned back to the man, and wrapped a hand around his throat.

The man struggled as I pinned him against the wall. He watched wide eyed as I sank my teeth through his throat. His skin was soft, as my teeth tore through it. The blood, better than any deer, was still warm, and beneath my teeth, I could feel his pulse slowing. It tasted bitter. It was more than likely the alcohol. He didn't scream, he watched wide-eyed in horror.

After a couple minutes, his heart made one, last, slow, thud before stopping completely.

I dropped him, and with a small thud, his body hit the ground.

I turned to the woman. She had tears streaming down her face as she looked up at me. She looked up at me terrified as I grabbed onto her throat.

Her pulse quickened as I came closer to her throat. She smelled sweeter than the man. She smelled of something floral, although I couldn't quite place it. The woman's blood was sweeter than the mans, and it somehow tasted more fresh. She must have drinken less. When her heart gave its final beats, quicker than the man's had, I pulled away.

Whatever had snapped in me before vanished, and my eyes widened in horror as I realized what I had done.

My breath was suddenly caught in my throat as I looked at the girl's wide eye.

"No!" I whispered mortified. "What have I done?"

I crawled back to the girl, whose lifeless eyes stared up at the starry sky, and her face was still wet.

"I'm sorry," I cried, turning around to face the man, whose body was curled in a ball.

I looked wide-eyed between the two as my still heart sank into my stomach.

I dug around in my pocket until I could find the mirror. Pulling it out quickly, I felt my throat tighten.

"Show me Jasper!" I cried into the mirror.

Suddenly the ceiling of our motel room came into view of the mirror.

"Jasper!"

The view of the mirror shifted. Jasper's panicked face came into view.

"Alice? What's wrong?"

"I've done something horrible," I cried, as my voice broke.

"I'm on my way," Jasper said, quickly. "Don't move!"

He disappeared from view as the mirror fell onto the bed. I could hear the door shutting, and then it was silent.

I sank to the ground at the woman's head.

"I'm sorry," I sobbed into my hands.

Almost five minutes had passed before Jasper came running to the alley. My head snapped up the second I heard his footsteps.

"Oh, Alice," Jasper groaned.

"Jasper, I'm sorry," I cried shaking my head, and he wrapped his arms around me.

"It's okay," he said, soothingly. "It's okay, Darlin'. You're young. This is perfectly natural."

"I killed them," I sobbed.

"I know," he said, as he rocked me back and forth. "But I also know it was an accident."

"He was bleeding," I said weakly, pointing a finger to the man.

Jasper sighed.

"Alice, it's okay. It's what your instincts are supposed to do. But I need your help cleaning this up. Can you do that for me?"

I nodded, and he helped stand me up.

Jasper moved quickly around the alley. He picked up the man, and dropped him with the girl.

"Is there a spell to make things disappear?" Jasper asked, taking my hand.

I nodded and pulled my wand from my holster and held it above the two bodies.

"Evanesco," I said, in a toneless voice.

The bodies vanished, and Jasper pulled me into his arms.

"Don't you worry, Alice," Jasper said as I buried my face in his chest. "It's all going to be okay."

* * *

There's chapter 13. The chapter did turn out sort of long because of Alice learning more about Jasper. The next chapter takes place about four days later, on the day that Alice and Jasper leave Massachusetts. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!

Follow, Favorite, and Review :)(:


	14. To Rochester

**A/N: Okay, so this is a chapter filled with travel, and it also shows how Alice copes with her first slip. This chapter, much like the chapter 'The Search Begins' is more so placed to keep there from being a large time gap. Either way, I hope you enjoy!**

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 _"The city seen for the first time, in its first wild promise of all the mystery and beauty in the world." ~F. Scott Fitzgerald_

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Chapter 14- To Rochester Alice's POV

After my slip, Jasper was more understanding than I ever thought he could be. He took me hunting, and then back to the motel. I had cried for the two innocent people that I had killed, and Jasper didn't let me go the entire time.

When our time at the motel was up, we had decided that we'd spend some time in Northern New York, in a town called Rochester. Jasper had picked out the place. He said there were sights that he wanted me to see, and he thought maybe while we were there, we could see if we could find a trail on the Cullen family.

"Alice?" Jasper asked, sitting next to me on the bed, before wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "How are you feeling, today?"

It was early on the morning of the day we were supposed to leave Massachusetts.

"Better than yesterday," I said, leaning on his shoulder.

Jasper sighed.

"I miss seeing your beautiful smile," he said, resting his cheek on the top of my head.

"It'll be back soon," I said, as he squeezed my shoulders.

We stayed quiet for a long time before I slid out from his hold and around to the front of the bed.

"How long do you want to stay in Rochester?" I asked, as I pulled my comforter off the bed and began folding it.

"Well we agreed that it's best to take about a week before you stay around any humans long term, so how about we stay there for two weeks?"

I shrugged.

"That sounds okay to me."

Jasper sighed as he stood up.

"Al?"

I looked at him, but didn't speak.

"You know you can talk to me about anything, right?"

I nodded.

"I know."

He walked around the bed, and took the blanket from me.

"Then please talk to me. I don't like you being upset."

I looked up at Jasper's face. His eyes were sad as he watched me.

I sighed as Jasper took my hand.

He sat down on the bed, and pulled me next to him .

"Talk to me."

"I understand why you struggled with killing humans," I confessed. "I'm not sure why I did it, even though I came into this life with the mindset that I wasn't going to kill humans."

"You said the man was bleeding," Jasper reminded. "When a vampire smells blood, it makes it hard for them to stop the frenzy. You lasted a lot longer than I did."

"But still. I killed two innocent people! I'm tired of killing!"

"Alice, Darlin', I know this is hard for you," Jasper said in his soft, soothing voice that made me relax. "Trust me, you didn't do anything wrong."

I shook my head.

"I did," I disagreed. "They had families. Their families are looking for them, Jaz."

Jasper sighed as he hugged me to him.

"It was in your nature," he said in my ear.

I threw my arms around his neck.

"Jasper can you forgive me?"

"Of course, Darlin'. There's nothing I need to forgive you for."

"Do you think they would have forgiven me?" I asked, pulling back to look at him.

"I think they would," he said, pressing a hand to my cheek. "I think they would have understood that you were doing what's in your nature."

I hugged him tightly.

"Thank you, Jasper. I don't know what I would have done without you."

"Don't thank me. I was just reminded you of what you already know."

He pulled back as a small smile crept on my face, and his face lit up.

"There!" he exclaimed. "There's the smile I've missed!"

I laughed.

"It's been four days."

"That is four days too many."

I shook my head as I twisted out of his arms.

"We have to check out soon," I said, as he looked at me questioningly.

He looked at me curiously.

"Hey, Alice?"

"Hmmm?" I asked, as I stashed the blanket in the bag.

"Do you think we'll get answers in Rochester?"

"I have a good feeling about it."

I paused.

"I haven't checked the weather there. Maybe I should do that before we leave."

Jasper turned to the clock.

"We still have three hours. Will that be enough time?"

I nodded, and pulled out a notebook and pen. I crawled onto the bed, and handed it to Jasper.

"I'm going to look at the weather, and repeat it to you. Can you write down what I say?"

He nodded, and flipped through the notebook to a blank page.

I didn't close my eyes. I tried focusing on the nearer future with my eyes open.

I focused on later today.

"Today it'll be cloudy, but it won't rain," I said, shifting my focus to tomorrow. "Tomorrow will be sunny."

We went on like that for a while. It would be sunny in Rochester until midway through our second week there.

"Maybe we should push for a third week," I said, as I focused my vision on Jasper's face.

"It wouldn't hurt," Jasper said, handing the notebook back to me. "We haven't set up appointments for anything. In the end, what you want to do is up to you."

I thought about it for a moment.

"We stay in Rochester for three weeks," I finally said. "I have a good feeling about New York. We just have to be careful passing through Manhattan. We can't risk running across Helen and Tobias before we're supposed to meet them, and that's not until the summer of next year."

"What would happen if you did accidentally run into them?"

"Well they don't have my past or my future self with them. So there's not much I can do, it would just mess up the timeline where they met me. Just trust me, we can't risk running into them."

"We can get to Rochester without going through Manhattan."

"Good. Now, our eyes," I said, pulling out my wand.

Jasper settled for brown eyes, like he usually did, and I decided to go with Harry and Lily's emerald eyes.

"Who had green eyes?" Jasper asked, watching over my shoulder.

"Harry and my godmother, Lily."

I paused and looked at him in the mirror.

"Harry looked like James, but his eyes...he had Lily's eyes."

I nodded as I looked to the clock.

"We have to go," I said, turning back to him. "Check out is in fifteen minutes."

He held out my bag to me as I fastened my holster back into its place.

I grabbed the keys before taking my bag.

"We have everything, right?"

Jasper nodded as we both looked around the room.

"It looks like it."

"We'd better get going then."

With one more sweeping glance around the room, Jasper and I made our way to the door.

Despite the sun being hidden by dark grey storm clouds, it was a warm day. It would probably rain here soon, if not today, tomorrow.

I paused outside of the office.

"Al?" Jasper asked, taking my hand. "What's wrong?"

"I don't know if this is a good idea."

Jasper looked between me and the office.

"I haven't been around a human since it happened," I continued when he didn't answer.

"Tell what scares you about it," Jasper said, soothingly as he stepped closer to me.

"I'm scared I'm going to lose control again," I said, stepping back from the office.

"Hey," Jasper said, catching my arm. "I'm going to be right there. I'm not going to let anything happen."

I scanned his face.

"Stay close to me?" I asked after a couple minutes.

"Of course."

He wrapped an arm around my shoulder, and walked with me to the door.

When the door opened, a cool breeze swept past me, causing me to tense up. Jasper squeezed my shoulders, and pulled me forward. There was nobody at the desk, so we waited patiently.

I looked around the office. The walls were painted a russet brown color, giving the room a warm feel. In front of me was a counter that went up to below my shoulders.

"Someone is coming," I muttered to Jasper.

"You're going to be okay," Jasper said, resting his chin on the top of my head. "Just relax, Darlin'."

A woman, who looked fairly young came out of a room behind the desk. I took a deep breath in. It burned my throat, but I was able to keep myself under control.

"I'm so sorry," she said as she scrambled to her seat. "What can I do for you today?"

She looked up from her papers that filled her desk, and looked between Jasper and I.

"We'd like to check out," I said, stepping up to the desk to drop off the keys before quickly falling back to Jasper's side.

The woman looked between Jasper and I before looking down at the key number.

"Room 64?" she confirmed.

"Yes, ma'am," I said, quietly.

"You've already paid in full?" she said, flipping through a paper on the desk.

"Yes."

She looked through her papers before looking up and smiling at Jasper.

"You're good to go," she said, as she moved to hang the key back up.

"Have a good day," I said quickly as we headed for the door.

Once we were outside, Jasper led me to a patch of trees.

"Breathe, Al," Jasper said in my ear. "You did just fine."

I sighed, not meeting his eyes.

"You will soon learn self-control and self-discipline," he continued. "You're going to be amazing, Alice. You just can't see it yet."

"So optimistic," I muttered as we started walking.

"Well until your back to being yourself, I have to be," he said, moving his arm off my shoulder, and taking my hand.

"It's going to be okay soon," I said, looking straight ahead. "I just thought I wasn't going to have to taste human blood."

Jasper sighed, but didn't respond. Instead, he sent heavy waves of reassurance, and love.

We started running when we made it close to the edge of Peabody limits.

"In a car, it'll take about five hours by car, so it should take us about two assuming we don't stop," Jasper announced, once we entered Wakefield.

"We'll have to stop before we get there so I can fix our eyes," I reminded.

"We'll stop in Pittsford. It shouldn't take what, more than five minutes to do both of ours?"

"Less than that."

We were quiet for a moment.

"Hey, Jazz?"

"Hmmm?"

"If you could go back, to the night you met Maria, would you change what happened?"

"No," he said, automatically.

I looked at him in wonder. He glanced down at me.

"If I changed what happened, I would have never met you. I can see it now. We're going to have an interesting life."

"I can't wait until you can come to London."

Jasper paused, pulling me to a stop in front of him.

"Alice, I don't want you to get your hopes up about going back to London."

"Whether you get to meet my family or not, I still want to go back to London one day. Maybe we'll get lucky, and James will be killed, and you can meet them."

Jasper chuckled.

"One can only dream," he said, as we broke into a run again.

We ran for a while, and before long, we started bouncing questions off each other. Despite knowing each other's back stories, we both still felt like we didn't know enough about each other.

"What is one animal from your world would you of wanted to have?" Jasper asked, glancing at me with a smile.

I groaned.

"Growing up, I wanted phoenixes, dragons, hippogriffs."

"How long do phoenixes live for?"

"Five hundred years. Once they reach full age, they catch on fire, then rebirth from the ashes."

"Would you want one now?"

"They attract too much attention," I said, disappointed. "I don't live in a magical area anymore. Besides, even if I wanted one, very few wizards can actually domesticate one."

"Have you ever seen a phoenix?"

I nodded.

"Dumbledore had one. His name was Fawkes. Whenever I was in Dumbledore's office, or Dumbledore was away from the school, I'd take care of Fawkes for him."

"Amazing," Jasper said, shaking his head.

"My wand has a phoenix feather core," I said. "It makes it harder for someone else to use your wand."

He paused before glancing at me again.

"It's your turn to ask a question," he said suddenly.

"What scares you the most?"

"Right now?"

I nodded.

He thought about it for a moment.

"Right now I'm scared of you getting hurt."

"You don't have to worry about me getting hurt. I have magic."

"But it would make me feel better if you knew how to defend yourself without magic."

I glanced at him. He didn't met my eyes.

"How much does it mean to you that I know how to fight?"

"A lot."

"Tell you what," I finally said after a long time, "one day, I'll let you teach me how to fight. We just have to find a field."

He relaxed.

"Thank you," he breathed.

I nodded.

"Your turn."

Our questions bounced back and forth for a while. There were questions about things I wanted to learn how to work in the Muggle world, where we each wanted to go on a vacation, and about books.

"You mentioned before that you don't believe in ghosts," I said, glancing at him as we slowed our run into a walk.

"I did."

"Does that still apply?"

Jasper shrugged.

"Well if vampires, wizards, werewolves, dragons and phoenixes exist, I suppose ghosts should exist too."

I laughed.

"What about you? Do you believe in ghosts?"

I nodded.

"I never really had a choice. I can't say I blame you for not believing in them. Muggles can't come back as ghosts nor can they see them clearly at all. Maybe you'd be able to see them now that your a vampire. You're not completely a Muggle, but your not exactly a wizard."

"Why didn't you have a choice?"

"At Hogwarts, we had several ghosts and a poltergeist called Peeves. Professor Binns, the History of Magic teacher, he is a ghost too. "

"There's ghosts at Hogwarts?"

I nodded.

"Each house has a ghost. Each ghost has a story. I talked to the Bloody Baron, the Slytherin ghost, a lot when I couldn't sleep, or when Fred and George were busy or in detention."

"Tell me about them."

"Well there is four house ghosts. Like I told you, the Slytherin house ghost is named the Bloody Baron. He killed himself after her killed Helena Ravenclaw, Rowena Ravenclaw's daughter, and the ghost of Ravenclaw house. The Baron was in love with Helena, but she didn't love him back. So when she ran away, he chased her to Albania, and when she refused to return with him, he killed her out of rage. Once he saw what he had done, he killed himself."

"That's horrible," Jasper said, narrowing his eyes.

"He felt bad about it. I know that doesn't justify it, but he feels bad. He wears chains now. He wears them as a sign of self-punishment."

Jasper shook his head.

"Helena and I talked some during my years at Hogwarts. Most of Hogwarts calls her the Grey Lady. I always called her Helena. She told me I was kind, different from other students. I never asked about her mother's diadem."

"Diadem?"

"It's a type of crown. Each founder had an item that most people associated them with. Ravenclaw, her diadem, Slytherin's locket, Hufflepuff, her cup, and Gryffindor's Sword."

"Why did people ask her about her mother's diadem?"

"She stole it. That's why she ran away. Rowena was ill, and sent the Baron to bring her back. I learned her story from the Barron."

"Why do you think he told you their story?"

I shrugged.

"I never really found that out. I guess because as a second year, I was alone. Fred and George didn't come around until the next year, and Percy and I didn't really talk much."

"So the other two ghosts. What's their stories?"

"Well the Gryffindor ghost, his name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, but we all called him Nearly Headless Nick."

"Nearly headless?"

"Well Sir Nicholas told me that when he was executed, the blade was dull. It took forty-five blows to kill him, but they couldn't get his head completely off."

Jasper cringed.

"That sounds like a painful death."

"I'm sure it was."

"So the Hufflepuff ghost. Is their story tragic too?"

"Well I don't know much about him. He was called the Fat Friar, and I know that he was executed. I don't know anything else. We didn't really talk much."

"Your professor was a ghost?"

"Professor Binns. Most people fell asleep during his class, but I found it fascinating."

"What did you learn about?"

"The Goblin Rebellions, and the Giant Wars. several people like Uric the Oddball and so many others. I did end up dropping History of Magic. As interesting as I was in history, Professor Binns made it impossible to learn."

"Did you have some sort of graduation ceremony at Hogwarts, or do you just leave?"

"We had graduation ceremonies. In our first year, we ride in enchanted boats across the Great Lake from the train station to the castle. During our last year, we ride the boats back to the train station. It's not much, but it was everything to us."

Jasper smiled.

"It sounds amazing."

I nodded.

"It was. What was school like for you?"

"Well I went to school in the 1800s, and it was very different from the way you went to school. For one thing, there was no magic," he teased, playfully elbowing my arm. I laughed as he continued. "No but seriously, it was different. I had to walk three miles to and from my school, boys and girls were seperated. The list goes on and on."

He grinned and shook his head.

"I like school though," he said, watching my face. "I was good at it."

"I believe it," I said, smiling. "You're brilliant."

Jasper looked ahead, but his smile widened as he squeezed my hand.

"You're pretty amazing too, Alice. Everything has been so different since I met you."

Despite it being only a matter of a week or so, it felt like so much longer. Being with Jasper has truly made all the difference in the world. I could see now, things were going to be okay.

* * *

 **Here's chapter 14! I know it's not very long, but like I said before, it was more to give more context of time, location changes, and how Alice initially coped with the first slip. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	15. Rosalie Hale

_"But if Carlisle and Rosalie, my angel, were vampires, how bad could it be?" ~Emmett Cullen, Twilight Outtakes: Emmett and the Bear_

* * *

Chapter 15- Rosalie Hale Alice's POV

During the first week and a half in Rochester, Jasper and I were like vampires in the Muggle stories like Dracula, or like the vampires in the South. We stayed inside during the day while the sun was out, and then once the sun went down, we went outside, getting an idea of where things were in the city. Being able to only go out at night bothered me. Here in the last couple days, I had found it harder and harder to be able to sit still. In the very beginning, Helen and Tobias had told me about how once a month, I would have bursts of energy from where the magic is clashing with the venom. At the end of the energy burst, I would be exhausted. After explaining this to Jasper, he kept a close eye on me.

On our second day there, I washed clothes. Jasper was amazed, and like he always did whenever I used magic, he watched me carefully. He was careful not to miss anything.

"Witches and wizards don't exactly use a lot of the Muggle machinery," I said, as I began folding the now-dry clothes that I had just washed. "It seems unnecessary when we can accomplish the same thing, quicker by magic. Although until I went away to Hogwarts, Remus and I did a lot of things by hand. He wanted to teach me that magic didn't always solve everything. I think it's easier to use magic when you're traveling though. It's not like you can carry one of those washers in your pocket."

Jasper chuckled.

"You seem very prepared for someone who has never lived a nomadic lifestyle."

"Well I knew that if for even the slightest chance that my cover was blown, I'd have to live on the run. Hide out in a forest. Maybe even go to Albania."

I chuckled as I looked up at him.

"But your cover never was blown," he stated.

"No, it wasn't. I played my part well. Until the very end."

He watched me as I folded the clothes, setting them in piles around me. He looked deep in thought, but his eyes never left me.

"Alice?"

"Hmmm?"

"What are you hoping to find here? Information about them or a location on them?"

"Anything I can find," I said. "I'd be happy with either. But I don't see us getting a location. We're still looking from them a year from now."

I thought about it for a moment.

"The Cullens, they're going to want to lay low. They probably won't stay in the same place for very long, and if they don't want to be traced, I'm sure they'd give a false location," I said, watching his face. "So if we do get a location here, I don't know how good of an idea it would be to follow that trail."

"You would have made a good cop," Jasper said, tilting his head to the side.

"I told you I wanted to be an Auror. That was our cop. I could tell there next play, unless of course it was Greyback, Remus or any other werewolf."

When I said Remus's name, I looked down at the bed.

Jasper moved a pile of clothes that were next to me, and pulled me closer to him.

"Do you think it would have made things better?" Jasper asked, placing his cheek on the top of my head. "If you saw that Remus wanted to leave?"

"I don't think anything would have made it better. But at least then I could prepared myself."

Jasper squeezed the hand he was holding.

"Does it bother you now?"

I shook my head.

"I understand it now. What's it's like to be in love with someone else." I looked up at him and smiled. "You made everything better."

"That's good to know," Jasper said.

I pulled our hands up to my face and kissed the back of his hand.

"Thank you, Jasper," I said softly. My voice was barely above a whisper. "You've made everything seem like it's going to be okay."

"That's because it is going to be okay."

Jasper helped me fold the rest of the clothes and once we finish, I shifted into my Animagus form and moved quickly around the room as Jasper watched me happily from the bed.

After half an hour, I didn't change back, but I did crawl back onto the bed, laying next to him as he read a book, petting my head that I had sat on his chest about halfway through the night.

While he read, he began humming a tune I didn't recognize. Nevertheless, his humming was so soothing to me, I felt as if I could fall asleep.

On the third day of the second week, the sun disappeared behind thin grey clouds. We had decided that we would go to the police department that afternoon.

Around nine o'clock in the morning, I pulled out my outfit for the day. I pulled out a pair of pants and a short sleeved shirt. I also pulled out a pair of flats.

"Jazz?" I called, looking at my arm in the bathroom mirror.

A few seconds later, he poked his head around the wall.

"Al, what's wrong? Did you see something?"

"How common is it for a woman to have a tattoo is this time?"

"It's not completely uncommon," he said, taking my arm and turning toward him.

"Will this stand out if anybody saw it?"

He shook his head.

"Most people don't ask questions."

I didn't answer. Instead I walked passed him to put on my shoes.

"Alice, why are you worried?" Jasper asked, watching me carefully.

"I haven't exactly been around many humans since it happened."

Jasper caught my arm as I went to move past him.

"Alice, I'm not going to let anything happen. You know that, right?"

I nodded.

He pulled me into a hug.

"Don't be afraid, Darlin'. I don't need your visions to be able to assure you that you're not going to do anything."

"I have a good feeling about this place," I said, pulling back to look at him. "I think we're going to find something here."

"Good. Now, I have to go change so you can fix our eyes."

Over the last week, I had been practicing, and I was able to alter the spell to where it holds longer. The longest time we had gotten was five hours.

When Jasper came out of the bathroom, I set his eyes to the brown color that he loved. I changed my eyes to Remus's amber color.

"Who do those belong to?" Jasper asked, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Remus," I said, staring at them in the mirror.

Behind my eyes, I could see his lifeless eyes staring back up at me.

I shook the picture out of my head, and it changed to happier time. The first night I saw Dad after he broke out of Azkaban.

Jasper scanned my face, and suddenly hugged me tightly. Just like he had after he told me his story, he kissed my cheek.

"Don't be sad," he pleaded in my ear.

"I'm not sad," I said, shaking my head. "He's with Dad and James again. He has Tonks. He's in a better place."

Jasper hugged me tightly to him.

"What about you?"

"I'm in a better place too," I said, smiling widely.

When we left the motel, the clouds seemed to have gotten slightly darker.

"The storm is moving quickly," I said, pausing to look up at the sky as Jasper guided me down the sidewalk.

"Well you said tomorrow it was going to storm, didn't you?" he asked, glancing up at the sky.

"Yeah, but I didn't think it was moving in so quickly," I said, turning back to him.

"Is that such a bad thing?"

I shrugged.

"Well next week we have a lot of sightseeing, so I guess it couldn't hurt that much."

We continued down the familiar path that we had gotten used to, to get to the police station.

The police station was just like the last. In the far corner, there were chairs set up where a few people waited, and in the center, there was a desk. The walls were a plain white, but pictures filled them.

The woman behind the desk looked up as soon as the door opened. She looked between Jasper and I, then closed her book, setting it to the side.

"Good afternoon," she said in a cheerful tone, looking directly at Jasper. "What can I help you with?"

Jasper looked down at me, as he took my hand again.

"We're trying to find someone," I said, narrowing my eyes at her. "We were wondering if there was anyone here we could talk to."

She tore her eyes away from Jasper to glance at me before turning entirley to her desk, looking at the paper in front of her.

"Sheriff Smith is in. I'll see if he can talk to you. Can I get a name?"

"Alice Brandon," I said, stepping closer to Jasper.

She picked something up from her desk. Harry had one in the Dursley's house. I could remember what he had called it though. We also had one to enter the Ministry of Magic through the visitor's entrance, but it wasn't as quiet as this was, so I thought maybe it wasn't the same thing. I looked at it questioningly as she started rotating the wheel.

I looked up at Jasper to find he was watching me.

"Why are you confused?" he asked too quietly for the woman to hear.

"I don't know what that is," I said, turning away from him. "We didn't have those in my world."

Jasper chuckled.

"It's a telephone. We use them to talk to people long-distance."

I looked at it in wonder.

"What did you use in your world?" Jasper asked, looking between me and the telephone.

"Floo networks or owls," I said. "I think we had something like it to enter the Ministry, but that was louder."

The woman placed the telephone back on the hook and turned back to Jasper and I.

"The sheriff can see you," she said with a smile at Jasper. "If you go through that door, then his office is in the back past the desks."

"Thank you," Jasper said, nodding once at her.

I could hear her heart pick up, but before I could say or do anything, Jasper pulled me to the door that she had pointed out.

"I think you nearly gave that woman a heart attack, Al," Jasper said, smirking at me.

"I didn't have to use magic to know what she was thinking," I snapped.

Jasper laughed as we walked through the crowded desks to the office in the very back.

"I don't think she would have tried anything with you standing right there."

I shook my head as we approached the office door.

It was open, and the sheriff was behind his desk, scribbling on a piece of paper.

I knocked once on the open door, and his head snapped up.

Much like the sheriff in Salem, this man didn't look very old. Mid to late thirties at the latest.

"Come in, come in!" Sherriff Smith said, rising to his feet. "You're Ms. Brandon, I assume?"

"Yes, sir," I said taking his extended hand. "Please, call me Alice."

I noted that he shivered at my touch and quickly released his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Alice. And you are?" he asked turning to Jasper.

"My name is Jasper. I'm a close friend," Jasper said calmly, extending his free hand.

"Nice to meet you, Jasper. I'm Lucas Smith. Please, take a seat."

Sheriff Smith gestured to the chairs in front of his desk before sitting down in his own seat.

"So Elle tells me you're looking for someone," he said, tilting his head to the side. His eyes never left my face. I grinned at him, and he blinked, suddenly having the appearence of being dazed.

"I am. I was wondering if you knew anybody by the name of Carlisle Cullen."

His eyes widened.

"You know him?" I asked quickly.

Sheriff Smith sat up straight and cleared his throat.

"I haven't hear that name in fifteen years," he said looking at me cautiously.

"Can you tell me about him?" I asked, sitting up more in my seat.

He nodded.

"Dr. Cullen, his wife, Esme, and her brother, Edward, moved here in November of 1932. Dr. Cullen was one of the most hardworking doctors we had here, but the Cullens mostly kept to themselves."

Sheriff Smith rolled his chair back to a filing cabinet where he rose to his feet.

"I was twenty-three, the same age as Carlisle and his wife, and I was starting as an officer here. We never had any trouble out of any of them. All three were well-mannered and all that."

He pulled out a thick file and handed it to me.

"Until in April of 1933 when Rosalie Hale went missing."

I flipped the folder open, to see a picture of the blonde girl from my vision.

"She was supposed to be married to Royce King. His family owns one of the banks around here. One night, not long before the wedding, Rosalie went missing."

I looked up to him as he spoke, and silently, and wandlessly, copied the thick folder. I quickly hid the copied folder into my bag before he suspected anything, then turned my attention back to the folder.

I flipped another page to find several reports.

"The Kings put up a search for her, and then not long after, seven murders happened. Four of Royce King's friends, Royce King, and two men outside of Royce King's room. Royce was killed last."

"I'm afraid I don't understand," I said, catching his eye. "What exactly does the Cullens have to do with this girl's dissaperence and these murders."

I knew what they had to do with Rosalie's disapperence. She was changed into a vampire. It was the murders that I wasn't following along with. From the looks of the pictures, it didn't look like a vampire had killed them.

"After the murders, and after the disapperance of Rosalie Hale, the Cullens dissapeared. They didn't leave a single trace. Naturally, they became suspects. Why else would they leave without a trace?"

Jasper and I looked at each other as I set the file on the desk.

"So nobody has heard from them since the day they dissapeared?"

Sheriff Smith shook his head.

"Rosalie Hale's body was never found, and as of eight years ago, she was pressumed dead. Her family are still around, but nobody really hears from them."

"Did Carlisle really seem like he was capable of killing eight people?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

He shook his head.

"I didn't think so at first. But they dissapeared. Can you blame us for assuming they had some part in it?"

I sighed.

"I suppose I can't."

"Can I ask you a question, ?"

I looked at him and he continued.

"Forgive me, but you don't exactly sound like you're from around here. Can I ask what bussiness you have with the Cullens?"

"You're right. I'm not from here. I think Carlisle knew my father. He and my mother died when I was young, so I'm trying to find more about him, and I linked him to Carlisle Cullen."

"Well I wish you luck in trying to find more about your father, but I'm not quite sure that you'll find Carlisle Cullen."

"Can you tell me more about where he lived before here?"

Sheriff Smith took the file and flipped through it. He pulled out a stack of papers.

"This is all I have on previous locations. We've checked all of them. They didn't go back to any of them."

"Thank you for your help," I said, placing the stack of papers back onto his desk and stood up again.

"Of course," he said extending his hand to me. "I wish I could have given more help."

"It's no problem," I said dropping my hand as he extended it to Jasper. "You've given us all you can."

"Good luck, Ms. Brandon."

I nodded and Jasper and I turned for the door.

"I copied the file," I muttered. "I'll show it all to you at the motel."

He nodded and wrapped an arm around my waist.

"He liked you too," Jasper said in my ear. "He was just able to hide it better."

I chuckled.

"So I guess we're even now?"

He chuckled once and turned and looked over his shoulder.

"I guess so."  
When we made it back to the motel, I pulled the file out of my bag and emptied its contents onto the bed.

"Okay, so this is everything that was in that file. There's stuff on the seven murders, Rosalie's disappearance,and everything they know about Carlisle, Edward, and Esme Cullen," I said pointing to everything.

Jasper looked at the crime scene photos from each murder.

"These don't look like they came from vampires," Jasper said, echoing my thoughts in the sheriff's office. "They just look like murders."

"Why would Royce King need bodyguards?" I asked, looking up from the file.

"What?"

"Royce King had two men outside of his room. Police concluded he had hired himself bodyguards, but why?"

"Maybe he was trying to protect himself from somebody. If Rosalie disappeared, maybe he thought they would come for him next?"

I shook myself.

"Look at the difference between the murders though," I said, pulling out the files for each murder. "Royce King died last. He was tortured more than the others. I'd say somebody was getting revenge on him."

"But his friends were murdered too."

"Maybe whatever he did, they were in on it. Royce hears his friends are being killed, figures out whoever it is will be coming for him next, and hires bodyguards. The bodyguards are in the wrong place at the wrong time, the person who killed the others killed them to get to Royce. Whatever these people did to the killer, Royce is where the most anger was."

I looked up and Jasper was looking at me in wonder.

"You're amazing, you know that?"  
"How so?"

"You were able to figure all that out in a couple minutes of looking at a file."

I shrugged.  
"When I was training to be an Auror, I took an aptitude test, and one of the things on it was logical reasoning. That was my strongest suit. You know I was about to become an official Auror before I had to join the Death Eaters?"

Jasper looked at me in amazement.

"You truly are amazing."

We flipped through the files for a while longer as I pieced together what may of happened.

"Maybe it was a vampire," I concluded at the end as I packed everything back into the file. "They were careful not to spill any blood to keep them from attacking the targets. If it was a vampire feeding wasn't the objective."

Jasper moved the folder onto the table as I pulled the comforter from my bag. I could feel my energy start to go down.

I wrapped it around myself and moved to the head of the bed. Jasper laid next to me much like we had when he told me his story. One hand laid on my hip while the other arm was under my head.

As I looked into his eyes, it seems like everything fell into place. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, and moved closer to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked, running a hand through the back of my hair.

I nodded a opened my eyes.

I looked at him curiously.

"Don't move," I whispered watching him.

His face was confused as he watched me.

"Alice?" he asked, moving the hand that was on my hip to my face. "Are you sure you're okay?"

I nodded again, and pressed my lips gently to his.

He pulled away suddenly, looking at me bewildered.

"I'm sorry," I said automatically, jumping away from him. "I just thought—"

"Are you sure you're ready for this?" Jasper interrupted, pulling me back to him. "Are you sure you want to start a relationship?"

I nodded.

"I wanted to get to know you. I've spent four weeks doing that. I'm ready now."

Jasper grinned and kissed me again.

I could feel my still heart flutter as he ran his hand down my cheek.

I was the one to pull back this time. I scanned his face. He was still grinning.

"So when we talk to people at the police station, can I introduce you as my boyfriend?"

Jasper laughed and nodded.

"I'd like that very much."

I smiled as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him.

"Rest now," he said, quietly in my ear. "I can see that you're tired."

I closed my eyes and relaxed in his arms as he quietly started humming.

For the first time in almost two years, the hole in my heart felt completely filled and healed.

* * *

 **HAPPY HOLIDAYS! These chapters were supposed to be up before Christmas, but that didn't work out so well. I hope you enjoyed the chapters! Again, Happy Holidays!**

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	16. Sightseeing

**A/N: Hey guys! A couple things before the chapter starts. Firstly, I am sorry that I didn't include Alice and Jasper's trip to the Met, and only the journey there. I tried going through the record of past exhibits there, and couldn't go back far enough because I kept accidentally clicking on things and never got past 2009. Since I couldn't be historically accurate to the the exhibits, I left it out entirely. Also, just to give more of a picture, Alice's bag, isn't like Hermione's. Hermione's bag was a beaded bag, while I picture Alice's to be more like a messenger bag. I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

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 _"We travel not to escape life, but for life not to escape us." ~Anonymous_

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Chapter 16- Sightseeing Alice's POV

For the next two days, I didn't move much. I was drained both mentally and physically. My magic was also weak. I could barely produce a Wand-Lighting Charm which was a spell that I learned in my first year. The more I tried, the more drained I became, and eventually Jasper moved my wand far out of my reach.

The first day, it wasn't so bad. There was a large storm, so we couldn't go outside without drawing too much attention to ourselves. By the second day, I was tired of laying around. Helen and Tobias had told me in the very beginning that once a month I would have bursts of energy from where my magic is now increased. When the bursts pass, I will more than likely be exhausted for a few days. When I explained this to Jasper, he made sure that I didn't move around more than I needed to. He got my bag for me, put it back in the corner, and just about anything else I needed.

"I don't know if the energy supplements will help much," I said on the second day. "It's worth a try though."

I dug around in my potions bag, before pulling out the bottles of the energy potions.

All three of them combined seemed to give me the effect of what one alone would have done.

"I'll have to start tweaking it some," I said, frowning at the bottles.

"Is that safe?" Jasper asked, watching me carefully.

I nodded.

"I don't think it would hurt me. But I don't think I'll have time to tweak it until we get to Helen and Tobias's place next year. We can't stay in one place long enough for me to figure out if it works."

Jasper nodded and pulled me closer to him.

"Will this work for now?"

I nodded.

"It should. Assuming that this only happens once a month, if I use it wisely, it should last me."

"We'll give you today to rest, then tomorrow, we'll go hunting, then the day after, we start sightseeing."  
"Where are we going first?" I asked, leaning against his shoulder.

"Where do you want to go? I've seen it all."  
"What is there here?"

"Niagara Falls, Statue of Liberty, the Met. Before we leave, we're going to go to Central Park."

"I want to see Niagara Falls first," I said, closing my eyes. "I've heard stories about it."

"So we'll go there tomorrow."

"What's the Met?"

"It's an art museum."

"Your paintings don't move, do they?" I asked, slightly disappointed.

He chuckled and I could feel him shake his head.

"Afraid not, Darlin'."

I pouted my lip which made Jasper laugh. He kissed my lip.

"Put the lip away, love. It'll be okay. Just because it doesn't move doesn't mean it's not interesting."

"Maybe when we move in with the Cullens, I can get some moving pictures. Make it feel more like home."

Jasper was quiet for a moment.

"Are you sure they're going to let us stay?"

I nodded.  
"They're becoming a lot clearer. I don't think they'll turn us away."

I opened my eyes to see Jasper frowning.

"Don't you trust me?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Of course I do, but where I'm from, outsiders aren't exactly welcome. That's why I was so hesitant to speak to you."

I sat up.

"Jaz, you're not in that place anymore. Things are different."

I leaned over and kissed the scar above his eye.

"They're going to let us stay."

Jasper pulled me back into his arms and wrapped the comforter around me.

"Rest," he said, quietly. "We'll talk about this later."

The next day, I seemed to have gotten better after we went hunting. My energy wasn't completely back, but it was slowly working its way to where it usually was. I was able to produce a corporeal Patronus Charm again, and that was a more difficult piece of magic. I could also change into my Animagus form, but that was more draining.

"Don't worry, sweetheart," I said as I sat back on the bed after changing back. "I'm okay."

"Maybe we should push sightseeing back another day," Jasper said cautiously as I laid down. "We still have another week before we head to Kansas."

We had decided the day before that we would relocate to Kansas.

I shook my head and tried to sit up. Jasper pulled me back down.

"Alice, Darlin', I need you to relax. You can't get better if you don't relax."

"I have been relaxing!" I whined. "For three days!"

Jasper hugged me tightly to him, and I felt a heavy wave of tiredness washing over me.

"I don't want to lay down," I mumbled as I buried my face into his chest.

"Please?"

I shook my head and closed my eyes.

When the wave didn't lighten, I settled into his arms.

"Maybe resting for a little bit longer couldn't hurt," I murmured as Jasper raised the blanket over my shoulders and began humming.

I laid there like that into the night and into the early hours of the morning. By the time the sun came up, I felt more energized that I had for the last four days. Transformations and magic weren't tiring anymore.

It didn't take Jasper and I very long to get dressed. We both settled on brown eyes for today.

"Are you feeling better?" Jasper asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and looking at me in the mirror.

I nodded.

"I feel a lot better now." I twisted around in his arms to where I was facing him. "Thank you."

I watched his face and gave him a quick peck on the lips.

Jasper flashed my favorite smile.

"Since the day we've met, I've waited for the day you were ready to be in another relationship," Jasper said, moving a hand up to my cheek. "Now that it's here and it almost doesn't feel real."

"It is still what you want, isn't it?"

Jasper looked at me bewildered.

"Of course!" he said, taking my face in his hands. "It's all I've wanted since the day I met you."

He tilted his head and moved closer to me, pausing before he reach my face.

"You're my entire world now."

"My angel," I murmured.

I ended up being the one to close the space between us. It was longer than the others, and more passionate. His hand dropped from my face as we pulled away. I didn't open my eyes. Instead, I laid my head on his shoulder.

"Such a beautiful angel," I said.

Jasper smiled against my forehead.

"Come on," he said. "It takes about a half an hour to get to the Falls."

I twist myself out of his arm to grab my bag and the keys, which I dropped inside of my bag.

"That's not going to be affected by water, is it?" Jasper asked, as we headed out the door.

"My wand? No it's not affected by water at all. I could be at the bottom of the ocean and use magic."

"What about your bag?"

"Waterproof charms," I said, grinning up at him.

"You've thought about everything, haven't you?"

I nodded.

He sighed and took my hand.

"You should expect it by now, honestly."

He chuckled.

"Maybe I should."

Jasper was right, it did take us about half an hour to get from our motel to Niagara Falls.

"Close your eyes," Jasper said before we reached a point where you could see the waterfall.

Once my eyes were closed, he placed his hands over my eyes while his other arm wrapped around my waist.

"Don't try and search in the future either," he said quickly as he guided me through the crowds of people. "I want to see your first reaction."

I sighed.

"You know if I get a vision of it, I can't exactly help it."

"I'm just doing to you what Peter and Charlotte did to me. Just trust me, Darlin'. We're almost there."

I could hear the rushing of the water, and my first instinct was to open my eyes. Jasper's hand blocked my vision.

"Close your eyes," he said in my ear. He moved his hand from over my eyes down to my shoulders. "Open your eyes."

We were standing behind a short gate, but from where we stood, you could see everything. We stood right next to the waterfall. There was a small patch of grass on the side of the falls. The waterfall itself had two curves, and it thundered down into a large lake below us.

"It's beautiful!" I exclaimed, turning to Jasper.

"It was worth the wait, wasn't it?" He asked grinning at me.

I nodded and grinned.

Jasper, whose chin was now resting on the top of my head, pointed straight out.

"See over there?" he asked.

I looked to where he pointed and nodded.  
"That's Canada. Niagara Falls is kind of like a border between the United States and Canada."

I looked around. The sky seemed to match the water, both were the same cool grey eyes that my father had.

I leaned my head back onto Jasper's shoulder and looked to the sky.

After looking at the falls for a little while longer, I pulled my camera out of the bag.

"I want us both in the picture," I said, frowning.

Jasper looked around and moved his arms from around me.

"Excuse me," Jasper said, turning to a elderly woman nearby. "Do you think you could take a picture of us for me?"

He gestured to me.

The woman grinned as she looked between the two of us.

"Young love!" she exclaimed, looking at our hands.

Jasper smiled and nodded once.

"Of course I'll take the picture," she said.

Jasper took the camera from me and handed it to the woman.

He wrapped his arms around me again and we both smiled into the camera.

The woman smiled as she handed us back the camera.

"Thank you very much, ma'am," Jasper said grinning as he handed the camera back to me where the picture was sliding out.

"Of course," she said, as she took the hand of a man that was next to her that was also smiling.

I tucked the camera and the photo back into my bag.

Jasper turned to face me.

"Problem solved," he said, kissing my forehead.

I grinned.

"Thank you for bringing me here."

He smiled, and rested his head on top of mine.

"Of course."

We stayed there for another hour before we turned to head back to the motel.

When we got back, I placed the picture of the two of us at Niagara Falls in the next slot. The other pictures were filled with sunrises and sunsets, each place below, marking dates.

Once I put the Developing Potion on it, I wrote 'Niagara Falls, July 25, 1948' beneath it.

"One adventure down," I said with a grin, showing him the page.

He watched closely as he moved to kiss my temple in the picture.

"I don't think there's much for sightseeing in Kansas."

I shrugged.

"That's okay. Maybe someday we'll go somewhere with more things to see."

He slid off the bed and next to me on the floor.

"We have another adventure tomorrow," he said, watching the pictures on the page. He watched the suns rise and set.

Each picture had one of us inside of it and not a single day was missing. On the day I had slipped up, and the day after, Jasper took the pictures for me.

Jasper looked up and met my eyes. I had been watching him as he flipped through the photo album.

"What?" he asked. His smile never faded.

"It almost doesn't seem real," I muttered, continue to look into his eyes.

He looked at me questioningly.

"You," I said, simply. "I keep thinking you're going to disappear."

He brought a hand up to my face.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said, caressing my cheek. "I promise you."

I closed my eyes and held his hand to my face.

Even with my eyes closed, I could sense him coming closer to my face.

He pecked my lips, and his hand tightened around my own.

Through the night, I rested again. We had decided that the next day, we would go see the Statue of Liberty, and then because Jasper had never seen anything like my case before, he was sure to keep a close eye on me. He put the heavy cloud of tiredness over me again until around five o'clock the next morning.

"How're you feeling?" he asked when the cloud lifted.

"I don't feel tired anymore," I said, stretching. It wasn't a lie. "I feel like I did before."

"That's good," he said, as I slid off the bed to move to my bag.

"We'll have to leave earlier than we did yesterday," Jasper said as I started pulling out clothes for us both. "The Statue of Liberty doesn't stay open very long."

"What time do you want to leave?" I asked, tossing him some clothes.

"It'll take us a little over two and a half hours to get there," Jasper mused. "I'd say if we want to get there before the crowd, we'd have to leave in about half an hour to an hour."

I nodded and pulled the clothes I laid out off the bed.

When we left the motel, it was almost six o'clock.

"We'll have to stop before we get there to change our eyes," Jasper said, taking my hand.

We didn't stop except for once to get the photo of the sunrise, then again to change our eyes.

From here, we were going to walk, and Jasper told me about the ferry we would have to take to the island.

"It's not so different from one of the enchanted boats," I said as I watched the ferry move across the water.

Jasper chuckled as he held me close to him.

The ferry didn't move very fast. I stayed close to Jasper, and the both of us stayed in the back away from the crowd, all of whom were eager to see the Statue of Liberty. Jasper was tense because of the crowd of people and how close everyone seemed to be, but he told me the history of the Statue.

"It was a gift to America, from France," he uttered to me. "It came here in 1886. I was 42, and had been a vampire for twenty-three years. It was sent here as a symbol of friendship between America and France."

I watched as the Statue grew closer.

"We can't go to the Crown," Jasper said, as he hugged me closer to him. "I didn't have enough time to book the reservations."

"That's okay," I said, watching as people moved to get off the ferry. "Maybe when we go to see Helen and Tobias, we can try to see it."

I grinned as I stepped off the ferry.

People who had reservations began making their way through the statue while the rest of us stayed on the grounds of the island.

We walked around the island for a while, and Jasper stayed by side, one arm around my waist.

"I feel like New York is what I heard the most about in Britain," I said as we looked out to the city from the island. "Even in my world, New York held everyone's attention. Newt Scamander, the author of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, he came to New York. He let a bunch of magical creatures loose."

I looked behind me at Jasper, who looked bewildered.

"How did nobody notice? The Muggles?"

I shrugged.

"He gathered them all quickly. He left not long after."

"Was he still alive? The time you're from?"

I nodded.

"Wizards live longer than the typical human. Dumbledore was one hundred and fifteen years old before he died. Even then, he was murdered, and if he hadn't been, he would have died by a curse from one of the Horcruxes. Not by old age. One of the old headmasters, Armando Dippet, was three hundred and fifty five before he died. He's the current headmaster of Hogwarts."

Jasper shook his head.

"You're world is….amazing."

I shrugged.

"Not everything is amazing about it. Just like your world, we have our downfalls."

"But you overcame them, right?"

I sighed, and held onto the arm that he had around my shoulders.

"We did. But I went back in time. Everything that I lived through, and everything before my time, I have to live through again."

"But you're not going to be alone," he said in my ear. "This time, you have me."

I twisted around in his arms, and kissed his cheek.

"I know," I said, as he closed his eyes. "Maybe because I have you, it will be better this time."

He smiled and held me close.

Like Niagara Falls, a woman was more than willing to take a picture of Jasper and I in front of the Statue.

"Thank you very much," I said, taking the camera back.

She nodded, and looked at me questioning.

"I hope you don't mind my asking, but how long ago did you come to America?"

"A couple months ago," I said, smiling as I tucked my pictures into the bag.

She nodded, as Jasper quickly led me to the ferry.

"People are very outspoken in this time," I said, as we returned to our spot in the back.

It was fifteen minutes past noon now. The sun was hidden away by the clouds. It would rain again later tonight, into tomorrow afternoon.

Jasper nodded and smiled.

"They are, aren't they?"

The ride back to the mainland seemed a lot shorter than the ride to the Statue. It was only 12:30, so Jasper and I decided we would also go to the Met today.

"Can I take pictures in there?" I asked, as we got off the ferry.

"In some exhibits," he said as we moved towards the city.

According to Jasper, it took twenty-five minutes to get from where we got off the ferry, to get to the Met.

"I suppose there wouldn't be much to get pictures of," I said, gently placing my camera into my bag. "Taking pictures of pictures," I shook my head.

Jasper chuckled and kissed my temple.

"That's alright. If you like it, one day I'll bring you back."

I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"I like sightseeing. I always told Remus I was going to travel the world. Me, Freddie, and George."

I shook my head as Jasper's smile slightly faded.

"Tell me more about Fred and George?" Jasper asked as we walked.

I grinned.

"They've been my best friends for eleven years. Almost twelve," I said, looking at the ground. "I was about to turn ten. Over one of the full moons that I was staying with them, we just somehow connected, and we had been friends ever since."

I smiled again, this time at Jasper rather than at the ground.

"When I went to Hogwarts the next year, anytime I was out on break, they would come to mine and Remus's house, or I would be at the Burrow. Then they came to Hogwarts when I was in my third year. They were sorted into Gryffindor, and I was in Slytherin, but we were always together. I never really fit in with the Slytherins. My parents were considered to be 'Blood Traitors," I put up quotation marks with my fingers and scoffed. "Dumbledore let me sit with the Gryffindors, but I did occasionally have to sit with Slytherin. When I became Head Girl, in 1993, with Percy as Head Boy, I had to sit with Slytherin during the Opening Feast."

I looked at him, and his eyes flickered to me occasionally.

"The year my Dad broke out of prison, I was Head Girl. Fred and George stayed close to me that year even though everyone swore Dad was coming for Harry. One night, Dad broke into the castle, and got angry when the Fat Lady wouldn't let him into Gryffindor Castle. All the students had to sleep in the Great Hall. Percy and I were in charge while the professors searched the castle. That night, Fred and George helped calm me down. Percy took care of everything while they calmed me down, and near midnight, Remus came to help me so they could sleep. They stayed awake until Dumbledore came in and assured me that he wasn't in the castle."

"It sounds like they cared about you a lot."

I nodded.

"They did. When Remus left, they stayed with me. They helped me move into my childhood home and stayed with me there for a couple days."

I grinned, and Jasper looked at me confused.

"They opened a joke shop that year. They brought light to the darkness that filled my world. Remember those cut, bruise, and burn pastes I sold?"

Jasper nodded.

"They helped me invent them. Those pastes helped with some of the cuts I got during the last battle."

"Were you injured badly?"

I shrugged.

"I had glass and wood cut my face."

I dragged my finger down my face where the scars were before the venom healed him.

"What about the scars you have here?" he asked, pointing to a part of the scar that poked out from my dress.

"They were put there by magic, so venom didn't heal them."

By now, we were coming up the stairs at the Met. Jasper paused to look at me, taking my face in his hands.

"I know you don't see it, but you truly are incredible," he said, swooping down to kiss my cheek.

We stayed at the hotel until almost 4:30, an hour before closing. He showed me the armor that the museum carried, and the paintings and clothing exhibits. A lot of things in the museum, Jasper had lived to witness.

"What a time to be alive," I teased as we walked down the stairs.

Jasper chuckled.

"I suppose so," he said, squeezing my hand.

He grinned as we returned to the motel. Once we got there, I immediately sat my bag in the corner, and went to the bed, crawling under the comforter. Mentally, I felt exhausted.

Jasper laughed as he laid down next to me.

"Maybe we should push the trip to Central Park to the day after tomorrow," he said as he brushed a finger up and down my spine.

"I don't understand," I said, shaking my head. "I was fine this morning."

"I think it was too much excitement for one day," he said, wrapping his arms around me, as I moved and laid my head on his chest.

"Maybe."

"Rest now," he murmured, kissing me on the forehead. "We'll have time to talk tomorrow, then we'll go to Central Park Thursday."

By the next day, I was able to stay awake again without getting tired. Jasper and I thought it was a good idea to keep track of the energy bursts. We wrote down how long the burst itself lasted, and how long the tiredness lasted afterwards.

We both ended up reading for the rest of the day. Jasper was reading Hogwarts; A History, and I was reading a book called Anne Frank; The Diary of a Young Girl.

We didn't leave the hotel until after noon on Thursday. We both finished our books, and repacked them in the bag.

"It won't rain until we get back here," I said as Jasper looked up at the sky while I locked the door.

He glanced back at me, then up at the sky.  
"It looks like another storm," he said, taking my hand.

"The storm will come once we're gone," I said, turning my attention to the sky. The clouds were thick and dark grey. "After that it'll be sunny for days."

I looked at him and grinned.

Once we were sure no one was watching us, we both broke out into a run.

We didn't talk much. We stopped once, in a patch of trees, to change our eye color, and then we started running again.

"You're going to love Central Park, Alice," Jasper said as we grew closer, and our run slowed into a walk. He pulled me closer to him, and wrapped an arm around my waist. "It's not exactly your typical park. It takes about two hours to walk completely around it, but there's a lot inside the park."

I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was excited. I liked that surprises seemed to excite him. More specifically his surprises to me.

I looked at him, grinning. I could see the excitement gleaming in his eyes, which only made me grin wider.

"What?" he asked, when he finally met my eyes.

"You're excited," I said, watching him carefully. "I like that."

He shrugged.

"I gather the feeling I won't get to surprise you often," he said.

"As long as you don't make a complete decision, you can."

He smiled, and turned back to the road.

"I'll keep that in mind, Darlin'."

We walked for a while, pausing at the entrance.

Glancing inside, it didn't look like there was a lot of people here. Unless they were all further ahead.

"Stay close to me," Jasper said quietly, staring at the ground. "I don't know how many people will be in here. I don't want to lose control."

"Hey," I said, lifting his chin. "You've done beautifully so far. I don't think you'll lose control."

He shook his head.

"It hasn't been easy."

"I'm sure it hasn't been. But so far, you've done fantastic."

"Please, Alice," he pleaded, pulling me into a tight hug. "Stay close to me."

"Of course," I said, kissing his cheek.

His smile returned, and he pulled me along behind him to the gate.

"Come on," he said.

We planned to walk around, not going anywhere in particular. I did however get flickers of what looked to be water, although the flickers came too quickly for me to make anything out.

Jasper walked with his arm wound tightly around my waist, and I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Do you think going South is a bad idea?" I asked, looking up at him. "What if Maria comes for you?"

"We'll be far enough North where Maria won't know we're there. If we go to Texas, we'd have to be more careful."

"It will be sunny until our last day there," I said, closing my eyes as he guided me. We had decided we'd be there for a week.

"Do you want to check the police station?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"I don't think they'd be there. From the looks of things, it doesn't rain there very often."

Jasper stopped suddenly, that caused me to open my eyes.

"Look," he murmured to me, wrapping his other arm around the front of my shoulders.

We were standing on a stone bridge. Surrounding us were trees, and below us, was a large pond. If I looked closely, I could make out fish swimming towards us. It looked as if we were alone in this spot.

"Amazing," I said.

He held me tightly to him, and together, we looked out at the pond.

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 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you all had a good holiday season. Again, I apologize for not adding much about the trip to the Met. As I said, I couldn't get far enough back in the records. I also didn't add much to the Central Park trip for the same reason. No matter how much I tried to look, it seemed hard to find out when certain things were placed there. Soon I will add in Jasper teaching Alice to fight without magic, and that will be touched on again in the next chapter, but the actual event won't happen in the next chapter. Again, I hope you enjoyed the chapters!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	17. Traveling Again

_"Travel far away, see the world and say 'Yes this is where I'd like to be, leave a note less than three." ~If You're Thinking of Leaving You Should by Social Repose_

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Chapter 17- Traveling Again Alice's POV

Jasper and I left Rochester early Friday morning. We were trying to time everything so we would get to Kansas after the sun went down. It was supposed to be sunny today as well.

"We may be able to hide out in some trees for a while," Jasper said as we were leaving the motel office. "If we get there early."

"We can always stay in the tent if we have to."

"I almost forgot about that," Jasper said, glancing at my bag.

"We can stay in a motel if you want," I said, shrugging. "It doesn't make a difference to me."

Jasper looked at me carefully.

"You know, Wichita is a relatively big town. I think it'd be hard to find a place."

I nodded.

"That's why I said I'm fine with staying in a motel."

"Tell you what," he said, pulling me to a stop in front of him. "After we leave Kansas, I'll be teaching you to fight. We'll need a field, so while I teach you how to fight, how about we camp."

"Jazz, it's honestly not a big deal. It was just a suggestion."

"I know," he said, smirking at me. "But while I'm teaching you, it would make sense for us to camp nearby. So we stay in a motel in Kansas, and wherever we go after, we camp."

"Okay," I said, nodding.

"Come on, Darlin'."

We ran from the same spot we did for the past several days. To get to the Met, to Central Park and everywhere else.

"Do you want to stop and hunt?" Jasper asked, watching me carefully.

It hadn't been until late last night that the natural instincts of a newborn hit me. There was the same burning in my throat that I had felt whenever I was hungry.

I shook my head.

"I can't get used to the hunting schedule if I hunt everytime the burning comes back. Besides, it's not all that bad."

"But the burning will get worse if you don't try to stop 'll try again with the hunting schedule soon."

I sighed.

"I guess it couldn't hurt to hunt."

Jasper nodded.

"We'll stop in Missouri. That's the halfway point. If you need to stop before then, please let me know."

I nodded.

We didn't talk much in the beginning. We focused more on getting out of view from the public. The storm that was coming through Rochester would draw attention to us if anybody saw us, so we were careful to stay in the trees. When the trees stopped, we stayed as far from the roads as we could manage.

"If only I could still Apparate," I muttered as we ducked into another patch of trees, just entering the Ohio state limits. "It would make this a lot easier."

Jasper laughed as squeezed my hand.

"But then you couldn't take in the sights."

"Maybe not, but I won't have to worry about exposing us."

He shook his head, still grinning. We both slowed to a stop in the middle of the trees.

"It will be sunny halfway through Ohio," I said, scanning the future. "We're in the clear until then."

My eyes refocused on Jasper's face. He was watching me carefully.

When we started walking Jasper turned to me.

"Have you always been able to look ahead like that?"

I shook my head.

"When I was younger, it was just visions. I couldn't see all the possibilities, I could just see someone's immediate decision. I saw my cousin Bellatrix coming to kill my father, but I didn't see the possibility that she would kill my mother until she decided to do it. When Dad was sent away, Remus worked with me. He found books and by the time I was ten, I could start looking at different possibilities. I kept working, and while I was in Hogwarts, I worked more. By the time I turned 15, I was able to keep tabs, and see possible outcomes based on previous decisions."

I glanced over at him, and he watched me curiously.

"No matter how much I tried, there were always limitations," I continued, turning back to the path in front of me. "I can't see werewolves, centaurs, merpeople, anything close to humans, but weren't exactly human. The Ministry classifies most of these as Beings. I couldn't see vampires until I became one, and I could see Muggles, but they weren't always clear."

"Why could you see me and the Cullens clearly?" Jasper asked, watching me. "Aren't we technically Muggles?"

"Yes, you are in a way. Well I see vampires clearly. So that has a good part in it, but I think it also has a lot to do with that you all play such a big part in my future."

Jasper smiled a crooked smile as he looked ahead.

"You knew I was looking for you before I knew it myself."

I smiled at the ground and nodded.

"Pretty much."

As we moved through Ohio, Jasper seemed very tense. I could feel it coming from him, and for awhile, I thought it was because of me. This confused me. He was just fine an hour before. It wasn't until we reached a roadside diner that he had gotten very tense.

When I replayed it all in my head, everything clicked.

When Jasper and I had met, he had a diet of human blood. He had been on this diet for seventy-five years. To please me, he switched to animal blood without a second thought. Of course it would be hard to change diets.

I dropped his hand, and came to a stop, making sure there was enough distance between us and the road.

"Alice?" Jasper asked, stopping a couple feet in front of me. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I couldn't help but wonder…." I hesitated, and didn't meet his eyes.

"What is it, Al?" Jasper asked, stepping closer to me. He placed a finger under my chin and lifted my face up to where I was looking at him. "Talk to me."

"You're struggling with this diet. I can see that. I can't help wonder is this what you want?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to stay on this diet? I won't force you to do it. I just want to know if this is what you truly want."

I tried to look everywhere but his eyes, but every time I moved my gaze, he caught it again.

"I don't want to hunt humans anymore," he said, softly. "I want to hunt animals with you. You're right, I am struggling, but I'm trying."

I pulled him into a tight hug.

Jasper gasped, and quickly moved to loosen my grip.

"Remember, Al, you're a newborn," he breathed as he wrapped an arm around my waist. "You're a lot stronger than I am."

"I remember reading something about newborn vampires being stronger than mature vampires. They could crush them if they get the right hold."

"Exactly," he said, kissing the top of my head.

"Sorry," I said, sheepishly.

"Don't be sorry."

I paused again before looking at him.

"Jaz?"

"Hmm?"

"I think I know why this is so hard for you."

"Really? Why's that?"

I looked up at him.

"You stopped all together. Maybe it would work if you ease yourself into the animal blood."

He frowned.

"I don't understand."

I sighed.  
"I don't want you to suffer. So what if you drank human blood, but in lesser amounts. Say you drink human blood, wait a few days, then go hunting for animal blood? Then with each hunting trip, you drink one less than the last time. "

Jasper looked astonished.

"Do you think that will work?"

I shrugged.

"It's worth a try, I suppose. It's better than just quitting suddenly. That makes the cravings more."

Jasper sighed.

"We'll wait until we get to Kansas," I said, beginning to walk again. "I can hunt on my own, and you can go find a human. Just make sure you go after victims with a low risk to you. On Monday morning, I'll take you to hunt animal blood"

Jasper shook his head.

"What if it doesn't work? What if it just makes it worse?"

"It's just a suggestion, love," I said, leaning on his shoulder. "You don't have to do it. I just don't want you to suffer."

"I'll try it," he said, squeezing my hand gently.

I turned his wrist towards me to look at his watch. It was nearing four o'clock.

"Think we'd better start running again?"

I nodded, and the pair of us took off.

We didn't stop again until we got right outside of Overland Park, Kansas.

"We'll be there in a little over an hour," Jasper said, glancing down at his watch.

"I can check us in if you want to go when we get there," I said, digging in my bag for a mirror.

Jasper shook his head.

"It'd be easier if we left at the same time," he said, looking at the trees surrounding us.

"I can alter your appearance some," I offered. "Make it harder for you to be traced if anybody sees you."

Jasper nodded.

"Sounds like a good plan."

I sighed and pulled him to me.

"What's wrong, Jasper?"

"I remember how you were when you first slipped up," Jasper said, burying his face in my hair. "You were convinced you had done something wrong. I don't want you to think I'm doing something bad by doing this."

"It's not a bad thing your doing, sweetheart," I said, careful not to squeeze him to hard. "You did this for seventy-five years. It's how you survived. I came from a place where I murdered people just to murder them. When I attacked that couple, it took my back to my time as a Death Eater."

"You're not a bad person, Alice," he said, kissing the top of my head.

"Neither are you. And you're not doing a bad thing. You're working to make yourself better."

He smiled and pulled away.  
"Okay, Darlin', it's time for you to work your magic."

I shook my head.

"I can't. Not until the people at the motel see you. For now, I'll just change your eyes."

His eyes faded from red to the same emerald green eyes Harry and Lily had.

"I'll change them again when I change everything else," I said, kissing his cheek before turning to my handheld mirror.

Once I changed my eyes to a complete black, we took off again.

The rest of the way to Wichita wasn't very eventful. The roads were mostly empty, which made things easier for Jasper and I. When we got to the motel, we were easily able to check in and we quickly headed to the room.

"Okay," I said, setting my bag on the bed. "Sit."

Jasper sat across from me, and I immediately set to work.

His hair became styled in an undercut, and as black as mine. I also added stubble to his face, and hid his scars.

"They'll stand out," I said, as I continued to work. "But you know that I love you with them."

"Do you think I look better without them?" he asked, as I moved to his eyes.

I shook my head.

"Definitely not. You're not my angel without them. Scars tell a story, Jasper. Don't be ashamed by them."

He smiled as the green eyes faded into a dazzling icy blue.

"There," I said, sitting back, and grabbing a mirror off the table, and handing it to him, grinning from ear to ear. "What do you think?"

"It's brilliant!" Jasper said grinning and looking up to me.

"Maybe I should go with you," I said, cocking my head to the side. "Help you get rid of the bodies."

Jasper chuckled and pulled me into his lap.

"Tell you what," he proposed, sitting his chin on my shoulder, "how about once you finish, we meet up, and you get rid of the bodies?"

I nodded.

"You know you don't have to do this," I reminded him. "We could find another way."

"Alice you thought of this idea. Don't tell me you think it's a bad idea."

I shook my head.

"I just don't want you to be uncomfortable."

"I'm not."

"Okay," I said, leaning onto his shoulder, "remember, victims with a low risk to you. Homeless population may be your safest place to go. There's probably a lesser chance people are going to look for them. Keep track of the number of people you kill, and when you finish, call me with your mirror."

"I got it, Alice," he said as his lips brushed against the nape of my neck.

"You'll stay disguised like this until we get back here. I made sure that it wouldn't come off without my wand," I twisted around to face him. "Promise me that you'll be safe."

"Of course."

"We'd better get going," I said, sliding my mirror and the motel keys into my pocket. "I'll probably have to go out of Wichita, but I won't be going far."

He nodded and hugged me tightly.

"I'll see you soon," he muttered in my ear as he kissed my cheek. "I love you."

"I love you too," I said, pecking his lips once.

Jasper walked with me to the door, then once we were outside, he went in one direction, and I went in the other.

* * *

 **Happy New Year! I know this chapter is short, but the next one will be a lot longer. This chapter served a purpose in a way. I thought about how if Jasper quit his past diet and I figured he was bound to slip up sometime. The way I saw it, Alice realized this too, and was trying to figure out how to stop that from happening.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter!**  
 **Follow, favorite, review :)(:**


	18. Peter and Charlotte

_"The great thing about new friends is that they bring new energy to your soul." ~Shanna Rodriguez_

* * *

Chapter 18- Peter and Charlotte Alice's POV

Jasper seemed to take the new diet plan pretty well. He finished after about two hours, and then called me. On Monday, we went hunting, and he seemed a lot happier.

"Morning, Darlin'," Jasper said, jumping onto the bed with me where I had been reading. He had went on a walk an hour before, and I never heard him come in. I had been turned on my stomach, and didn't see his decision to jump, so when I felt him land next to me, my instant response was to jump back, and almost fell off the bed. Jasper laughed as he pulled me into his arms.

"Not nice," I mumbled, burying my face into his chest.

"I'm sorry," he said, kissing my temple. "Can we talk?"

I pulled away and looked at him worried.

"It's nothing bad," he quickly said, watching my face.

I relaxed again, and he pulled me closer.

"What's up?"

He reached in his pocket, and pulled out a folded piece of paper before handing it to me.

When I opened up the piece of paper, I could tell that it had been refolded several times. On the paper, there were dates and places. The dates went as early as October of 1947 to as late as May of 1949.

"This is the paper Peter and Charlotte gave me when I left them," Jasper said as I looked up and down at the dates.

I looked up from the paper to his face. His eyes were closed and he breathed in deeply.

"You want to go back to them," I said, leaning away.

He nodded.

"I want them to meet you. So I figured we could travel with them for a while."

This took me by surprise. When I figured out he wanted to go back to Peter and Charlotte I thought I wouldn't be coming with him.

Jasper looked at me curiously.

"You're confused," he stated.

I nodded, but didn't look into his eyes.

"I thought you were going to leave me," I breathed.

Jasper hugged me to him.

"No, no! Of course not!" he exclaimed. "Darlin', why would you think I want to leave you?"

I shook my head and looked up at him.

"It was my first thought."

"I'm never going to leave you," he said, kissing my cheek. "Never."

"If you want to travel with them, then I think we should. They're your friends."

Jasper grinned and squeezed me tightly.

"Thank you, Alice."

"We'll leave tomorrow like we planned," I said, looking into his eyes. "Instead of going to Biloxi, we'll go to Amarillo."

I looked down at the list again before folding it up and handing it back to him.

"Thank you," he said again, grinning down at me again.

"Of course."

I was more nervous than I thought I would have been to meet Peter and Charlotte. I wasn't sure why, but I gathered it may be because I didn't know them. Even in my human life, I was nervous about people I didn't know or people I didn't trust.

"Why did you leave Peter and Charlotte?" I asked Jasper as soon as I finished my book. "I remember he said you weren't happy."

Jasper sighed and shook his head.

"I wasn't. I didn't like killing humans. I was depressed, and it was starting to reflect on the two of them.I couldn't do that to them. I don't think Charlotte minded my leaving all that much."

"Did you not get along?"

"It's not exactly like that. It's more because Peter's attention was divided, and with me gone, she got him all to herself."

He chuckled as he looked at me.

"I suppose I get it now though," he said as his fingers trailed up and down my spine. "I couldn't understand why she wanted his undivided attention before. Then I met you and it made sense."

I grinned and held a hand up to his cheek.

"Tell me more about them," I said, turning back onto my stomach.

"Peter will come across as cold but he is very kind and very polite."

"He's like you," I said, pushing his hair back.

Jasper frowned.

"I don't come across as cold."

I snickered.

"Sure you don't, Jazz."

"I don't!" he insisted.

"You barely talk to anyone, and stay behind me," I teased.

Jasper rolled his eyes.

"Okay, so I'm not big on being around people. That doesn't mean that I'm cold."

I laughed and shook my head.

"I'm only teasing, Jasper. You're not cold. You're warm-hearted, protective, you're a good Southern gentlemen, and I love you."

He grinned as I sat up to kiss him.

"So tell me about Charlotte," I said, relaxing into his arms again. "What's she like?"

"She's easy to talk to and she's enjoyable to be around. Much like you," he said, smirking at me.

I smiled and closed my eyes.

"Maybe they could help me teach you how to fight," Jasper said, quietly. "Peter's just as good as I am."

I chuckled and closed my eyes.

"Do you think they'll like me?" I asked suddenly.

"I think they'll love you," he said, pressing his lips to my forehead.  
"What about the energy bursts?"

"We'll cross that bridge when we get there. We'll explain everything to them. Maybe if we explain everything in the beginning. You being a witch, your energy bursts."

"Maybe that would make sense," I said.

Jasper pecked my lips.

"I know you're wary, but you can trust them."

I nodded, but didn't open my eyes.

"I know that."

"Good."

"Can we still stay in the tent? I don't want to have bought this thing for nothing."

"Yes we can stay in the tent."

I could feel his lips move into another smile as my focus wandered ahead to the weather for tomorrow.

Friday morning came quickly. By four o'clock that morning, we had everything packed up.

"Alice, I need you to do something for me," Jasper said, once we finished packing.

"Anything."

"I know you're not in tune with Peter and Charlotte's future, but do you think you can locate what motel they're staying at?"

I nodded.

"I can try."

I figured it would be easier if Jasper could see it to, so I quickly reached over the side of the bed into my bag and pulled out my crystal ball and its stand.

I focused my attention to Peter and Charlotte. It started out fuzzy, but the more focus I put into it, the clearer it became.

"Can you see it?" I asked Jasper, as the picture started to clear.

Jasper nodded.

We could both see Peter and Charlotte. It was dark outside, and they were walking. As they walked, I could see lit up signs.

"Traveler's Inn," Jasper said. "I know where that is. It's on the outskirts of town."

"So you'd know how to get here?"

He nodded.

"Can you get a room number?"

"I can try."

I focused more on the immediate future. I could see them walking again, this time past the sign and to a door.

"It looks to be in the front of the lot," I said, as I tried focusing more on the number of the door they were heading to.

It took a minute to get a clear picture of the room number, but after a minute I could make out the number 21.

"There we go," I said as Jasper wrote down the room number.

"Thank you," he said, leaning over to kiss me.

"Anytime," I said, smiling as he pulled away.

I put my stuff away, and Jasper tore the paper out of the notebook before placing it inside my bag.

Jasper and I paused before leaving the room to change our eye colors.

"I can take them off when we leave the office," I said, as he blinked rapidly.

He nodded.

"Please."

"I know you don't like it, but I think you look handsome," I said, reaching up to peck his lips.

He smiled at the floor.

"Come on," he said, pulling me to the door.

Jasper was excited as we moved through Wichita. He didn't even stop to let me fix his eyes, so they stayed the same emerald green eyes I had changed them to, and mine stayed the same pale grey. His excitement radiated to me, but I still felt nervous. I tried the best I could to hide it from Jasper though. I didn't want to put a damper in his excitement.

It would seem no matter how hard I tried though, I couldn't hide it entirely. Jasper caught the slightest change in my mood and immediately went into action. He stopped, and pulled me in front of him.

"What's wrong?" he asked me.

I leaned against a tree, and he put an arm over my head.

"You're nervous," he continued. "Why?"

"Meeting new people make me nervous," I said, watching the ground behind him.

"Hey, look at me," Jasper murmured.

I looked at him. He was smiling.

"You know you're safe right? I'm never going to let anything hurt you."

I nodded.

"I know that," I said.

He leaned down and kissed me.

"As long as you know," he said when he pulled away.

"Come on," I said, standing up straight again. "We've got somewhere to be."

He took my hand and pulled me to him.

"You have people to meet."

I beamed at him as we started to run again.

It didn't take too long to get to Amarillo. It took a little over an hour and we stopped again.

"Let me fix your eyes, sweetheart," I said, pulling out my wand.

As I fixed his eyes, I watched as he became more and more excited.

"What do you think would happen if I showed up as a dog?" I teased, as I turned to fix my own eyes.

"I thought you hadn't decided whether you were going to tell them."  
"Well if we're going to travel with them, they have a right to know," I said, shrugging, and taking his hand again.

He pulled our hands to his mouth and kissed the back of my hand.

"Thank you," he said, as we began to walk.

"Of course."

"We can walk from here," Jasper said, coming out of the woods. "The motel is just a couple blocks over."

I stayed close to him. I wasn't so much nervous know, being so close to Jasper. As we walked, he let go of my hand, and wrapped his arm around my waist.

"You're less nervous," Jasper noted as we walked.

"That's because you're here," I mumbled under my breath, watching the ground.

"I'm calming to you?" he asked.

I nodded.

"From the first time I saw you. When I was burning, I kept trying to bring your face back."

He grinned and kissed my temple.

"That's good to know."

When we got to the motel, I began to remember why I was nervous all over again.

As Jasper stopped to knock on the door, I hid myself behind him.

He squeezed my hand as we waited.

The door was opened a couple seconds later.

"Jasper!" Peter exclaimed.

Jasper's hand fell from mine as Peter pulled Jasper into a tight hug. My immediate response was to step back from the three. I almost felt like I was intruding on a private moment.

Peter pulled away from Jasper, and Charlotte gave him a quick hug.

"And who is this?" Charlotte asked, looking around Jasper at me.

Jasper grinned, and held a hand out to me. I took it, and he pulled me back to the group.

"Peter, Charlotte, I'd like you to meet Alice. She's my mate."

Peter and Charlotte turned to me.

"Alice," Charlotte repeated, her eyes flickering between Jasper and I. "It's nice to meet you."

She extended her hand, which I took.

"Pleasure to meet you, Charlotte."

Both of their eyes seemed to widen, which immediately cause my nervousness to return. Jasper immediately began rubbing circles into the back of my hand.

"She'll explain everything soon."

Peter and Charlotte looked to each other then back to the two of us.

"Well, please come in," Peter said.

He and Charlotte reentered the motel room. Jasper followed, with me in tow behind him.

The room was different than the ones Jasper and I stayed in. The walls were the same plain white, but there was one bed, instead of the two that Jasper and I got for our for stuff.

I looked around the room, and Jasper guided me to one side of the bed.

Peter and Charlotte sat on the other side, not taking their eyes off me. I instantly felt the urge to hide behind Jasper again.

"Not that we don't enjoy the visit, Jasper—"

"Because we are honestly glad you're here," Peter eagerly interrupted.

"But," Charlotte continued slowly, looking at Peter, "why are you here?"

"We were hoping we could travel with you guys for a while."

Peter looked at Charlotte, grinning the entire time.

"Please, Char?" Peter begged.

I smiled as I watched the pair of them. Jasper grinned to looking down at me.

"It's okay with me," Charlotte sighed.

"Thank you!" Peter said, hugging her as tight as he had hugged Jasper.

"You know," Jasper said, after winking at me. "Alice and I have more… spacious means of shelter. We've been eager to use it."

They looked at me, and I squeezed Jasper's hand.

"I will explain everything soon," I promised. "I need you to trust me first. If not me, trust Jasper."

They looked at each other again, then turned to Jasper.

"Okay," Charlotte said, dropping her hands on her knee with a large crack. "We trust you."

"Give us ten minutes, and we'll check out," Peter said.

Jasper grinned and nodded.

"Great. Just wait. You won't regret this. She's amazing, you'll see."

Jasper and I stood to the side of the room while Peter and Charlotte packed the clothes that they had into a small book bag.

"Here, I can take that," I offered to Charlotte.

She hesitated, but after a quick look at Jasper who nodded, she handed me the bag.

I opened my own bag, and slipped Peter and Charlotte's inside before looking up at them.

Both their eyes widened, and looked at Jasper.

"She'll explain later," Jasper repeated. "Just trust me. Please."

Peter seemed to relax at Jasper's words. Charlotte didn't look entirely convinced until Jasper sent a heavy wave of trust through the room.

"That's not fair, Jasper," Charlotte said, glaring at him.

I moved more behind Jasper as Charlotte moved her eyes to me.

"It's okay," Jasper murmured to me, tightening his arm around my waist. He block me from view of Peter and Charlotte. "I've got you."

Looking around his arm, I could see Peter look at Charlotte, and turn back to Jasper and I grinning.

Peter and Charlotte checked out of the room fairly quickly. Jasper and I stayed outside of the office while they dropped off the key, and when they came back out, the four of us started walking. I stayed close to Jasper. I knew I should be able to trust Peter and Charlotte, but I just felt safer near Jasper.

"Where exactly are we going?" Charlotte asked Jasper.

"A field," he answered simply.

We walked for another five minutes before we entered a large grassy field.

"I'll get everything set up," I said, opening my bag.

I pulled out the tent, still wrapped in its packaging.

"Do you need help?" Peter asked, watching me carefully.

"No thank you," I said, flashing him a small smile.

Three pairs of eyes watched me as I made my way across the field, opening the tent.

I decided to use my wand to set it up. Maybe it would make them slightly understand my abnormalties. I pulled my wand out the holster and pointed it at the tent.

Behind me, I head Peter and Charlotte gasp as the tent raised in the air, and landed fully extended.

I turned waved them over. Jasper was grinning at me, and he ran to me quickly.

Peter and Charlotte were both more cautious, but quickly followed Jasper.

I opened the tent flap, and ducked inside.

"I don't think we're all going to fit in there, Jasper," Peter said from outside the tent.

"Trust me," Jasper said, "we will."

He held the tent open, and Peter and Charlotte ducked inside. I watched as their jaws dropped, as they looked around.

The tent was already furnished. In the very front set a family room. There was a sofa, and two loveseats and a chair. The furniture was set in a semi-circle, and in the middle, there was a small and round coffee table. Behind the sitting room, up some stairs, there was a dining table with four chairs, and I made a mental note to try and get a few more so all of the Cullens would fit. On each side of the walls, there were two openings like the original opening of the tent. I assumed those would be the bedrooms.

Being in my own type of environment, I felt more comfortable.

I walked over to one of the openings, and peered inside. The beds seemed to be large enough. Maybe full sized at the smallest. Even though none of us would actually sleep in these beds, having them couldn't hurt.

"Please," I said turning on my heel and bounding back down the stairs, "sit!"

Peter and Charlotte glanced at Jasper, who nodded.

They walked slowly to one of the loveseats, and I bounced down to the other. Jasper sat at my side.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know," I told them.

"How did you do all this?" Peter demanded immediatly.

"I'm a witch," I told him, calmly. "All over the world, there are magical schools, and communities. We stay hidden from the Muggle eye."

"Muggle?"

"Non-magic people," Jasper answered for me.

They glanced back at Jasper then back to me.

"How is it you met Jasper?" Charlotte asked, cocking her head to the side.

"That's a long story. I'm willing to tell it, but I do need you to keep an open mind."

"Of course," they said in unison.

"You no doubt know that some vampires possess extra gifts," I said. All of our eyes flashed to Jasper, while his eyes flashed to my face. "My creators both held extraordinary talents. Tobias has the gift of memory alteration, while Helen, she had the gift of time travel."

I paused and studied their faces.

"I was born in 1976. When I was twenty-one, my world was in the middle of a war." I paused again to pull up my sleeves. "This is the mark of the Death Eater. I was undercover for the opposite side. We were called the Order of the Phoenix, and I played my part so well, the Death Eaters branded me. When the war came to an end, I was suicidal. I lost my mother to the first war, and my father, one of my best friends, and the man who at the time, I thought was the love of my life. I thought it was my fault—"

"It was a war," Peter interrupted. "How could it of possibly been your fault?"

"Because in my human life, and in this life, I see the future. Based on decisions that people make, I can see the out come. If they change their mind, I see how that decision affects the future. That night, there was too many decisions being made. I couldn't save them."

I stared at my lap.

"That wasn't your fault, Al," Jasper murmured. "You know that."

I smiled and nodded, turning to face him.

"Tobias and I met in an ally. He knew my name, and I tried to run from him. He dropped in front of me and I fainted."

"You never told me that part," Jasper said, chuckling.

"I was scared!" I exclaimed. "You would be too if someone knew your name and everything about you, but you had no clue who they are."

Jasper stared at me for a moment.

"I do know someone like that," he said, moving to kiss my cheek.

"Oh," I said, turning my attention to my lap again. "I forgot about that."

Jasper laughed again, and pulled me to him.

"Continue with your story, Darlin'."

I turned my attention back to Peter and Charlotte. Peter was grinning from ear to ear at Jasper and I. I could tell he was excited for Jasper.

"Tobias carried me to the motel he and Helen were staying at. When I came to, they explained everything to me. They came from 1949, and in my time, which was 1998, there was a vampire called James. James wanted to kill me, but in order to scope me out, he was going to kill my family first. So we created a story that Tobias would change James's memory to, and they turned me into a vampire. Throughout my transformation, I saw a face. I thought something went wrong and I died, and he was an angel. I knew his name, and I knew his face. When I woke up in this new life, I saw a vision of my angel. I was supposed to meet him in a diner during a large storm. I saw a newspaper on the desk. It said the date was June 26, 1948."

I looked to Jasper, who was smiling at me. Peter and Charlotte were smiling too. I couldn't help but smile too.

"To fit the story we created, they would bring me back in time. We landed in Salem, and the three of us traveled to Philadelphia. They stayed with me until the day I was supposed to meet Jasper, then they returned to 1998 to find James and alter his memory."

"The two of you didn't meet that long ago then?" Peter questioned.

"Just over a month."

"You're not very old, either," Peter continued. "A little over a month as well."

I nodded again.

"Can you tell us about it?" Charlotte asked before Peter asked anything else. "About the day you two met?"

Jasper nodded.

"Like she said, we met in a small dinner in Philadelphia. There was a storm outside, and I attracted attention being outside, so I ducked into the dinner. She was waiting for me. She hopped down from a high stool and greeted me. I thought she was beautiful, but I was also scared she was going to attack me."

I leaned my head against his shoulder.

"She told me everything, and I instantly fell in love."

"For the first time in almost two years, I felt love for someone who wasn't Remus."

"The one you thought was the love of your life?"

I nodded.

"Can you show us more magic?" Peter asked curiously.

I grinned and nodded.

I unfastened my holster, and sat it on Jasper's lap.

"Hold this for me?"

"Of course."

I stood and moved to where there was more space.

Peter and Charlotte watched me intently as I began to shift into the large black dog.

I jumped over the pair, and out of the front of the tent.

I could hear their running footsteps behind me, Jasper laughing as I jumped through the field.

In mid-air, I shifted back, and landed in a crouch. I returned to Jasper, who held out my wand to me. He kept hold of my holster as I pointed my wand out to the trees.

"Expecto Patronum!" I cried, and from the tip of my wand, the large silver dog bursted from the bottom.

"That is called a Patronus. In order to cast these," I said, looking between the two of them, "you have to think of an powerful and happy memory. In order to have a Corporeal Patronus, like that, it has to be extremely powerful."

"What did you think of?" Charlotte asked.  
"The day I met Jasper. That's the happiest I've been for a long time."

I turned and smiled at Jasper.

"The thing you did before, what was that?"

"I'm what we call in my world, an Animagus," I said, watching them. "An Animagus is a witch or wizard who turns into an animal at will."

"Does it always match your Patronus?"

I shook my head.

"I suppose not. You can change your Patronus. My cousin changed her's to match Remus."

"How do you mean?"

"Well Remus was a werewolf. She changed her's to a wolf."

"Why would she change her Patronus to match your boyfriend?" Peter asked.

"Because she was in love with him. Remus broke up with me the night my father died. About a year later, he started dating my cousin. Then a couple months after, they got married."

I looked at the ground, and Jasper pulled me to him.

"It's okay," he said, in my ear.

I twisted in his arms, and buried my face in his chest.

He hugged me tightly to him.

Looking over his shoulder, I could see Peter and Charlotte looking at each other.

"I know it's stupid to still be upset over it," I said, shaking my head.

"Of course it's not," Jasper said as he rubbed my back. "It's not stupid. It's unfair to you."

"I have someone better now," I said, reaching up and kissing his jaw.

He smiled, and looked at the Patronus behind us.

I turned and waved my hand and it disappeared.

"You don't have to have a wand?" Charlotte asked, surprised, watching the Patronus vanish from view.

I shook my head.

"Extremely powerful witches and wizards, and young witches and wizards who haven't been to a wizarding school, can do magic wandlessly."

"And you categorize yourself in the first category?" Peter asked. "You see yourself as a powerful witch?" Neither time he spoke sounded like a question though.

"No, actually. I don't think I am," I retorted, "but Voldemort, the leader of the Death Eaters and Albus Dumbledore, the leader of the Order of the Phoenix, seemed to think I was."

Jasper pulled me back inside the tent then. Peter and Charlotte followed quickly.

"You shouldn't assume things," Charlotte scolded quietly.

"I didn't mean to," Peter said defensively.

Jasper and I stood in the dining room, while the other two stood in the living room. I didn't understand why Jasper kept me far away from them. He kept one arm around my waist, the other around my shoulders. He held me to him, as if he was restraining me.

"You're confused," Jasper said.

I nodded.

"Why are we over here?" I asked, watching Peter and Charlotte carefully.

"You were starting to get agitated. Where the three of us come from, that doesn't end well. I've never seen you angry, so we weren't sure how you were going to react," Jasper explained.

"You thought I was going to attack Peter," I realized, watching him from across the room.

"Yes."

I think this agitated me more than Peter remark.

"I think," I said slowly, unwrapping Jasper's arms from around me, "I am going to put charms around the field. It will keep people from wandering around our campsite."

"I'll come with you," Jasper said, quickly.

"That won't be necessary," I snapped, with more steel in my voice than I had originally intended.

Jasper dropped his hand, and made no move to stop or come after me. I darted from the room, and back out of the tent.

I finished putting up charms, within half an hour. I made sure we'd be able to find it, but that was it. Anyone else who would step foot in the area, would forget what they were here for.

I made sure that I altered the charm enough to where you had to have something in order to enter the point that I started charming the grounds. I pulled out four Dragots, and made those the things you had to have to enter the campsite.

I wasn't angry anymore. I couldn't stay mad at Jasper for very long. I also knew that he meant well, and considering how he was brought into this life, I suppose I should be more understanding about that. As I stepped closer to the tent, I could hear the three of them talking quietly inside.

"She'll be back soon, Jasper," Peter was saying. "Sit down."

"She's never been angry with me before," Jasper said, panicked.

"And I'm sure she'll forgive you," Charlotte soothed. "She just needs a moment to cool off."

I quietly stepped back into the tent, and Jasper immediately looked up.

"Alice!" he breathed, darting over to me and pulling me into a tight hug. "I'm so sorry! I know you better than that, I should have known that you—"

I stood on my tiptoes, and kissed him, causing him to stop mid-sentence.

"I'm not mad, Jazz," I said, pulling away to look at him. "You meant well."

"But I should have known that—"

"Jasper, stop," I interrupted again. "It's okay. That is how you remember newborns. I understand."

He sighed and pressed his lips softly to the top of my head.

"I love you," he said. Although his voice was muffled, I could hear him perfectly.

"And I love you."

I pulled him to the couch and looked at Peter and Charlotte.

I gave each of them a Dragot.

"Keep this with you," I said, as they studied the coin. "If you leave the campgrounds, this is the only way you can get back in."

"Thank you," Charlotte said.

"I'd like to apologize," Peter said, staring at the ground. "I assumed you were being self-centered, and that wasn't fair to you."

I shook my head, and smiled.

"Don't worry about it. All is forgiven.

"Thank you."

"They have more questions about you," Jasper said, pulling me onto his lap. "I was just too worried to tell them anything."

I chuckled and leaned back against Jasper.

"What do you want to know?"

"What part of Britain are you from?" Charlotte asked.

"Well, my mother and father, lived in a house in London. I lived there for a time, and while they were in school, I lived in Scottland. My mother died when I was four, and my father went to prison when I was five, so I moved in with Remus, and we lived in Yorkshire—"

"I thought Remus was your ex-boyfriend," Charlotte interrupted, frowning.

I nodded.

"And he was. For two years. But before he was my boyfriend, he was my godfather."

Peter and Charlotte frowned at me, then at Jasper.

"How much older was Remus?"

"Sixteen years. He was my father's best friend. My mother and father were sixteen when I was born," I said shrugging.

"How old were _you_ when you and Remus started dating?"

"Seventeen. In my world, that's legal age."

I tilted my head to the side, and the seemed more relieved.

"Where else have you lived?"

"When I turned eleven, I was accepted to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and I lived in Scottland again. When I graduated, my father broke out of prison, and I lived with him in my grandparents house in London. When he died, and Remus left, I moved back into my mother and father's home."

They looked at me wide eyed.

"Your father broke out of prison?"

I nodded.

"He was falsely accused of murder. I can tell you more of my story. It's a long story though."

"I think we have time," Peter said with a smile.

I told them my story. From the time of my birth to my death. I showed them pictures. Ones I had of Remus and I, in our relationship, and outside of it.

"Can I ask you a question?" Peter asked, looking at a picture of Remus and I whirling around the kitchen at Grimmauld Place.

"Go ahead."

"Why didn't you throw away the pictures of you and Remus after the two of you broke up?"

"The ones in here are placed in there with a Permanent Sticking Charm. I couldn't take them out without destroying my entire album. I still loved him though, so I kept them. Some of them, I had hanging on our wall in our cottage. The night he left, I threw a bunch of pictures at him and the wall, and destroyed the frame. The night he died, I put all those in here."

"You didn't tell me that part," Jasper said, grinning against the nape of my neck.

"About me throwing pictures at him? Yeah, I did. I had a thing for the dramatics."

Jasper laughed.

"I can see that."

They flipped through the pictures, pausing at the picture of Teddy and I.

"You had a baby?" Charlotte asked.

I shook my head.

"That's Remus and Nymphadora son, Teddy."

"What happened to your face?" Peter asked tracing the scars.

"I was shoved into a pile of wood and glass," I said, looking down at the picture next to it.

The picture of my family smiling through the tears that rolled down their face.

"That's the night my life ended," I said, quietly pointing at the picture. "I said goodbye, and they never saw me again. I faked my death, and as far as they know, they put me in the ground."

As I looked at the picture, I could remember the last night of the war. Fred and Remus's lifeless eyes staring up at me. I squeezed my eyes shut and rubbed my eyes, trying to force the pictures out of my head.

Jasper pulled me back into his arms and hugged me to him.

"I've got you," he murmured in my ear. "It's okay. You're not there, you're here with me."

I focused on his voice, and the memories seemed to fade.

"It's okay, Alice," he repeated quietly, rocking me back and forth. "I've got you."

I focused on his face, and I felt relaxed again.

"Thank you, Jasper," I whispered.

"Of course," he said, pressing his lips to my temple.

"I think I'm going to go lay down for a little while," I said, standing up.

"I'll be in there in a little while to check on you," Jasper said, standing to kiss my cheek.

I looked through my bag, pulling out my comforter, and made my way to the closest bedroom.

I crawled onto the bed, and put myself in a ball under the blanket, listening quietly to the three in the living room.

"Is she okay?" Peter asked, the worry clear in his voice.

Jasper didn't respond right away, but I could hear someone picking the books off the table.

"She will be. You said so yourself, she's not very old. When she was changed, the war just ended, and she lost her best friend and someone she loved very much. Alice remembers things better than we do. Because of the magic, she sees things clearer before the transformation. Despite what she says, I know she blames herself."

"You look like you're doing all you can to help her," Charlotte said. "She just needs time."

Jasper paused again.

"Just please be careful what you say around her. I can't stand her being in pain Also, don't be offended if she doesn't feel up to talking for the next day or so."

"You really do love her, don't you?" Peter asked.

"I really do."

"Tell her to take all the time she needs," Charlotte said. "Go be with her. She needs you."

"Thank you," Jasper breathed.

He was at my side in an instant.

"Hey, Darlin'," he said, lovingly. "Are you feeling any better?"

"Can you lay with me?" I asked in a small voice from under the blanket.

"Of course," he said.

I scooted back to the wall to give him room to lay down. Once he was situated, I returned to his side, nuzzling into his neck.

"I couldn't get the pictures out of my head," I said, just as quietly as before. "I saw Fred and Remus."

"It's okay, Darlin," he said, beginning to run his hand up and down my spine. "I know it doesn't seem like it now but it will be."

"I don't think I've made a good first impression."

"They like you," he said, reassuringly.

I kissed his neck, and closed my eyes.

"I love you," I mumbled again.

"I love you too. Rest now. You've had a long day."

As he spoke, the heavy cloud of tiredness washed over me.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I'm sorry it took so long to get these chapters up. I recently got a new computer, and I took some time to set it up. So to explain Alice in this chapter more, I thought about it, and because she was changed right after the war ended, she didn't have the time between to heal. The past month that she's been with Jasper, she's had distractions, so she couldn't exactly process it then. Now that she has time to process it, it does take a toll. I'd like to think of it as a small form of PTSD. She won't be like this forever though. It will disappear, and it may reappear throughout the story.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapters, and new ones should be up soon.**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	19. New Visions

_"Every person, all the events of your life, are there because you have drawn them there. What you chose to do to them is up to you." ~Richard Bach_

* * *

Chapter 19-New Visions Alice's POV

Jasper wasn't wrong when he told Peter and Charlotte I more than likely wouldn't be up to talking for the next day or so. The day after we joined Peter and Charlotte, I stayed close to Jasper, but I didn't talk much. I talked to Jasper though. I didn't want him to worry about me. Jasper told them about my diet of animal blood in the early hours of the next morning. He talked about how he was working his way towards the diet of animal blood. They thought it was mad, but if it made Jasper happy, they were open to the idea.

It was sunny in Texas, so we stayed in the field. Jasper brought me outside in the morning to walk around.

"How're you feeling?" he asked, slipping an arm around me.

"I'm better than yesterday."

"Do you want to talk about it."

I shook my head.

"That's okay," Jasper said. "I'll always be here if you need to talk about it."

I nodded.

"Thank you, Jasper."

"You're welcome."

We walked to the charm barrier, and paused there.

"Are we still going to follow their list?" I asked Jasper, as we sat down on the forest floor.

Jasper shrugged.

"I could talk to them about going somewhere else. Where do you want to go?"  
"I don't know," I shrugged. "What about that place you showed me on the map in Kansas?"

"Chicago?"

I nodded.

"I'll talk to them," he said, smiling.

"When are you going to hunt?" I asked, watching him carefully.

"Peter and Charlotte are going tomorrow, so I'll probably go with them."

I nodded.

"I might go tonight. The burning is back again."

Jasper nodded.

"Do you want me to come with you?"

I shook my head.

"No, thank you. Stay here, catch up with your friends. I'll be okay."

He looked at me, worry filling his eyes.

I extended my hand, which he took, and pulled me into his lap.

"I'm going to be okay, Jasper."

He nodded, and pulled me to him.

"I know you will. You're strong."

I smiled against his neck, and pulled back to look at him.

"Maybe I should wait," I said, as he ran a hand through his hair, "until the day you go to hunt animals. I can hold out for a few more days."

He shook his head.

"No. Go tonight. And if it makes you feel better you can come with me when I go animal hunting."

I nodded.

"Come on," I said, standing up. "Let's go back inside."

He stood up and took my hand.

Everyone seemed to be doing there own thing when we got inside. Charlotte and Peter were each reading one of the books that Jasper and I had offered to them. Jasper pulled me next to him on the couch, and I grabbed a book before laying my head in his lap.

I felt safer here. In the tent with Jasper. Anywhere I was with Jasper I felt safe. I knew he'd never let anyone hurt me. He wouldn't even let me hurt myself.

"What're you thinking about?" Jasper asked, looking down at me.

"You," I responded, staring into his eyes. I reached up to place a hand against his cheek.

"What about me?"

I grinned, and he held my hand to his face.

"I feel safe."

He smiled and and bent down to press his lips to my forehead.

"Good. I don't want you to feel like you're not safe. I'll always protect you."

I nodded.

"I know."

"Good."

I had forgotten that Peter and Charlotte where there. When I turned my head, they were watching us.

Peter was grinning just as widely as he had yesterday.

The day seemed to go by quickly. Before I knew it, the sun had gone down.

I closed my book, and set in on the table before sitting up.

"You okay, Darlin'?"

I nodded.

"I think I'm going to go change and then go hunt."

He stood, setting his book down on the couch.

"I'll walk you out."

I smiled.  
"I just have to change and get my coin and my mirror."

"Mirror?" Charlotte questioned as I turned to the bedroom I had stayed in through the night.

"It a way for us to communicate," Jasper said. "I'll show you."

My mirror sat in the pocket of my cloak, and my coin was already in the pocket of my pants that I wore yesterday.

I pulled out clothes that I had brought with me. A pair of black jeans, and a grey baggy jumper that hung off one shoulder. I also pulled on a pair of black ankle boots.

I pulled the mirror and coin from off the bed, and returned to the front room.

"That's a very strange outfit," Charlotte said, tilting her head to the side. "I've never seen anything like it. Except for in your pictures."

"It's from my time," I said, looking at the ground. "This is usually what I wore."

"I like it," Jasper said, slipping his hand around me. "I think it suits you nicely.

I smiled against his shoulder.

"Do you have your mirror and coin?"

I nodded, and he pulled his out of his pocket.

"Can we show them the mirror?"

I nodded, and pulled my mirror.

"Show me Jasper," I muttered as Jasper handed his mirror to Peter. Looking inside my own, I could see Peter and Charlotte watching the mirror curiously.

Their eyes wandered back up to me. Both eyes were wide.

"How far can these go?"

"They don't have a limit. I could be as far as the end of the universe and still reach Jasper here on Earth."

I watched the pair of them look back down at the mirror in wonder. Watching the pair, I was sure I would have to get one for Peter and Jasper. I knew there was a wizarding community in Houston, and another in Sweetwater. Maybe tomorrow, while the others went out hunting, I could slip away. I definitely wouldn't have time to do it tonight before the shops closed, and they were going early in the morning. Not long after I get back.

I smiled, and waved a hand over the mirror. Peter and Charlotte's amazed faces disappeared, and I looked up again.

"My father had one with James. After James died, and he broke out of prison, he gave it to Harry. Harry was further away, and he needed him the most."

I looked back down at the mirror.

"It keeps you close no matter how far you are."

I smiled and returned the mirror into the pocket of my jeans.

"Now then," I said, looking up to Jasper. "I best be on my way."

"Come on," he said, smiling.

He decided to walk me to the edge of the charm barrier.

"Alice?" he asked, once we were out of hearing range of the tent.

"Hmm?"  
"Do you like them? Peter and Charlotte?"

I nodded.

"Although I'm not sure they like me. I think they think I'm mad. I would read their thoughts but I don't think I can do that without them noticing. That's the downfall of Legilimency. They see, and they'd know."

"It's not polite to read people's minds," he said, pulling me to him.

"I know," I said, shaking my head.

"Besides, I'm sure they like you. How could they not."

"You're bias," I said against his lips as he kissed me.

"No I'm not," he said, his lips turning into a smirk.

"Well, as long as you like me, I don't care if they do. I like them well enough."

He chuckled.

"Come back to me."

"Of course," I grinned.

He kissed me again. It made me not want to leave.

"I love you," I murmured when he pulled away from me chuckling.

"I love you too, Al."

I hugged him tightly again before stepping back to the barrier.

I faced him until I couldn't see him anymore, then I waved once and turned on my heel through the forest.

I spent the few hours I was gone hunting. I had traveled a few cities West, and found a Pronghorn and an Ocelot. By the third hour, after I felt full, and the sloshy feeling returned, I had stepped out of the woods in Amarillo and into the city. I knew that if I planned to get the mirrors for Jasper and Peter, I couldn't ask for directions without making any of them suspicious, so the next best thing I could do is find a map.

There was a twenty-four hour petrol station open. On the outside, there sat a stack of maps. I quickly ran over to grab one and returned to the woods as quick as I could.

Looking down at the map, it would be quicker to go to Sweetwater than to Houston. It would only take about an hour and a half to get to Sweetwater. Going to Houston would take me around three to four hours. I folded the map and stuffed it into my pocket. Seconds later, I heard Jasper calling for me.

"Alice?" he called. "Alice, Darlin', can you hear me?"

I pulled my mirror from my pocket, and began walking through the woods.

"Hey, Jazz."

"I don't want to rush you, but when are you coming back? Peter and Charlotte are wanting to leave soon, and I want to see you before we leave?"

"I'm actually on my way," I said, glancing up from the mirror. "I should be there in about five minutes."

He grinned into the mirror.

"I'll be waiting for you."

"Okay, I'll see you soon."

He waved and I ran my hand over the mirror.

I made a note to myself that while I was out, to get a pocket watch. I had clocks in the tent of course, and Jasper had the watch around his wrist that he brought when we met, but I needed something for my own.

I was back in five minutes like I promised, and like Jasper promised, he was waiting for me.

I pulled my coin from my pocket, and stepped into the barrier.

"Hey," he said, pulling me into his arms. "How was it?"

"There wasn't much here, so I went a couple cities over."

"Catch anything good?"

"I caught a Pronghorn, and an Ocelot. We don't have those in Britain. I almost felt bad about killing it."

Jasper laughed, and pulled away.

"Come on."

He led me back to the tent. Inside, Peter and Charlotte were nose deep in books. Jasper and I went to the room we had stayed in last night.

"I told them I wanted to spend time with you before we left. I feel bad about leaving you alone."

I smiled and shook my head.

"Don't feel bad. It's supposed to be cloudy today, so I think I am going to get a watch, maybe get some other things.

"Peter and Charlotte said we're going to go to Nara Visa, New Mexico. It only takes about a half an hour to get there, but we might be gone until around noon, maybe a bit later."

"Take your time, Jazz," I said before kissing his jaw. "Don't rush."

"You know you look beautiful?" he said, watching me carefully. "I like this more. The looks from your time rather than mine."

I grinned and hid my face against his shoulder.

"What?"

"I'm not used to being told I look beautiful by anybody other than Fred or George."

"What about Remus?"

I shook my head.

"He told me once every once in a while."

"Well I think you're the most beautiful person I've ever met, and deserve to be told that as often as possible."

I grinned again, nuzzling my face in his neck.

"You're very handsome," I mumbled against his skin. "Like an angel."

"You think so?" he chuckled, rolling onto his side.

I nodded.

"My angel."

He chuckled again.

"I suppose I am yours now aren't I?"

I nodded.

"Mine."

I kissed his nose.

"Yours."

He hugged me to him for a little while longer. Despite me wanting to get the gifts for Jasper and Peter, I didn't want Jasper to leave.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Jasper said, almost like he read my mind.

I had changed his appearance again, and even Peter and Charlotte's.

"Go," I said, pushing him to the entrance of the tent. "I have my errands to run. You go. I'll be here waiting for you when you come back."

"I'll call when you when we're on the way," Jasper said.

I looked over his shoulder at Peter and Charlotte who looked impatient.

"It's time for you to leave me," I said, smiling against his lips. "I don't think your friends would like me very much if I keep them from our meal any longer."

He kissed me again and I looked back to Peter and Charlotte.

"Do you have your coins?" I asked them, as I walked with Jasper to where Peter and Charlotte stood.

Each of them held up a coin.

"And you have your mirror?"

Jasper nodded, and patted his jacket pocket.

"Right here, Darlin'."

He swooped down to give me another kiss.

"Bye, love you."

Then just as quickly, he was gone.

I smiled and held a hand up to the spot he kissed.

I straightened up the tent some. Cleaning up books that were on the table and straightening up the bed Jasper and I had laid on. Despite none of the other beds being used, I straightened up those too.

Once I was finished, I looked at the clock on the wall. It was nearing six now, so I'd make it to the Alley by opening.

I pulled my bag up off the couch and slung it over my shoulder.

I made sure I had my coin and my mirror, and ducked out of the tent.

Like I thought, it didn't take that long to get to Sweetwater. I got there when the sky started to brighten. But like I predicted, it was covered by clouds. I paused to pull the book out of my bag.

I glanced at the map, and I seemed to be in the right direction of the entrance.

Once I got to where the map said the entrance, which was a diner rather than a pub, I closed to book and returned it to my bag.

I tilted my head to the side, and looked up at the dinner.

Stepping inside, it was much like the diner I met Jasper in. There was a high bar, and instead of booths, there were little round tables with chairs.

"Good morning!" the woman behind the counter said cheerfully. She was older, her hair was black mixed with grey, and was pulled into a crown on the top of her head. Her face was filled with laugh lines as she smiled at me. "What can I do for you?"

"Is this the entrance to the alley?"

"You got the right place. Can I get you something to eat first?"

I shook my head.

"No thank you. I don't think you have something that'd quite fit my diet," I said, flashing a smile at her.

She laughed, and motioned me to her.

"Come with me."

As we walked, she turned back to look at me.

"Your voice is likes bells, you know that?"

I grinned and nodded.

"I've been told that by a few people."

"I like it," she said, laughing. "It suits you nicely."

"Thank you."

"Here we are," she said, pointing to the brick wall. "It's the same brick pattern as it is to get to Diagon Alley."

"Thank you very much, ma'am."

She nodded.

"You take care."

I smiled and nodded before pulling my wand from my holster.

The alley seemed about as empty as the road in the Muggle town. A few people seemed to be going in to some of the shops, but it seemed very empty. I paused to pull out my coin purse that was still mostly full.

I looked around the street and found a jewelry store. I was sure I could get both the watch and the mirrors. After all, I had gotten the original mirrors from a jewelry store.

I looked at the sign, which said it was open.

The store was filled with tinkling when I stepped inside. There were necklaces that were hitting each other, and a man stood with his back turned to me.

I looked at some necklaces that were hanging around the store.

I found one, silver with an obsidian stone, shaped like a teardrop. I picked it up, intending to get it for Charlotte.

"Good morning, ma'am. Can I help you?"

"I was wondering if you carried any two-way mirrors."

He nodded, and turned behind him to pull out a few different boxes.

"We have them in different shapes, but the backs are all goblin-wrought silver."

"Can I get these engraved?" I asked, looking at the cuts.

"You can. It will cost a little bit more."

"On average, how long do you think that would take?"

"I'd say until about noon for both of them. Maybe longer depending on what you want written."

I nodded.

"You also carry watches, yes?"

He nodded again.

"We do."

He tapped the case beneath me. I squatted down to look at the watches. After looking at it, I chose a simple goblin-wrought silver one that would easily be slipped into my bag.

"Is this all?" he asked, pointing to the two mirrors, watch, and necklace.

I glanced around the store again and nodded.

"I think so."

"Okay, and what was it that you want engraved on these?"

"On one, I want 'My Angel,' I said, pausing to consider what to put on Peter's mirror. I didn't know him very well, but I didn't want to put something as simple as his name. "On the other, put 'To my friend. Thank you for him."

"I take it one of these people mean more to you than the other?"

I sighed. He wasn't wrong. Jasper did mean more to me. He meant the world to me.

"He does. I suppose you could say he saved me."

"And he would be the angel, yes?"

I nodded.

"And you met him through the friend?"

I shook my head.

"I met the friend through him. But before I came along, the friend took very good care of him."

"Well these should be ready by noon. Maybe a little bit later. Can I hold onto anything else for you?"

I nodded.

"I need the necklace wrapped, but I'd like to take the watch."

He nodded, and passed it to me, before swiping the necklace and the mirrors off the counter.

"Can I get a name for these?"

"Whitlock," I said, automatically, not thinking about my answer.

"Thank you, Ms. Whitlock. I'll see you soon."

I nodded and headed for the door.

I looked around in other shops. There wasn't much that I didn't already have but I did find a Lunascope, and thought I could find use in that. If I didn't, Jasper definitely would. We talked about it once. He didn't like my star charts. After remembering this, I grabbed a second one for Jasper.

While looking around I also found a Wizarding Chess board. I thought Jasper would like it. He liked challenging things. So on the days that Jasper didn't want to teach me to fight, I could teach him Wizarding Chess, that I played so often in my human life.

Before noon, I could hear someone calling my name. At first, I didn't register that the voice was something I had heard everyday for what felt like it was a long time. I just knew that I like the voice.

"Alice!" Jasper exclaimed from my pocket.

I blinked once, and pulled my mirror out of my pocket.

"Hey, sorry, I'm here. Sorry, I got distracted."

"You're okay. I just wanted to check on you. When we got home, you were gone, so I wasn't sure if you were finished with your errands."

"You're back?" I exclaimed, louder than I intended. A few women turned to look at me.

"Yes, but Al—"

"Damn it," I growled under my breath. "What time is it?"

I watched the mirror as Jasper looked down at his watch.

"It's a little bit after noon—"

"Noon? I'm late!"

"Late for what?" he asked, worriedly. "Alice, what's going on?"

"You'll find out soon, sweetheart. I'll be home soon, I swear."

"Don't rush, Darlin'. It's okay, really. We'll be here waiting for you."

I sighed.

"I didn't know I had been here for that long."

"Where are you?"

"Sweetwater," I said, looking up as I made my way back to the first shop I went to.

"That's an hour away," he stated surprised.

I nodded.

"I'll be there soon. I just have one more errand to run."

"Like I said, no rush."

"I love you."

"I love you too, Darlin'."

I waved a hand over the mirror, and stowed it back in my pocket.

The same man as this morning was still behind the counter. He looked up as the bells on the door chimed.

"Ms. Whitlock. You're back."

"I'm sorry, I lost track of the time."

He chuckled.

"Not a problem, ma'am. Your order was finished about a half an hour ago."

I sighed.

"I should have come back earlier."  
"It's really not a problem," he said, moving around behind the counter.

He pulled out two boxes, one a thin box that I was sure was holding the necklace.

"Now, the mirrors you chose, to activate them, all you have to do is tilt it rather than speak."

I nodded, and turned the mirrors over in my hand.

Written in a neat scrawl was the same thing I had asked for. 'My Angel', and 'My Friend'. On Jasper's, I saw something written smaller. In small writing, it read 'Thank you for saving me'.

I grinned and looked up at the worker.

"Thank you so much! Is there an extra price for the extra writing?"

He shook his head and held up a hand.

"My treat. Now, would you like these in two different boxes?"

I nodded.

"Please."

"Who are they addressed to?"

"The angel one is addressed to Jasper, the friend, is to Peter."

"And the necklace?"

"Charlotte."

He quickly wrote out the names on each of the parcels.

"Here you are, Ms. Whitlock," he said, handing the collection of boxes to me.

"Thank you, very much."

"Come see us again!"

Once I tucked my boxes into my bag, I quickly made my way back through the diner. Once I made it back into the Muggle city, I bolted.

The way back was quicker. Once I pulled out my coin, and entered the barrier, Jasper was there waiting for me.

He instantly pulled me into his arms.

"Hey," I said, laughing.

"I missed you," he said.

"Come on," I said, pulling him to the tent. "I've brought gifts for everyone."

He looked at me questioningly.

"Did you ever get that watch?"

I nodded.

"I did. And you'll see it. After you open your present."

He laughed and kissed my temple.

"Okay. Presents first."

We ducked into the tent where Peter and Charlotte sat on the couch.

"You're finally here," Peter said, watching me. "Jasper's been sitting outside since we found out you weren't here."

"Alice says she's brought presents," Jasper said, as I sat down in the armchair between the couch and the loveseat.

Jasper came over, swooped me into his arms, and sat me on his lap, with one arm tightly around my waist.

I sat cross legged, and my bag sat on my leg.

I pulled out Charlotte's box and handed it to her.

"Your's is more simple than theirs. I'm sorry it's not much, but I wasn't sure what to get you, and I would feel bad if I got you nothing."

She opened it up carefully and peered inside.

Once she pulled out the necklace, her eyes seemed to soften as she looked up at me.

"Alice, it's beautiful! Thank you so much."

She reached over to give me a one armed hug and handed the necklace back to Peter.

"Help me put it on?"

Peter quickly fastened the necklace into place.

I looked at the name written on each of the mirror boxes and handed it to their respected person.

Jasper kept his arms around me while he opened the box, but I leaned back to where he could see.

When he uncovered the mirror, he looked at me surprised.

"Another one?"

"Look," I said, taking his hands in mine, and tilting the mirror.  
Peter's face filled the mirror, just as surprised as Peter's.

"It's for when we seperate from them, so the two of you can always keep in touch."

Jasper hugged me tightly to him.  
"Thank you, Alice."

I turned and kissed him.

"All you have to do," I said, when I finally pulled away, "to get the picture to disappear, is tilt it back. And look at this."

I flipped it over to the back and showed him the writing.

He smiled, and turned me around to face him.

"I think you saved me," he said, as I pressed my forehead to his.

"I told the guy to write 'My Angel' on it. When he asked further questions, he added that without telling me. I told him that you saved me."

He kissed me again, and I felt my frozen heart leap.

Peter cleared his throat, which cause Jasper and I to leap apart, and almost caused me to fall.

"Thank you, Alice," Peter said, like Charlotte, and coming over to give me a one armed hug. "And you're welcome."

I showed Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte the Lunascope, wizarding chess board, and the watch I got myself.

"What's the difference between that and regular chess?" Jasper asked, tapping the box.

"Play me and find out."

He chuckled as he tightened his hold on me and stood up. The four of us, Peter and Charlotte trailing behind Jasper, who hadn't put me down, made our way to the dining room table.

Jasper pulled out a chair and set me down before moving to the chair across from me.

"You know I'm perfectly capable of walking, right?" I teased, moving to set up the pieces.

"I know. I just wasn't ready to let you go yet."

I smiled and set up the board.

As I went to explain how to play, my vision of my immediate surroundings was gone.

"Alice?" Jasper called. In the same instant, I could hear him jumping up from the chair.

 _"Thank you for letting us stay here for a while, Tanya," Carlisle was saying._

 _The picture became clearer, and I could see Carlisle Esme, and two women. One had long, curly, strawberry blonde hair. The other, had hair just as long, but her's was pale blonde, and straight._

 _I couldn't see anything else expect for bits of the room they were in. The walls were paneled in the same wood that was on the floor. There was a fire place, and the couches and armchairs seemed to be a dark blue._

"Alice," Jasper was calling. "Alice, what is it? What do you see?"

"Carlisle," I murmured.

I could feel him press something into my hand, and he guided it somewhere. I realized it was a pen, and he was guiding it to the page of my sketchbook.

"Draw what you see."

My hand began flying across the page as I focused.

 _The woman with the strawberry blonde hair spoke. I assumed she was Tanya._

 _"You know you're always welcome here, Carlisle."_

 _"It definitely gives you time to figure out where to go next," the one with the pale blonde hair said. "People won't get suspicious about Carlisle not aging for a while. He's the only one people will really see since he's working at the hospital."_

 _Esme nodded._

 _"Rosalie and Emmett are working on that."_

 _The pale blonde grinned._

 _"Is she more accepting to it now? Now that she has him?"_

 _Esme looked at the ground._

 _"She loves Emmett, but this isn't the life she would have chosen."_

 _"She'll come around, Esme," Carlisle said, squeezing her hand._

The picture faded, and then I could only see blackness.

I blinked my eyes, and looked down at the table.

Staring back up at me was the same scene I just left.

"Who are they?" Jasper asked, his finger tracing across the woman. He was squatting at my side.

"Her name is Tanya," I said, tapping the curly haired woman. "They never said her name. But the Cullens are staying with them until they relocate."

"But you don't know where that is, do you?" Jasper asked quietly.

I shook my head.

"I don't think I'll find that out. I've told you. We're still looking for them this time next year."

I looked over at him and he was looking at the ground.

"Could you get a picture of any of the other surroundings?"

I shook my head.

"I couldn't see out of this room. I don't think the conversation has happened yet."

"Why do you say that?" Charlotte asked, watching me.

"The conversation was fuzzy. I could hear it, but it was faint. So decisions leading toward the conversation are still being made. Carlisle and Esme must have just made the decision to go talk to Tanya and her coven mate. But like I said, I don't think the conversation itself has happened."

"So when will the conversation happen?"

I shrugged.

"Anytime really. It could happen today, or it could happen in six months from now."

"So how does that help you?" Charlotte asked.

I shrugged.

"I suppose it doesn't. But I know that Emmett and Rosalie are working on possible places for them to go."

"How long will they stay with them?" Jasper asked.

"Until people get suspicious, or until they find a new place to go, I suppose. The best thing we can really do is wait for them to make a certain decision. Like I said, we don't know when that conversation will happen."

Jasper nodded, and patted my hand.

"You're right."

He stood up straight, and returned to his spot in front of me.

"So tell me how to play."

"Right then," I said. "It's not much different than Muggle chess. Really, all you have to do, is tell your pieces where to go. For example, pawn to A6."

Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte watched as my pawn slid up two spaces.

Jasper grinned up at me, before returning his attention to the board.

We played, and I watched Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte's faces as my knight took out one of his rooks. I also watched their faces as me and my chess pieces argued about placement.

"Just trust me!" I hissed at them as I moved again.

I repaired the chess pieces, and looked down at the board.

"What did I tell you," I muttered to the pieces. "I've got this."

"We don't know you," the knight responded. "We weren't sure."

Jasper watched me cheerfully as I put the pieces away, and while Peter and Charlotte went for a walk, we laid in the room for a while.

"You're a brilliant chess player," he said, smiling against my cheek.

I shook my head.

"I based my moves off your choices. That's why everyone refuses to play with me. Only Fred would play with me."

"What about George?"

I shook my head.

"He liked watching."

"Harry?"

I shook my head.

"He wasn't very good."

"Well whether you had your visions or not, you're good."

I smiled and reached up to kiss him.

"Thank you for everything you've done today, Alice," Jasper said, watching me. "You truly are amazing."

"I'd walk to the end of the world if it'd make you happy."

He grinned and closed his eyes as he kissed my forehead.

* * *

 **I hope you liked the chapter! It was longer than I had intended, but that's okay. I liked the idea of Jasper and Peter having mirrors, so I thought that I'd make a chapter for that. But I also wanted to give an insight on the Cullens. So yet again, I hope you liked the chapters!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	20. Training

_"Kill yourself in training so you don't die fighting." ~Alistair Overeem_

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Chapter 20- Training Alice's POV

"Good morning," Jasper said when Peter and Charlotte reentered the tent in the early hours of the next morning.

"Morning," Peter said, sitting down on the couch next to the chair Jasper and I were occupying. "What are we doing today?"

"Well I thought we could start teaching Alice how to fight," he paused and turned to me. "If you're up for it of course."

"Of course I am."

"We'll wait for the sun to come up," Jasper said, kissing the side of my neck.

I nodded.

"Play chess with me while we wait?"

He nodded, and much like he had yesterday, he carried me to the table.

"I'll play chess with you for as long as you want," he said as I moved to setup the board.

This time, Jasper played his turn first. I tried as hard as I could to block out the visions to give him a fair game.

Jasper was better than I had anticipated. He won this time, when I did everything I could to block the visions.

"You let me win," he accused, as I fixed the pieces.

I shook my head.

"I didn't see your moves. I blocked them."

He chuckled.  
"If you say so, Darlin'."

I grinned as I put away the board.

Once we had all changed, Peter, Charlotte, Jasper, and I made our way out to the field outside the tent.

Peter and Charlotte stood furthest from me. They stood the same length away, and then a couple feet from each other.

Jasper stood in front of me.

"I don't want you to rely on your magic," Jasper said to me quietly. "I want to see how you do on instinct first. But be careful. You are stronger than the three of us, and you can crush us without thinking."

I nodded and closed my eyes.

"You're going to do great, Alice," Jasper said, reassuringly. "Don't be afraid."

He swooped down to give me a kiss on the cheek before he turned away from me.

"Ready?"

I nodded.

"I think so."

Jasper looked at me, before turning back to Peter and Charlotte.

"I want to see how she does with me first. I know that she trusts me, and she'd never intentionally hurt me."

Peter and Charlotte both nodded, and Jasper turned back to me.

"Ready?"

I nodded.

"When I say go, I want you to charge after me. Got it?"

I nodded again.

He gave me an encouraging smile.

"Go!" he exclaimed.

I did what he told me, and I charged after him. He didn't run from me. Instead, he extended his arms, almost as if he was going to hug me.

One I got close enough to him, he was able to latch onto my arms, and pinned me to the ground.

I struggled beneath him as he held me to the ground.

"Fight me off," Jasper said quietly to me.

I brought my arms up from the ground, and was able to get my hands around Jasper's wrists. Once I was sure that my hands were tightly around his wrists, I was able to flip him on his back. "There you go!" he encouraged as I pinned him down like he had done to me. "Okay, let me up."

I jumped off him, and scooted back.

Jasper jumped back onto his feet, and looked at me. He glanced back at Peter and Charlotte, then all three of them were gone.

I looked around the field, but it was like they vanished in thin air. However, suddenly, I felt strong arms wrap around me. The decision was made suddenly. And I didn't have the chance to look ahead.

"Come on, Al. You've got this," Jasper said, reappearing in front of me. "Try and fight him off."

I couldn't deny the fact that I didn't know how to fight without magic. It wasn't something I had to do. I wasn't around Muggles nearly enough. When I was fighting in the war, we had magic.

I tried to think of ways to get free. The first thing I thought of was to stomp on Peter's foot. I wasn't sure if it would have much effect on him.

"Now you're getting it!" Jasper encouraged. "Keep going. Don't lose your focus."

It took me a few tries before I could free myself from Peter's hold. Jasper applauded when I finally worked it out.

"There you go!" he exclaimed. "Excellent job."

I shook my head.

"Jasper, I have no clue what I'm doing."

"I know. I want to see what you can do before I teach you. And for someone who doesn't know what they're doing, you're doing great."

He patted my shoulder.

"Trust me, Alice. You're going to do just fine."

He looked at Peter who nodded and moved to a large part of the field.

"Peter's going to help me show you what a fight might look like."

"Maybe Charlotte should try it out," Peter said, pointing to Charlotte in the tree above me. "She is only a few inches taller than Alice."

Jasper looked at me, then up to Charlotte.

"Would you mind?"

She shrugged.

"I suppose not."

"Just please try not to claw me," he asked, as she dropped down in front of me.

"I'll try."

Jasper looked over at me. He gave me a comforting smile before turning back to Charlotte.

"Ready?"

She nodded once, and like he had done for me originally, he didn't move as Charlotte charged after him. In the same manner, he extended his arms, but when she collided with him, he didn't pin her to the ground. It sounded like two boulders crashing together, and I was suddenly thankful I put sound charms around the camp.

Jasper made a move to grab Charlotte, but she ducked out of the way. Suddenly the two of them were sprinting through the field while Peter and I watched intently.

"Jasper's a good teacher," he said, as I watched Jasper block the hits she was trying to throw at him.

"Did he teach you how to fight?" I asked, glancing over at him.

He nodded.

"Maria trusted him. So he taught a lot of us to fight. Charlotte and I included. I think being in the army had something to do with that."

"How do Muggles fight wars?" I asked, watching him.

"With guns," Peter asked, confused as he turned to look at me.

"A gun," I repeated turning back to Jasper. "Those are the metal wands, Muggles use to kill each other, right?"

Peter looked at me astonished.

"You've never seen a gun?"

I shook my head.

"We don't have them in my world."

"If you don't mind my asking, how did your parents get killed? You didn't give much detail about it. Only that they were murdered."

"My mother was hit with a Killing Curse when I was four by my cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. My father was hit with a Stunning Spell, and it sent him through the Veil by Bellatrix."

"What is the Veil?" he asked as I turned my head back to Charlotte and Jasper, who were still dancing around each other.

"I suppose you could describe it as a barrier from this world, and the afterlife. Souls are trapped inside, and if someone alive falls through it, they die. You can hear the voice of your loved one's souls through it if you've seen someone whose died."

He shook his head.

"Your cousin killed both your parents?"

I nodded.

"In my world, my parents were seen as blood traitors."

I watched as Jasper finally pinned Charlotte to the ground.

"Between that, and the fact that he was a convicted mass murder until he died, there wasn't a funeral for Dad," I continued, looking at the ground. "There wasn't a body. But I took out some money to put a tombstone next to Mum's grave as a memorial."

Peter patted my shoulder as we watched as Jasper and Charlotte made their way back to us.

"He's lucky to have you," Peter said.

I shook my head.

"I'm lucky to have him."

Jasper and Charlotte made their way back to us at this point. He was grinning.

"You put up a good fight," I said, looking between him and Charlotte.

"You want to try your hand at it?" he asked holding a hand out to me.

I took his hand and he pulled me to my feet. Charlotte took my spot next to Peter, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Okay, Alice," Jasper said as he dropped my hand and walked several yards away from me. "Use your gift. It will come to your advantages. But don't use magic."

I nodded.

"Ready?"

I nodded, and Jasper darted for me. As he got closer, I quickly stepped out of the way.

"There you go!" he encouraged. He went to strike me, and as soon as I saw it flash, I quickly caught his arm. He grinned at me, and went to lunge again.

I ducked under his arm and behind him.

We did the same thing over and over. Jasper would lunge, or move to strike me. I would duck out of his way, or would catch his arms. One moment, when I lost even the slightest amount of focus, Jasper was able to grab me.

I wasn't expecting the grab, and before I could stop it, and large and quick burst of magic caused Jasper to hurtle across the clearing.

I pulled my wand from the holster, quickly mending the tree  
There was a sharp crack as he collided with a tree, which caused a small grunt to come from Jasper.

"Jasper!" I shouted, darting to his side. "Jasper, I am so sorry."

He groaned as he looked over at me.

"What the hell was that?" Peter demanded, glaring at me.

"It won't hurt him," I reassured. "It was a Body-Binding Curse—"

"A curse doesn't sound harmless," Peter growled.

I waved my wand over Jasper, and when I reached the bottom of his body, Jasper sat up.  
"Jasper, I am so sorry!" I exclaimed pulling him into a tight hug.

"That's okay, he said, patting my back. "I'm okay. You were just startled, that's all."

I quickly scooted away from Jasper as Peter moved to help him up.

"Maybe we should stop for the day," I said, scooting away as Jasper made a move to come closer to me.

"Don't be afraid," Jasper said, quietly. "I'm okay."

"I don't know if sending you flying across a field classifies as okay," I growled as he took my hand.

"Alice, I'm not hurt. I promise."

I felt an instant wave of calmness wash over me. Jasper pulled me into his arms.

"We'll take a small break," Jasper said to Peter, Charlotte, and I. "We'll come back in an hour."

Peter sighed, and took of back towards the tent.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked.

He smiled and nodded.

"I'm perfectly fine."

"It won't cause any long term problems," I reassured.

"I'm not worried," he said. "You did good. I just startled you."

"Peter's not happy with me," I said, looking at the tent.

"He just doesn't understand," Jasper said, squeezing my shoulders.

I shook my head.

"Why aren't you mad?"

"Because. Like I told you. It was a mistake."

I sighed.

"You're very forgiving."

"I don't have anything to forgive."

He pulled me closer to him and kissed me.

We walked around for a little bit, then Peter and Charlotte came back out, and we continued training.

"Okay, ready?" Jasper asked me, standing the same distance away from me as he had before.

I nodded.

"Ready."

A split second before Jasper lunged for me, I moved to the side. We continued to fly around the field, dodging each other's hits and diving away from lunges and grabs.

"Good work, Alice!" he said, when he finally wrapped his arms around me, holding me to his chest. "You did amazing!"

"And I didn't blast you into anything again," I said, grinning as I twisted in his arms.

"Well thank you for that," he said, smirking at me.

He bent down to kiss me on the cheek.

"Are we done for the day?" I asked, leaning back to look at him.

He shrugged.

"Are you done?"

"It's actually, in a way, kind of fun. We're not stuck in the tent all day."

Jasper chuckled, and looked over to Peter and Charlotte.

"I can handle it if you two are done."

The two of them nodded, and Peter wrapped his arm around Charlotte's waist, then the two of them were gone.

"He's still angry with me, isn't he?" I asked, watching the spot Peter was just in.

Jasper looked at me sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, Darlin'."

I shook my head.

"That's okay."

"He'll come around."

Jasper worked with me more. He taught me how to pin attackers who were a lot bigger than me. He also teached me where hits would be most effective. All the while, he encouraged me when I did something right, and gave suggestions when I got something wrong.

It wasn't until the sun was close to setting before I was finally able to pin him down.

"Amazing job," he said, reaching up to kiss my cheek again. "You're a quick learner."

"You're a good teacher," I said, as he pulled me into his lap.

He grinned against my neck as I looked up at the sky, that continued to grow darker by the minute.

"The sky is beautiful here," I murmured.

He tightened one arm around my waist.

"Just wait until the sun goes fully down," he whispered.

I watched the sun go down, then turned my attention back to the stars. From the looks of it, there was millions of stars in the sky. Like all of the stars in the galaxy came here just for us to see.

"See all the stars?" Jasper asked.

I nodded.

"None of them," he continued, "are as beautiful as you."

I smiled and leaned back against him, looking up and him, he was watching me.

For what felt like a long time, I told him the stories of the stars, and how they gained their places in the sky.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know this chapter is short. I intended for it to be longer, but I had serious writer's block, and I finally had to end the chapter here.**

 **So I hoped you enjoyed reading it, cause I enjoyed writing it.**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review :)(:**


	21. This is Halloween

**A/N: Hey guys! The more I thought about what I wanted to do for this chapter, the more I thought about little short stories for Alice's life before this story. So I thought I would put in some flashbacks in this scene that take place before the actual plot of this book. Like other memories, visions, or Alice going back to 1998 through the vision-like things, they will be in italics.**

* * *

 _"This is Halloween, everybody scream. Won't ya please make way for a very special guy. Our man Jack is King of the Pumpkin patch. Everyone hail to the Pumpkin King!" ~This Is Halloween, The Nightmare Before Christmas_

* * *

Chapter 21- This is Halloween

Time seemed to of began to pick up faster and faster after that night. Jasper and I spent time working on training, and before long, I could pin him down without trying. But the more I worked myself during my energy bursts, the more exhausted I was during the energy drop.

Peter and Charlotte didn't work with us anymore after that first day. Peter was still upset with me about the burst of magic, no matter how much Jasper reassured him that there was no long term effects.

When I was around three months old, in mid September, my eyes changed from red to amber. Around that same time, Jasper returned to the animal blood diet, ruling human blood out of his diet all together.

"You don't have to do this if you're not ready," I told him, when he came to me about the idea. I had been about to go hunting.

"But I am ready!" he said, taking my face in his hands. "I want to do this, Alice."

I looked into his still-red eyes. He looked happier talking about this now.

"You can come with me anytime you want," I told him. "You know that."

When Halloween came, we were camping on the outskirts of Casper, Wyoming. We had been staying in the wizarding tent since we met up with Peter and Charlotte. It made it easier. They had their space when they needed it, and we had ours.

When Jasper walked in the room that morning, I was looking at all the photo albums I had.

I was staring down at a picture of James, Lily, Mum, Dad, Remus, and Pettigrew.

"Hey, Darlin'," he said, sitting next to me on the bed. "What're you looking at?"

He looked down at the picture and wrapped his arms around me.

"I forgot it's Halloween," he said, looking at the picture with me.

"Thirty-three years from today, the First Wizarding War will end. Harry Potter will become the only person in the history of Wizardkind to survive the Killing Curse. He will became known as The Boy-Who-Lived James and Lily Potter will be dead. Voldemort will be some form of dead, and another piece of his soul will latch onto the only thing left in the house in Godric's Hollow. Sirius Black will be sent to Azkaban prison for the murder of Peter Pettigrew. Harry Potter will be relocated to Number Four Privet Drive to live with his aunt, uncle, and cousin, Petunia, Vernon, and Dudley Dursley. Mary Alice Black will be relocated to a tumbledown cottage in Yorkshire, to live with her godfather, Remus Lupin," I said quietly.

"And what did she became known as?"

I shrugged.

"I don't think she became anything special. Just another victim to the Wizarding Wars."

"You mentioned before that you had an extra gift. That it would go away in time."

"The day that I'm born, it goes away."

"Maybe you should see them."

"I can't interfere with their lives. Before we met, I promised myself that I wouldn't go back."

"You don't have to see them. I just wonder if it would be good for you. You don't even have to talk to them."

"I won't see Mum or Dad. Or Remus, or Lily, or James."

"But you'll see Harry or George."

I sighed.

"But what if it only makes me worse?"

"I'll be right here with you."

"Can you stay with me?"

Jasper nodded and smiled.

"Of course."

The both of us began clearing the scrapbooks off the bed, before I curled in a ball under the comforter against Jasper's side.

Jasper helped make feel more comfortable.

"I'll be right here when you wake up," he said.

He knew that I wasn't actually sleeping, but it was the best way he could describe it.

"Thank you," I said, reaching up to kiss him.

Once I relaxed again, I closed my eyes, and focused on Harry.

It didn't take long for a fuzzy picture to come up. The more I concentrated, it became clearer.

 _Harry was on the grounds of Hogwarts, near the Forbidden Forest. George was standing with him._

 _I stood a few paces behind them, watching them carefully._

 _"This was the last place I saw it," Harry said, point to the entrance of the forest. "It's still there, I'm sure."_

 _"I haven't heard her any," George said. "Not since her funeral."_

 _"Neither have I," Harry said, shaking his head. "She said she did that to keep us safe….I've been trying to figure out what that means. Keep us safe from what?"_

 _"Maybe she saw something," George proposed._

 _"I just wish she came to us."_

 _The pair of them started heading to the forest._

 _"If we find this, then we may be able to get a better idea of what she meant."_

 _"What if she doesn't want to see us?" Harry prompted. "According to Hermione, if she doesn't want to see us, she might not appear. On her funeral she said she was there to say goodbye."_

 _George shook his head._

 _"Why wouldn't she want to see us? We're her family?"_

 _"Think about it George. Bill said when he talked to her before Remus's funeral, she wasn't doing so well. She blamed herself for a lot of things. Maybe she still does."_

 _"It's worth a try," George said._

 _I walked behind the pair of them through the forest. After a few minutes, we made it to a spot I saw in an old vision. One I hadn't through about for months. And it was at that moment that I realized what they were looking for. The Resurrection Stone._

 _They pair of them stopped and began looking around. I watched them, carefully, hoping they wouldn't find it._

 _But as much as I hoped, and prayed, it didn't work. They found it. Pushed in a shrub nearby._

 _"Harry!" George announced, loudly. "I found it! I've got it!"_

 _I watched as George showed Harry the small rock he had found._

 _"You should use it," Harry said, after confirming that it was the Resurrection Stone. "Maybe you'd get to see Fred too."_

 _"How does it work?"_

 _"Turn it over three times."_

 _I watched as George did what Harry told him, and as I watched, I saw Fred come from the stone._

 _"Freddie," George breathed, smiling. He looked around again._

 _"She's not coming, Georgie," Fred said, smiling weakly at him._

 _"She doesn't want to talk to us?" Harry pressed, looking at George._

 _Fred shook her head._

 _"It's not quite like that."_

 _"What's it like then?" George asked sadly._

 _"Alice is here," Fred said, looking directly at me. "Just not in the same way as I am."_

 _Harry and George looked at me too, but I could tell they couldn't see me._

 _"She misses the two of you very much," Fred continued. "You'll come to understand in time. But when you spoke to Alice during her funeral, she wasn't lying. She did do all of this to protect you."_

 _I looked to Fred, and he stared back. I smiled and waved._

 _"Is she happy where she is?" George asked, looking at the ground._

 _Fred glanced at me and I quickly nodded._

 _"She is. She is very happy."_

 _"Thank you," I mouthed._

 _He nodded._

 _"I understand," he mouthed back._

 _I walked over to Fred, and reached up to kiss his cheek._

 _"I miss you," I whispered._

 _He nodded._

 _"I know," he whispered back. George and Harry didn't seem to notice everything. "Alice, this wasn't your fault. We're all okay. We didn't feel a thing. Everyone is so proud of you."_

 _"I know."_

 _Harry and George looked back to Fred, and he looked back to them, while I held tightly onto his hand._

 _"You can't stay for very much longer, can you, Freddie?"_

 _Fred shook his head._

 _"I don't want to grow miserable here. So let me go. Just for a little while. I can come back soon. But I think Alice has something she'd like to say before she goes too."_

 _"But you said—"_

 _Fred held up a hand and Harry stopped._

 _"I said she was here in another way. So let go of the stone, and Alice will talk to you."_

 _George nodded._

 _"I miss you, Freddie."_

 _He nodded._

 _"I know. But you can see me again soon."_

 _George teared up._

 _"No, don't cry, George!" Fred said, pulling his brother into a hug. "I promise, we're happy here. Alice is happy too. Let me go, and talk to her."_

 _"I'll see you soon," George promised._

 _"Of course," Fred said, patting his back. He turned back to me for a moment. "Goodbye, Alice. I love you. Do me a favor. Be happy. You deserve the world."_

 _"Of course," I said, laughing. "I love you too, Freddie,"_

 _In that instance, George dropped the stone and Fred was gone._

 _I smiled at the spot that he just left._

 _I stepped closer to George and Harry, and pulled them both into a hug._

 _"Alice!" Harry said. "You're here."_

 _"Harry, George, I need you to listen to me," I said._

 _"Of course," George said._

 _"You have to stop looking for me," I said, quietly. "You have to move on with your lives."_

 _George paused and stepped out of my hold, looking at the ground._

 _"Stop looking for you?"_

 _"Alice we were just trying to understand. What are you trying to keep us safe from?"_

 _"I can't tell you," I said, shaking my head. "Maybe someday. But I can't tell you."_

 _"Why not?" George exploded._

 _"I just can't," I said, through I breaking voice. "I'm sorry George."_

 _"Alice, we miss you," Harry whispered._

 _"I know," I said, attempting to wipe a tear from his cheek. "I miss you too. But where I am, I am very happy."_

 _"Did it hurt?" George asked._

 _"No," I lied quietly. My death, wasn't like Fred's. Mine actually hurt. "It was like I was sleeping."_

 _He sighed._

 _"I don't want to let you go," George said._

 _"You have to," I said. My voice was cracking. "You can't spend your lives waiting for me."_

 _George shook his head._

 _"Har, your life has just begun. Don't spend it trying to figure out what I was protecting you from. Just know I kept you safe. All of you."_

 _I pulled George to where he was next to Harry again, and hugged them both._

 _"Don't ever forget that I love you both," I said quietly to them. "I know you love me. But I need you to be happy. Promise me."_

 _"I promise," Harry mumbled._

 _"I promise," George said after Harry._

 _"I can't stay here much longer," I said, pulling away from them. "But I need you to know, that I can't come back now. You can't move on if I hang around here."_

 _Harry wiped the tears from his eyes, and George did the same._

 _"So we'll never see you again?" George asked._

 _"No, Georgie. This time, I really have to say goodbye."_

 _Both of them wiped their eyes again, and I watched them carefully._

 _"I love you both."_

 _"We love you too."_

 _"Be happy. Live your life. I love you."_

I focused on coming back to Jasper. I knew I couldn't stay there anymore.

Coming back was a lot harder than going in this time. Maybe it was because this time, I was sure that I couldn't come back. I wasn't going to come back. They had to live their life without me.

Once I regained my consciousness to the real world, I could hear Jasper quietly humming. A couple seconds later, I heard the page of a book turn.

I kept my eyes closed for a little bit longer, listening to him humming. I couldn't feel the sadness that I felt the last time that I had visited them. It was impossible with Jasper here. It was like he was humming just for me.

I opened my eyes and readjusted myself to where my chin was resting on his shoulder.

"What're you reading?" I mumbled, as he pulled me closer to him.

"The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," he said, quietly.

"Is that one of the Muggle books I got you?"

He chuckled and nodded.

"Yes, it is. You should try reading it. I think you'd like it very much."

"I will when you finish."

He closed it and set the book on the table before turning to face me completely.

"How was it?" he asked, pushing my hair back behind my ear.

"They were still trying to find me. Trying to understand why I did what I did."

"They're grieving, Darlin'," he said, continuing to run his hand through my hair.

"I'm not so sure they're visions," I said, looking at Jasper.

"Why's that?"

"On the day of my funeral, I was able to talk to George and Harry. They couldn't see me, but they could hear and feel me there. But then they had the Resurrection Stone. They brought Fred, and Fred could see me."

"Isn't that a good thing?"

I nodded.

"We talked for a few minutes. Then I spoke to Harry and George for a few minutes."

"What'd you say?"

I sighed, and buried my face in his chest as my eyes were dry and my breath hitched.

"I told them I could never come back. They had to stop trying to find me. They had to stop trying to understand. I just wanted them to understand that I did it to protect them."

"Hey," he said quietly, sitting up, and pulling me into his lap. "Don't cry. It's all alright."

"Jasper, did I do the right thing?"

He nodded.

"Of course you did. You had to let them be happy."

"I got to see Fred," I said, smiling weakly. "I got to say goodbye."

Jasper kissed my forehead.

"That's good."

"He told me to be happy. That I deserve it. They know what I did….and I wonder if they know about you."

"I'm sure they do," he said, smiling.

I smiled up at him.

"Thank you, Jasper. For being here with me."

"Of course," he said, kissing my forehead again.

The more I started thinking about my life, I started to see memories flashing in my head.

 _The year Mum died, we didn't do much for Halloween. Remus, Dad, and I stayed in the house. After that year, I stopped doing anything for Halloween. Looking back on it, after all these years, I realized that at this time, I didn't really understand how dangerous Voldemort was. Despite my mother being killed by Death Eaters, I never made the connection. Not until I grew up._

 _Even at a young age, I was never afraid of my sight slipping away. It was quickly replaced with an event that hadn't happened, and as a child, I thought that was the most amazing gift anyone could ever have._

 _I remember that I could see James and Lily's house. A tall man in a dark cloak, whose face I couldn't see glided to the gate. Even though I couldn't see a face, I knew it was a man. I could tell by the way he walked._

 _And as sudden as it came, the vision was gone._

 _"A man is at Uncle James and Aunt Lily's house," I said, suddenly._

 _Both Dad and Remus snapped their heads up to look at me._

 _"What did you say?" Dad gasped._

 _"A man is at Uncle James and Aunt Lily's house," I repeated._

 _"A man?" Remus said, suddenly panicked. "What does he look like?"_

 _"He was tall, and he wore a dark cloak," I recalled. "I can't see his face though."_

 _Dad and Remus exchanged looks of panic._

 _"I'll go check things out," Dad said. "Stay with Alice."_

 _As he stood, a glowing phoenix appeared in the center of the room._

 _"Remus, Sirius, I am so terribly sorry," said the loud and clear voice of Albus Dumbledore. I knew it well, even at this age. I had sat in on a few Order meetings in my youth. He kept me by his side, and kept me entertained by turning a small rock into a bird, or letting me play with Fawkes. "James and Lily are dead."_

 _Quicker than I had ever seen, my father jumped to his feet, and strode across the room. He grabbed a key and half ran from the room._  
 _"Stay here with Alice!" he shrieked at Remus._

 _Outside was the roar from Dad's motorcycle._

 _"Remus?" I asked, walking to him. "What's wrong?"_

 _I wiped a tear from his eye._

 _I guess at this age, I never really knew what it meant to be dead. While I watched my mother die, being so young, it was hard for Dad and Remus to try to explain it to me. But I did know and understand that my mother wasn't coming home._

 _"Come here, Alice," he said._

 _I crawled into his lap, and he put his arms around me, and held me tightly to him._

 _"Aunt Lily and Uncle James went to go see your mummy," he said. Tears fell from his cheek._

 _"Don't cry, Remus. Mama's going to take care of them."_

 _He smiled weakly. "I know she will."_

 _I wiped the tears rolling down his face._

 _"Don't cry anymore," I said, beaming up at him. "They're okay. They have each other, and my mama."_

 _"So you, yet so wise. Sleep now, Alice."_

 _He rocked me to sleep in his arms._

 _We didn't move for a long time. Dad didn't come home either._  
 _At around two o'clock the next morning, there were three large raps on the door._

 _I woke up as Remus moved to answer the door._

 _"Remus?" I mumbled, wrapping my arms around him neck._

 _"It's okay," he murmured, not letting me go as he stood up. "Let's go see who's at the door."_

 _The loud knock came again as we moved towards the door._

 _"Just a moment," Remus called loudly._

 _He glanced through the peephole, and pulled back suddenly._

 _"The Minister of Magic?" he mumbled quietly to himself as he unlocked the door. "Good evening, Minister. I'm sorry. Sirius isn't here right now. No doubt you know about James and Lily."_

 _"I'm aware of Mr. Black's absence. I'm here to talk to you."_

 _Remus stepped to the side._

 _"Please come in."_

 _I turned in his arms to look at the Minister. The Minister removed his hat as he stepped in the door. Remus sat me on the ground._

 _"Hey, why don't you go get a blanket from your room, and we'll sleep down here tonight."_

 _I grinned at him and bounded up the stairs to my bedroom._

 _I pulled the dark red duvet from the bed and flew back down the stairs._

 _"Azkaban?" Remus asked, loudly. Neither Remus nor the Minister seemed to notice my return. "What did he do?"_

 _"He gave the location of the Potters to He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. He killed Peter Pettigrew and thirteen Muggles tonight."_

 _I climbed back onto Remus's lap, and he stared down at me as I curled up under the blanket._

 _"What's going to happen to Alice?"_

 _At that age, I didn't understand what it meant to go to Azkaban. I couldn't figure out who they were talking about either, or why it would have anything to do with me._

 _"That's why I'm here. He mentioned that you were her godfather. He said that Mary Alice only trusts you. So he asks that you keep her."_

 _I looked up at Remus. He stared back down at me._

 _"Of course, if you don't want to keep her, we can make other arrangements."_

 _Remus shook his head._

 _"No. I'll take her. If she wants to come with me of course."_

 _"Mary Alice," the Minister said, directing his attention to me. "What would you say to living with Remus?"_

 _I turned away from him, looking over to Remus._

 _"Where is my Dad, Remus?"_

 _"He had to go away for a little while. But you can come live with me if you want."_

 _I grinned from ear to ear and threw my arms around his neck._

 _"I wanna live with you!"_  
 _Remus smiled too. It wasn't the same weak smile as before._

 _"My Remus!" I told the Minister proudly._

 _The Minster chuckled._

 _"Thank you for your time. I am terribly sorry for everything."_

 _It wasn't until three years later that I learned the truth of that night. From that day on, I saw my father the same way everyone else did. A mass murderer._

Jasper was finishing his book as I shook the memory from my head.

It wasn't that it was a bad memory. But knowing what truly happened that night, cause it to not be a good memory either.

Jasper turned to me.

"Do you want to stay in here? Or do you wanna go sit out there for a while?"

I wrapped myself in my blanket and Jasper and I moved to the living room.

Jasper brought along the book that he just finished for me to read if I wanted to.

I was content with watching my memories.

I thought about the night James and Lily died, but I also thought about the day that I saw him for the first time since he escaped Azkaban.

 _Remus picked me up from the outside the Slytherin dormitories close to eleven that night. This was, I wouldn't get in trouble for being outside of my common room after hours._

 _"Are you sure about this, Alice? You don't have to go. I can tell him you chose to stay behind."_

 _I shook my head._

 _"I have to do this."_

 _He took my hand and squeezed it. I smiled and looked down at our hands. It was different. During the day, he didn't show affection with the exception of a quick kiss behind closed doors._

 _He noticed that I was looking at our hands, and pulled them up to kiss the back of my hand._

 _When we made it to the Whomping Willow, Remus quickly pulled out a stick and hit the knot._

 _"Quickly," he said, placing his hand on my lower back._

 _We both slipped through the hole in the tree and down the path._

 _"Are you okay love?" he asked as we got closer to the stairs. I nodded and paused._

 _"Remus?"_

 _"Yes?"_

 _"Do you think he's going to be angry with me?"_

 _Remus turned me to face him._

 _"Why would he be? He has no reason to be."_

 _"I'm in Slytherin house," I said, as he pulled me into a hug. "He hates Slytherins."_

 _"He does not."_

 _I frowned._

 _"What about Professor Snape?"_

 _Remus sighed but he didn't answer right away._

 _"Or maybe he'd be angry because I didn't turn out like him," I said more quietly._

 _Remus's head snapped down to me._

 _"Alice, you agreed to hear your father out."_  
 _He shook his head, and took my hand._

 _"Hear him out. Do it for me."_

 _His amber eyes bore into mine and he raised an eyebrow._

 _I sighed._

 _"Fine. For you."_

 _He swooped down and gave me a quick peck on the lips._

 _"Thank you."_

 _He guided me up the stairs to the Shrieking Shack. When we entered the room, Dad was already there. He had his back turned to us, but the man in front of me had the same long hair from my vision._

 _I hid behind Remus, and he put his arm around me again, and help me against him._

 _"What do you want, Sirius?" Remus said, hardly._

 _He turned quickly._

 _"Is that—"_

 _"Yes. This is Alice. Your daughter."_

 _He smiled at me for the first time since my mother died._

 _"She looks so much like her."_

 _He stepped closer to me, and I made a move to step back, but Remus held me in place._

 _"It's okay, love," he said, quietly. "He won't hurt you. Not while I'm here."_

 _I relaxed more when he stepped closer to me._

 _"How are you, Alice?"_

 _"I'm well. Thank you."_

 _He glanced at Remus then back at me._

 _"What house are you in?" he asked, excitedly. "You would make such a good Gryffindor. But if you're anything like your mother, you would make a fantastic Ravenclaw."_

 _"I thought Mum was in Gryffindor," I said, looking up at Remus briefly._

 _"She was," Dad said, reclaiming my attention. "But she was exceptionally bright. But you. We're talking about you. What house are you in?"_

 _I looked up at Remus, who nodded encouragingly._

 _"I'm in Slytherin," I said proudly._

 _His smile faded, and he turned to Remus._  
 _"She's ambitious," Remus said before Dad had the chance to speak. "It doesn't matter her house. She's good, and kind, and intelligent. You're right. She is like her mother. Now, why did you call us here?"_

 _"Pettigrew is alive," he said quietly._

 _"That's impossible," I said._

 _"Please let me explain."_

 _"Can you explain something else to me first?" I asked quietly._

 _"What?"_

 _I swallowed the lump in my throat._

 _"Why couldn't you stay?"_

 _I stepped out from behind Remus and looked him in the eyes. He stood about a foot taller than me. I was 4'11'' and had been for the last two years. He tried to look away._

 _"Because I couldn't let James and Lily die in vain," he said, not meeting my eyes. "Harry was an orphan because of what Pettigrew did."_

 _Whenever I had imagined this, I always imagined it going back to Harry._

 _"What about me?" I asked, my quiet voice growing louder._

 _"Alice—"_

 _"No Remus! I deserve to know," I yelled. "Why couldn't you stay with me? Because here's something no one has thought about. That night I became an orphan too! Because you couldn't stay."_

 _Dad wasn't looking at me anymore._

 _Remus pulled me back to him. I hadn't noticed that I had started to cry._

 _"You had Remus," Dad said quietly, staring at the floor. "I knew he'd raise you to become somebody great. From what I can see from you, he did."_

 _"Do you honestly think that helps? I just barged in and interrupted Remus's life."_

 _"But what it such a bad life?"_

 _I shook my head, while looking back at Remus._

 _"No. It wasn't."_

 _I gave Remus a small smile, and then turned back to Dad._

 _"I have not forgiven you. But I will listen to what you have to say."_

 _He started into the story of what happened the night James and Lily died._

 _"The map!" he said, suddenly, causing me to jump. "Remus, do you have the map?"_

 _Remus shook his head._

 _"Should we find evidence that supports your claim, we'll find you."_

 _"I'll be staying here." He turned to face me. "Alice, please come see me. I'm not sure you'll believe me, but I have missed you so much over the last twelve years."_

 _"We'll see," I said, taking Remus's hand._

 _Dad looked between Remus and I, then down at our hands. It didn't take him long to piece everything together._

 _"My daughter?" he growled through clenched teeth. "Out of all the people in the world, you chose my daughter?"_

 _"It's not your decision to make," I said, clearly._

 _"What did you say?" he growled._

 _"I said, it's not your choice. I'm seventeen. We waited until I was seventeen. But seeing as I am of age, I can make my own choices. And I choose him."_

 _His eyes softened as he looked at me._

 _"You're so much like your mother. So headstrong and determined to get what you want."_

 _"She's like you too," Remus said, softly._

 _Dad shook his head._

 _"I don't see it."_

 _"Hey, Al, show him your Animagus form."_

 _I dropped Remus's hand, and focused on the floor._

 _Dad's eyes were wide when I looked back up to him. He looked down at me._

 _"She looks like me!'_

 _Remus nodded._

 _"She incredibly talented too. She can do wandless magic, and she's a skilled Legilimens and Occlumens. And her visions. Her visions are incredible, Sirius."_

 _Dad grinned down at me as I shifted back._

 _"You've grown up to be an amazing woman, Alice," Dad said reaching for me._

 _He stepped forward and pulled me into a tight hug._

 _"I am so sorry I didn't stay."_

 _I shook my head._

 _"Don't be sorry."_

 _When I finally pulled away, I stepped back to Remus's side, and he tucked me under his arm and cloak._

 _"We need to get you back to the castle."_

 _Dad nodded._

 _"I'll see you soon?" he asked me._

 _I nodded._

 _"I'll try to come back soon."_

 _"The full moon is next Tuesday," Remus said. "She'll be here then. She's been helping me this year."_

 _Dad nodded._

 _"I'll be here."_

 _"I'll see you then."_

 _Remus and I turned from him, and made our way back to the castle._

I blinked again, and then the memory was gone. Jasper was staring down at me.

"What're you doing?" he asked softly.

He laid on his back, and at some point he had pulled me to where my head was resting on his chest.

"I'm watching my memories," I said, looking up at him. "It's kind of like one of those….what do you call them?"

Jasper chuckled as I struggled.

"Television is what I think Helen, Tobias, and Harry call them. The box with the moving pictures."

Jasper laughed.

"That's right. A television."

"When I see my memories, they're like the pictures on the televisions."

"What were you watching?"

"The first time I saw Dad after he broke out of prison."

I closed my eyes again.

This memory wasn't exactly happy. It was the night Dad left. When Remus left me. I don't know what made me think about it. But for some reason, I did.

 _Most of the Order ended up at mine and Remus's house that night. Included in that was Molly, Arthur, Fred and George, who were there for my sake._

 _By the time the night fell, it was just the four Weasleys, Remus, and myself._

 _"We'll come back first thing in the morning," George promised._

 _"As soon as we wake up," Fred said, squeezing my hand._

 _Both twins kissed my cheek, and rose from their spots next to me on the large couch._

 _"I'll send them with stuff for you," Molly said. "Maybe even some of that fudge you love."_

 _"Thank you," I croaked. My voice was hoarse from crying._

 _She swooped down to kill my forehead, and then the four of them left._

 _It was just Remus and I. Remus sat as far away from me as the couch would allow, staring at the ground._

 _I slid down the couch, not thinking anything of it. Thinking maybe it was because Fred and George sat right next to me, and then Molly and Arthur next to them. I rested my forehead on his shoulder and closed my eyes._

 _"Alice, we need to talk," Remus said. His voice was quiet, and I could tell it was filled with sadness and regret._

 _"What's up?" I said, without opening my eyes._

 _"I know this is a bad time, but it's better I do this now then when you're better."_

 _I sat up, and turned his face to mine._

 _"What's going on, sweetheart?" I asked._

 _Tears began to well up in his eyes._

 _"Alice, you know that I love you, and you know I the last thing in this world that I want to do is hurt you, right?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"I know that, Re. What's going on?"_

 _"I've been thinking about this for a while now." He paused and closed his eyes._

 _"Remus you know you can tell me anything. Talk to me."_

 _He opened his eyes and wiped the tears falling from his face._

 _"Alice, I love you, but I can't be with you."_

 _In that moment, I felt the last little piece of my heart shatter._

 _"You're leaving me?" I whispered._

 _Remus nodded, and hid and face in his hands._

 _"Why?" I demanded. "What did I do wrong?"_

 _"Alice, you're about to turn twenty. I just turned thirty-six. You deserve someone young. Someone normal."_

 _"I don't want someone normal! I want you!"_

 _"Nevermind the fact that I am your father's best friend, I raised you! Alice, you know as well as I do, this was a mistake. It was a foolish crush. That's all it should have been. "_

 _The tears began welling up in my eyes. It felt like I had been hit with a thousand knives._

 _"Come on Re. Nobody is going to ever want me. Why would they want me? People have noticed how strange I am."_

 _"One day, someone is going to love you. They're going to be able to give you what you want."_

 _"What's that?" I asked, in a breaking voice._

 _"Alice, I know you. You want a baby. I can't give you that."_

 _"I accepted that we could never have kids when we got together. I knew you didn't want kids."_

 _"But you do," he said, simply._

 _"Remus, please," I begged. "Don't do this. Not now."_

 _Tear rolled down his face just as quickly as they did mine._

 _"I'm sorry, Alice. I am so, so, so, sorry. But if not now, when?"_

 _"Anytime that isn't a few hours after my father died," I growled between sobs._

 _It didn't occur to me until that moment how distant Remus had been from me in the past month._

 _"You've been thinking about this for a long time, haven't you?" I asked. My voice was barely audible._

 _"Yes."_

 _He didn't look at me the same way he used to. Right now, he couldn't even meet my eyes._

 _I shook my head, and looked up to the mantle. There was a picture of Remus and I. It was taken about a month or so after we started dating._

 _He followed my eyes._

 _"Hard to believe that was us," I whispered, rising to my feet. "Hard to believe we were so happy, once."_

 _When the Remus in the picture bent down to kiss my cheek, I picked up the picture. I smiled down in the picture, then something inside of me snapped._

 _"Hard to believe there was a time when you loved me."_

 _Without thinking, I whipped around and threw the picture. It shattered against the wall behind Remus's head and fell to the ground._

 _I didn't try to hide the tears anymore._

 _"Alice, please," he said, choking on his words. "I love you. I really do. I just don't love you the same way that I did."_

 _"I want to hear you say it," I whispered._

 _"Alice, please," he begged. His voice cracked more as he began to cry._

 _"I have to hear you say it. I won't believe it unless you say it, Remus."_

 _He looked up and met my eyes._

 _"I don't love you anymore," he whispered._

 _I nodded._

 _"Okay. I'll let you go. If that's what you truly want. I'll be out in two weeks."_

 _"I'll stay at the Leaky Cauldron for a couple days," he said, starting at the shattered picture on the floor behind him. I hadn't even noticed that he stood up. "I'm sure you don't want to see me right now, and I understand why."_

 _"You're right."_

 _"Alice—"_

 _I held up a hand._

 _"Just go. Please. Go pack a bag and leave. Leave the mess. I'll get it."_

 _I didn't cry anymore after that. Instead I returned to the couch and curled into a ball._  
 _Remus paused when he came by my head. My eyes were closed, but I knew he was there._

 _"Sleep now. I'm so sorry, Alice," he whispered. His lips pressed against my forehead and then walked out the door._

 _Once I heard the door close, I sat up and looked around the room. Mine and Remus's faces stared happily back at me. I stood again, and picked up the picture of Remus and I dancing in the kitchen of Grimmauld Place. As tears stung my eyes, I threw the picture at the same wall that I threw the first at._

 _Four pictures sat in a pile of shattered glass and broken wood. I threw a fifth one before moving back to the couch._

 _I didn't sleep. I couldn't. Instead, I stared at the ceiling. I didn't move. I just stared._

 _At around 8:30 the next morning, I heard the sound of the fireplace behind me. I also heard the crunching of glass._

 _"Alice, why is there glass and wood on the floor?" Fred asked stepping closer to the couch._

 _"And where's Lupin?" George continued._

 _"I threw pictures at the wall," I said, in a small voice._

 _"Why?" Fred asked, astonished._

 _George disappeared from my sight. Fred moved around the couch, and behind it, I heard the rustling of glass._

 _"They're all pictures of her and Lupin," George said softly, handing the small stack of pictures out to Fred._

 _"Alice," Fred started, crouching down in front of me. "Why did you destroy your pictures? Your pictures mean everything to you."_

 _"They're lies," I growled._

 _"Al," George said suddenly, looking down at me from the top of the couch. "Where is Lupin?"_

 _"He's gone," I said, dazed. "He's left me."_

 _I shook my head back and forth._

 _"Why?" Fred asked, taking my hand._

 _I turned my head over to him and watched his face as I chose my next words._

 _"He doesn't love me anymore."_

 _Fred and George turned furious in an instant._

 _"Fred, stay with her. I'm going to get Mum."_

 _Fred nodded and sat down next to me. He pulled me into his lap._

 _"Alice?"_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"Where did Remus go?"_

 _"He's staying at the Leaky Cauldron until I move out."_

 _"Where are you going to go?"_

 _I shrugged._

 _"I'm going to look around. I've seen open flat in the Prophet. And I'm pretty sure Mum left her house to me when she died. So I can always move in there."_

 _"Grimmauld Place?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"That was Dad's parent's house. I mean the house I lived in before I moved in with Remus. I'm going to check with Dumbledore when he comes later."_

 _"George and I can come stay with you."_

 _"Thank you, Freddie, but I'll be okay."_

 _"Have you been do sleep?" he asked, tracing the bags under my eyes._

 _I shook my head._

 _Fred gently sat me to the side and stood up, walking into mine and Remus's room. He returned a few moments later with one of my throw blankets and a potion._

 _"I'll wake you up when Dumbledore gets here."_

 _"But the glass—"_

 _"I'll take care of it."_

 _He handed me the vial, and threw the blanket over me._

 _"Freddie, don't leave me."_

 _"I'm not going anywhere," he soothed. "I'm just going to clean up the glass then I'll be back here right after."_

 _As I began to settle back onto the couch, George returned with Molly._

 _"Poor thing," Molly said, rubbing my arm._

 _Fred returned to the couch, and I laid my head in Fred's lap, and my feet in George's._

 _"She's lost Remus and her father in one day. She's had to watch both parents die, and she turns twenty tomorrow," Molly said quietly. "She must feel so alone right now."_

 _"She's got us," Fred said, running a hand through my hair. "She always has, and she always will."_

 _Sometime soon, the potion took effect._

 _I blinked a couple times, trying to refocus on my current surrounding. Jasper and I was laying in the same way we had been before, but his eyes were closed, rather than him doing his usual reading._

I pecked his lips, and he opened one eye.

"Hey, you're back," he said, smiling at me.

"I love you," I said, running a hand through his hair. "You know that, right?"

He nodded, and smiled at me.

"I love you too, Alice," he said, kissing my cheek.

I smiled, contently, and placed one ear on his still heart.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapters! I liked writing this one in particular, because I was able to include her life before the story truly began. So you got to see more about the day Sirius went to Azkaban, how Alice's and Remus's relationship had grown when seeing Sirius right after he broke out of Azkaban, and how their relationship was altered when he left. I also thought it would be better to show why Alice felt like she was closer to Fred than to George.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapters, and more will be up soon!**

 **Follow, favorite, review :)(:**


	22. November, 1948

_"How beautifully leaves grow old. How full of light and color are their last days." ~John Burroughs_

* * *

Chapter 22- November 1948

During the second week of November, the four of us relocated again. This time we went to North Dakota.

Jasper's eyes started to darken, although they weren't completely amber yet, and more than likely wouldn't be until sometime next month. He seemed happier now, but I couldn't help but wonder whether that was because of the diet, or because of Peter and Charlotte.

Peter never really got over the first day of training. He was still upset with me for that burst of magic. I could understand it I suppose. Jasper was the closest thing to family Peter had, besides Charlotte of course.

I spent more and more time outside, trying to stay away from Peter so it wasn't so tense. Jasper stayed with me, but would sometimes spend his day with Peter, after I insisted.

"Honestly, Jazz," I said one day, as I sat with a pile of books surrounding me. "I'm fine on my own."

He sighed and kissed my forehead.

"I'll come back out later and sit with you."

I giggled.

"If that makes you feel better."

He left me to my books, and as he promised, he came back out to sit with me when the sun started to set. In his hands, he carried both of our Lunascopes.

"I figured you'd want to look at the stars," he said, passing mine to me.

I sat with my head in his lap, and looked up to the sky.

"Peter and Charlotte are wondering if you'd be okay with staying in a motel during our next relocation."

I shrugged as I adjusted the lens.

"I don't care. Where are we going next?"

"New Orleans."

"There's another wizarding city there if you want to check that out," I said, looking up at him.

"Do you want to?"

I nodded.

"I can always go alone if you want to stay with Peter and Charlotte."

Jasper frowned down at me.

"Are you okay? You've been getting me to spend a lot of time with Peter and Charlotte while you hang out alone."

I shrugged.

"I just figured you'd want to spend time with them is all."

That wasn't exactly it though. I knew Jasper wanted to spend time with them. But he spent nearly all of his time with me. It made me question whether or not he felt that he was obligated to stay with me at all times. Here recently, I questioned if he was happy with me.

Somewhere deep inside of me, I knew he had to be. Peter told me that he had noticed a large difference in Jasper since he's meet me. But I thought maybe that had changed.

"I want to spend time with all of you," Jasper said, kissing the tip of my nose.

I chuckled and reached a hand up to his face.

"I want to give you some time alone together. We won't always be traveling together."

He chuckled and placed his hand over mine.

"That's very sweet of you. But I want you with me."

This comforted me some. Knowing that he wanted me there. But there was still that pinging thought in the back of my head, asking what if.

"You sure you're okay?" he questioned, raising an eyebrow.

I nodded, figuring it was best not to bother him with my thoughts.

He turned his attention back to the stars.

"Do you know the story of Andromeda?" I asked, looking up at the sky.

"Why don't you tell it to me," Jasper said,

"She was the daughter of the king Cepheus and the queen Cassiopeia of Aethiopia," I said, tracing the stars with one hand, while Jasper took the other. "Her mother boasted. She said that Andromeda was more beautiful than Poseidon's daughters. So Poseidon set the monster Cetus after her. She was stripped and chained to a rock."

I paused and met Jasper's eyes. He was watching me, listening quietly as I told the story.

"Zeus's son, Perseus was coming through on his way back to Serifos after slaying the head of Medusa. And he found Andromeda chained to the rock. When Cetus came, Perseus slayed the monster and saved her. Perseus and Andromeda were married and when Andromeda died, she earned her place in the sky."

Jasper looked up to the sky.

"Do you know a lot about mythology?" he asked.

I nodded.

"One of the few Muggle books that I read in my time was one on Greek mythology. Remus had it lying around. I liked the stories."

"Isn't one of your family member's named Andromeda?"

I nodded.

"Nymphadora's mother. Remus's mother-in-law. Almost all of our family had a name that had to do with mythology. Sirius, Regulus, Orion, Andromeda, Draco, Narcissa."

"Narcissa?"

"It's the feminine form of Narcissus."

"What's his story?"

"He looked into the water, and he fell in love with his reflection," I said, meeting Jasper's eyes.

"So what about you?" Jasper asked. "Where did Mary Alice come from?"

"Mum and Dad didn't want to be like everyone else. They did think about some names from mythology first. According to Remus, my name was supposed to be Artemis Lily Black."

"I like it," Jasper said.

"I always said that if I ever had a baby girl, that's what I would name her. Minus the Black of course."

Jasper laughed.

"What if it was a boy?"

I thought about it for a moment. I thought of the baby I had seen in my dreams all that time ago.

"I thought about maybe Jason Sirius. But I also thought about Frederick Orion."

"You were good at picking out names."

I shrugged.

"I wanted kids."

"What about Remus?"

I shook my head.

"We talked about it once. He didn't want the Lycanthropy to spread to the baby. So we thought it was best if we never had children….besides he and I didn't…."

Jasper squeezed my hand.

"It's alright, Darlin'. I understand what you mean."

I sat up, and he pulled me into his lap.

"What about you?" I asked, looking back at him. "Before this life, did you want kids?"

He shook his head.

"All I wanted was to be a soldier."

"When the Second War started, I wanted to fight. By this point, I was still with Remus, and I realized I wasn't going to have kids."

Jasper rested his chin on my shoulder.

"If you and I could have kids if it were possible for us….would you have wanted them?"

I nodded.

"If we could."

He sighed and shook his head.

"We can't though. We'll always be like this."

"I know that," I said, quietly. "But I think I'm okay with that. As long as I have you."

He grinned.

"I think that'd be okay too."

We stayed outside, and I told him stories of the stars. At sometime through the night Peter and Charlotte wondered outside while I was telling Jasper the story of Pyramus and Thisbe.

"It's like Romeo and Juliet," Charlotte commented when I finished.

I had heard the tale of the Muggle story. It was one of the ones that Remus had.

"I think that's where the man got the inspiration for the story. But Romeo and Juliet…." I trailed off and shook my head.

"You don't like it?" Jasper questioned.

I shook my head.

"They got married within a couple of days of meeting," I frowned. "Not only that, but Juliet's cousin kills Romeo's friend, so Romeo kills the cousin and then doesn't understand why he's been banished from the city."

Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte snickered.

"Amazing," Jasper said, shaking his head.

"When did you read it?" Peter questioned.

I thought about it.

"I was fourteen I'm pretty sure. Remus bought it, he thought that I'd like it and sent it to Hogwarts with one of my weekly letters."

"You guys wrote weekly?" Charlotte questioned.  
I nodded.

"Until my seventh year when he became my Defence Against the Dark Art teacher."  
Jasper shook his head.

"I keep forgetting he was your teacher too."

"Yep. That year, Dad broke out, and he was cautious about me going back. So when Dumbledore came to him he was slightly happier. But he didn't want to put the student at risk. Dumbledore told him that we'd have a supply of Wolfsbane Potion and that I'd still be allowed to accompany him on full moons, he accepted the offer."

"Wolfsbane Potion?"

"It helps a werewolf keep the right state of mind during the full moon cycle."

"How did the other teachers at Hogwarts feel about your's and Remus's relationship?" Peter asked.

"They didn't seem to have a problem with it as far as I could tell….the only one who really had a problem with it was Severus and he tried to talk me out of it."

"And the students?"

"Only Fred and George knew."

We didn't talk much after that. I thought more and more about the day Severus tried talking me out of my relationship with Remus. Eventually, the memory floated in front of my eyes.

 _"Ms. Black," Severus said, at the end of a Potions class one day. "Might I have a word with you?"_

 _"Of course, sir," I said. It was my last class for today, and Fred and George still had one more after this, so I wasn't in much of a hurry._

 _I had half expected it to be about my father. Everyone seemed to want to talk to me about him. Dumbledore had called me up to his office just the day before._

 _Students from both Slytherin and Ravenclaw house watched as I made my way up to where Severus was standing._

 _"Move along!" Severus snapped at the lingering students. "This does not concern you."_

 _The remaining students all hurried from the room, keeping their eyes on the ground._

 _Severus stepped to the side, gesturing towards his office._

 _I stepped inside, and he followed behind me, closing the door._

 _"I expect you've enjoyed your time back at Hogwarts?" he asked, as I took a seat._

 _I nodded._

 _"Yes, sir. I have."_

 _"And you're enjoying your classes so far?"_

 _I nodded again._

 _"Yes, sir."_

 _He gave a small smile._

 _"Very good. Now, Ms. Black, as you know I have always thought very highly of you, and that has not changed. While this may not be any of my concern, I am only looking out for your best interests."_

 _I frowned._

 _"I'm sorry, Professor, I'm not sure I understand where you're going with this. I thought you called me here to discuss my father."_

 _He shook his head._

 _"As your Head of House, I am required to check in on you, but that will most likely be in a couple of weeks. I've called you in here, today, to discuss your relationship with Professor Lupin."_

 _I sighed and shook my head._

 _"Professor Dumbledore knows about it already, sir. He says as long as we remain professional, it shouldn't be much of a problem."_

 _Severus nodded._

 _"I am aware of Dumbledore's views on the matter, but my views are rather different. I wondered if you might let me express my concerns."_

 _He paused and looked up at me._

 _"Go ahead."_

 _He readjusted in his seat._

 _"Now, Ms. Black, as you are fully aware, I was good friends with your mother, but my terms with your father and his group of friends were quite different―"_

 _"Pardon me, Professor," I said through clenched teeth. "You've told me about what my father and his friends did to you. It was horrible, and I don't think I can ever apologize enough for what they did to you, but I would like to hope that this conversation does not have to do with a childhood predjudice."_

 _He shook his head, and held up a hand._

 _"No Ms. Black, that's what I am trying to say. This is not at all based on my problems with your father and his friends."_

 _"Then please, continue."_

 _"Now I know that you are seventeen, and legally, you are free to do as you wish, but I just don't think Lupin is a good match for you."_

 _I sighed and shook my head._

 _"Professor—"_

 _"Please let me explain," he said, and I sat back in my seat. "Never mind the fact that he's thirty-three. Never mind the fact that he was your father's best friend, and he was good friends with your mother. But Lupin is your godfather. He raised you! Does that not bother him at all?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"No, I don't suppose it does. He was never like a father figure to me. So I don't think he sees me as his daughter."_

 _"What about the fact that he's a werewolf?" Severus asked through clenched teeth. "He's dangerous. Does that not bother you?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"No. As a matter of fact, it doesn't," I snapped. "Yes, it is a set back, but what does it matter? Don't you think Remus worries about that? You know he almost didn't want to take the position as the Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher because he didn't want to risk the lives of the students here! Remus lives with that every day of his life. And something as silly as that is not going to change the way I feel about him."_

 _"So much like your mother," Severus said, shaking his head. He turned back to me. "He's not your only other option though, Mary Alice. How about Fred Weasley? It's my understanding he likes you. And the two of you are already friends."_

 _I shook my head._

 _"You're right. Fred and I are friends. That's all we are. I love Remus. Remus loves me. Nothing you can say will change that."_

 _"I just don't want you to get hurt."_

 _I jumped to my feet, and pulled my bag onto my shoulder._

 _"I won't. Thank you for your concern, Professor, but I really don't think that this is any of your business. Have a good day."_

 _Before he could get another word out, I was out of the office, and speeding out of the classroom._

"What're you thinking about?" Jasper asked, as I blinked several times.

"I was thinking about Severus. The day that he tried to talk me out of my relationship with Remus."

"Were you close to Severus?"

"More so after I became a Death Eater."

"How did he react to your death?"

"Well, he died before I did. So I suppose if what Fred said is right, then he is proud of me like everyone else."

Jasper smiled and I watched as the sun started to rise over the trees.

"They'd be crazy to not be proud of you," Jasper said, quietly. "From the sound of it, you've done amazing."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know, this chapter is short, but I figured I'd put it in as to fill a time gap. Soon, there will be a large time gap, so I want to try and get in as much time as possible. So the next chapter will take place sometime in early December. I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	23. He Love Me, He Loves Me Not

_"It never made sense for you to love me,' I explained, my voice breaking twice. 'I always knew that." ~Bella Swan, New Moon_

* * *

Chapter 23- He Loves Me, He Loves me Not Alice's POV

When we relocated to New Orleans, I kept my promise, and instead of staying in the tent, we stayed in a motel. Instead of getting two seperate rooms, we got one large one with two beds.

"So how does it work?" Charlotte asked, watching as I reorganized my bag after washing clothes. It was just the two of us. Jasper and Peter had went for a walk before the sun came up. "Your bag?"

"Well it's just a charm," I said, glancing down at the bag on the floor. "Undetectable Extension Charm."

"How far does it go?"

"Newt Scamander was able to store several magical creatures in a briefcase, making a suitable ecosystem for each one. So I suppose it could go on forever, really."

"How far does your's go?"

I shrugged.

"I'm not exactly sure. It wouldn't be hard to figure out I'm sure. Maybe then I could have things organized just a touch easier. I just really haven't thought about figuring it out."

"What about now? It's as good a time as any. Once the sun comes up, we'll be stuck in here all day."

I grinned.

"Where's a piece of paper? I'll leave a note for Peter and Jasper."

After leaving a note and laying it on the bed, I laid the bag out on the floor, and opened it widely.

"Okay," I said, looking up to Charlotte. "Give me a couple minutes, then I'll holler up and you come down with me."

She nodded, and I pulled my wand. I stepped in the bag, and carefully lowered my self down.

Inside the bag, it was dark. There was a faint spot of light from the room.

"Lumos Maxima!" I said, sharply.

Looking around, it could use a few more charms in each direction.

"Charlotte, come on down!" I hollered.

I could hear the rustling of the bag, and then the thud of Charlotte hitting the ground.

"I wonder if there would be a quick way of me getting in touch with Newt Scamander," I said, looking around. "Maybe he could give me some pointers."

"You're a talented witch based on what I've seen and what Jasper's told us about you. I'm sure you could figure it out."

I nodded and looked around. It shouldn't be too hard to figure out.

"I suppose it was a lot of charms."

I looked around.

"We'll need light around here." I turned to Charlotte. "I don't suppose you'd happen to have any jars would you?"

She shook her head.

I thought for a moment.

"Well the tent came fully furnished. So I suppose I could make use of things in there."

"Where would we set it up?" Charlotte asked. "I don't think it'd fit in our room."

"In here of course!" I exclaimed. "Of course I'd have to build a place for me to get my Muggle money when I need it of course."

"I'll go get the tent," Charlotte said, as I started looking around.

"Thank you."

While she was gone, I extended the walls a bit further out.

When she returned, I turned to her.

"Do you suppose there is a store where you can buy wood?"

"I'm sure there's places around here."  
"This would make a pretty good project," I said, as I set up the tent. "Gives me something to do other than read."

"What did you do in your free time in your world?"

I shrugged.

"I read a lot. When I wasn't reading, I brewed potions."

"Did you ever build things?"

I shook my head.  
"No. But I have a pretty good idea on how to do it."

"What all are you going to put in?"

"Probably some stairs so we won't have to drop, a shelf to make it easier to get things."

I opened up the tent, and waved Charlotte in.

"But it will all help to have light. Besides my wand of course."

"Which is why you need the jars?"

"Exactly. I know a charm that would let a fire burn without oxygen so you can put them in jars."

I liked talking to Charlotte. She was a lot more relaxed than Peter.

"Here they are!" I said, pulling out a collection of jars hidden beneath the sink.

When we stepped outside the tent, I heard two more thuds.

"Alice?" Jasper hissed.

"Lumos!" I said, relighting my wand. "Hey!"

I fluttered over to his side and kissed his cheek.

"What are you doing, Darlin'?" he asked laughing as he looked around.  
"Well Charlotte got me thinking. Newt Scamander was able to create entire ecosystems inside a suitcase. So I thought maybe I could see what this had to offer."

"And what does it have to offer?" he asked, smirking at me.

"Well I widened it out. I could build a shelf so Muggles are less suspecting about how big my bag is, and we can build stairs so we don't have to drop down here. I figured it'd give me something to do."

Jasper grinned and looked around.

"It sounds great, Alice. It really does."

I smiled too.

"She just needs wood," Charlotte said.

"Well the sun just came up," Jasper said. "When will it be cloudy again?"

I closed my eyes, and focused on the upcoming days.

"Friday," I said.

Jasper nodded.

"I'll tell you what," he said. "Draw up a plan. Then on Friday, we'll go get you some wood."

"What about tools?" Peter questioned.

I waved my wand.  
"I think this is all I'll need."

"Well I'm going to head back up," Jasper said kissing my forehead. "Are you staying here?"

I nodded.

"I think I'm going to draw up my ideas here. It might be better to actually be around the area."

"Do you need me to get your sketchbook?"

I shook my head.

"It's in the tent."

"Okay," he said, kissing my forehead.

"Do you need help getting out?"

Jasper shook his head.

"We'll manage. I'll come check on you in a little while."

"Alright."

I reached up and kissed his jaw.

Peter, Charlotte, and Jasper managed to boost their ways back out of the bag into the room.

I smiled as I ran back into the tent to grab my sketchbook out of the room that Jasper and I used while we stayed in the tent.

Once I got that, and a pencil, I returned to the same space outside. I took several of the jars, and charmed fire inside of them.

I started out by measuring the space that I had, using my wand. I folded back up the tent, and placed it against one of the walls. The bag itself was the size of my living room back home in both length and height. I would be able to fit a good amount in here. I thought about a shelf for potions, and a spot where I could brew potions.

I moved on to drawing out my plans.

I figured I'd have to put the shelf about a foot down, and then have the stairs coming from there.

On the furthest wall on the left, I'd make a shelf for my potions that I already had made. On the furthest wall on the right, a shelf for books. On the wall opposite of the stairs, I planned for a wall that I could organize clothes for Jasper and I on.

I knew it would take a lot of work, but it'd give me something to do.

Once I finished the planning, I blew out the candles, and I moved to return to the room. As I grew closer, I could hear the faint voices of Peter, Jasper, and Charlotte upstairs. It didn't sound like they were arguing, but it did sound tense.

"I know you think you love her, Jasper," Peter was saying. "But are you sure she's what you want?"

"Of course she's what I want!" Jasper snapped. "Why wouldn't I?"

"She's not normal!" Peter exclaimed. "She blasted you with a curse!"

"Peter, that was months ago," Charlotte reasoned. "Jasper wasn't angry about it, so I don't see why you are."

"I just want to make sure that Jasper is thinking about this clearly."

It felt like I had been punched in the chest. I couldn't even focus on what Jasper said.

I felt that Jasper was only with me because he felt obligated to do so. Hearing Peter only made this fear grow. Maybe Jasper didn't love me. Maybe the angel who saved me wasn't who I was meant to spend eternity with, and I misinterpreted the vision. Maybe Jasper, my angel, was only supposed to be a small part of my future, and nothing more.

I thought of what Helen and Tobias had said when I told them about the vision of Jasper.

Tobias told me that Jasper loved me very much. So maybe when we met them, he was still pretending. That's assuming he is pretending.

It felt like my whole world was crashing. I couldn't bring myself to go back to the room.

Instead, I hid in the back corner, trying to sort out everything.  
If it came to it, in the end, could I actually let Jasper go? If I loved him, I don't suppose that I'd have much of a choice. I did love Jasper.

I shook my head. I couldn't think like that. Jasper loved me. He had to love me. Why would he pretend for months that he loved me.

I heard the soft thud as Jasper lowered himself into the bag.

"Alice?" he asked softly.

"Over here," I said in a small voice.

He turned in the direction of my voice, and headed for the corner I was sitting in.

"Why are you sad, sweetheart?" he asked, sitting next to me, and wrapping his arm around me.

"I heard Peter," I whispered. "He doesn't think you love me."

Jasper sighed.

"Alice, you know I love you. How could I not?"

I shook my head.  
"I was scared that you weren't happy with me."

"No, Alice," he murmured, pulling me as close as he could to him. "Of course I'm happy with you."

I buried my face in his chest.

"Don't think for a second that I don't love you," he whispered. He pulled me back so he could looked at me. "I'll tell you as many times as it takes to get it through that beautiful head of yours."

I grinned and pressed my forehead against his neck.

"Why does Peter think you don't love me?"

Jasper shrugged.

"Your guess is as good as mine."

"But you do love me?"

"Until the end of all time, and even after that."

"That's good enough for me," I said, kissing his cheek.

Jasper smiled.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asked, watching me carefully.

I nodded.

"Why were you scared at the possibility that I didn't love you?"

I looked at my lap, where mine and his hands sat.

"I keep thinking it'll end up like Remus and I. One day you'll decide you don't love me, so you'll leave."

Jasper put a finger under my chin, and made me look at him.  
"Alice, I'm not Remus. I love you now, I loved you yesterday, I'll love you tomorrow, and I'll love you two centuries from now. Okay?"

I nodded, and he swooped down to kiss me.

"Once we get back up there, I'll show you the floor plans."

Jasper nodded, and stood up. Once he was standing, he swooped down, and picked me up, throwing me over his shoulder.

"Jasper, what are you doing?" I shrieked, laughing. "Put me down!"

He grinned and I continued laughing. The sounds of windchimes echoing off the walls of the bag.

He swooped down to grab my sketchbook, and stepped back.

"Hold on tight!" he exclaimed.  
I quickly wrapped my arms around him as he ran and jumped up, I was still laughing the whole time.

"I found the source of the shrieking," Charlotte noted, and Jasper and I appeared from the bag.

I chuckled as I hid my face in his shoulder.

Jasper walked over to the empty bed and gently laid me down.

"Okay," he said, laying down next to me. "Show me the plan."

I opened my sketchbook, and started showing him the plans.

"Are you going to need help?" he asked when I finished.

I shrugged.

"Probably not, it's mostly charm work. But I suppose it couldn't hurt to have someone with me just in case."

He looked back down at the plan.

"It looks like a good plan," Jasper said. "I think you should be good at this."

"Thank you."

I relaxed at his side, and closed my eyes, trying to figure out what material would work best.

"She overheard you, you know," Jasper said as my eyes were closed. "You managed to make her think I don't love her."

"But you do," Peter said. "So I apologize. It was wrong of me."

"Don't apologize to me," Jasper said.

Peter sighed.

"Alice?"

I opened my eyes, and peeked around Jasper's shoulder.

"I'm sorry," Peter said, sincerity showing on his face. "I shouldn't have assumed that Jasper didn't love you. I can see that he loves you very much, and I see the change you've made in him."

"It's okay, Peter," I said, offering him a warm smile. "You're looking out for Jasper."

Peter smiled.

"Thank you for understanding."

I nodded.

"Of course. But I'd like for you to understand, that I'd never intentionally hurt Jasper. That first day of training was completely accidental."

Peter nodded.

"I know that," he agreed. "I'm sorry to hold a grudge against you for that, but you have to understand, Alice, I've never seen anything like you."

I nodded.

"I know."

I turned to Jasper.

"How is it I knew about vampires but you guys didn't know about us? Helen and Tobias didn't know about witches and wizards either."

"Maybe it's something that has to do with the Volturi," Peter said.

"I don't see how. I didn't know they existed. We knew that the garlic, coffins, and sunlight things were myths. We thought they were created by Saint Marcus. Helen and Tobias told me that Sanit Marcus is Marcus of the Volturi."

"You mentioned that the Wizarding World has a government, right?" Jasper asked.

I nodded.

"It varies for each region. There's the British Ministry, German Ministry, MACUSA here."

"Maybe the Volturi and all the governments for your world met together, and made certain restrictions. The schools could teach them about you, but maybe not mention the Volturi?"

I shrugged.

"It's possible."

We spent some time talking about the various possibilities of why my world knew of the existence of vampires, but not the reverse.

"I don't think my government is superior to the Volturi," I said, when Charlotte suggested the idea. "I think if that were the case, we would know about them. I think they may have just come to a mutual agreement."

Peter shrugged this time.

"I don't know. I guess it'll go down as another mystery that has yet to be solved."

I chuckled.

"Probably."

Peter seemed to be more relaxed around me. We could easily laugh, and when Friday came, he went with Jasper to the store while I went to set everything up.

"You're sure you got this, Jazz?" I asked before he left.

He grinned, and pulled me closer to him.

"Have a little faith in me, hmm? You've told me what you need, so now, I'll go out and get it. You go make sure that we have enough light."

"Okay. You have your list?"

"Yes," he sighed, still grinning.

"And you have the money?"

"Yes, Alice. I have it all. Don't worry. I've got this."

I grinned, and reached up to kiss him.

"Okay. I trust you. I love you."

"I love you too."

He kissed my cheek, and tightly hugged me before he stepped back to the door where Peter stood waiting.

"You can go with them if you'd like," I told Charlotte. "I probably won't be much company, just moving around setting up lights."

"No, that's alright. I'll stay here with you. I like watching you do magic."

I smiled.

"Then let's go, and we can let those two get on their way."

Jasper smiled and waved as he and Peter headed out the door.

"Come on," I said, slipping through the bag.

Once Charlotte and I had both dropped down into the bag, we started collecting jars to put up the lights.

"How long do you think this will take you?" Charlotte asked looking around.

"Well my energy is starting to increase. So it will more than likely be finished before we leave out of here next week."

"Are you going to be travel?" she asked, watching my carefully. "We've seen how you are."

"Jasper and I talked about that. We don't really want to extend the stay, so if my energy isn't back to where it needs to be, we'll figure out a way so that way I won't be using more energy then I'm gaining."

"Well if this place works out the way you want it to, he could always carry you in here."

I chuckled.

"I'll pitch that idea to Jasper."

She laughed too and looked up.

"You sound like you came from an amazing place. Would you ever want to go back there?"

I nodded.

"I do. But it's safer if I don't."

"Safer for them."

"So you can never go back?"

I shook my head.

"Not unless or until James dies."

"Why can't you seek him out now?"

I sighed as I closed another jar.

"For a few different reasons. One, I promised Jasper. Two, I promised Helen and Tobias. Thirdly, I time traveled. Meaning I have to keep him alive until 1998. If I kill him now, he would have never tried to kill me in my time, so I would've never had to be changed or come here."

"What about after 1998? Would you try to look for him?"

I shook my head.

"Like I said, I promised Helen, Tobias, and Jasper."

She shrugged.

"I would do it just to make sure they're safe."

"They will be. With Tobias's gift, James and Victoria won't remember me as Mary Alice Black. They'll remember me as Mary Alice Brandon. The girl who was changed in an asylum and can't remember her human life."

I moved the jars around the room as she watched me.

Peter and Jasper returned a few hours later, each carrying a bag. When they dropped it, I could hear the thuds of their contents hitting the floor.

"Everything you asked for," Jasper said kissing my temple.

"Thank you."

I immediately set to work, sorting everything out to make sure everything was placed with what it's going to be used for.

"Where did you learn to build?" Peter asked as the four of us moved piles where they were needed.

"Technically I didn't. But it's worth a try."

"And if you mess up?"

"Start over again. I have my measurements, and I know how I want things shaped. If I make a decision, I can see how the outcome will be affected. I've got this, Peter."

"It's in your best interest to trust her," Jasper said, as I pulled my wand from the holster.

I grinned, and reached up to kiss his cheek.

"Just in case you change your mind, I got you this," Jasper said, holding out a book to me.

"Thank you, Jasper," I said, grinning.

He nodded, and I extended my arm up to the opening.

An outline of the stairs extended to a point.

"I started toying with this charm last night," I said, gently setting my wand on the ground. "It'll help me mark the measurements."

They all watched me carefully as I took a marker from my pocket and began marking the wood.

I referred to the book, some too, to make sure I was staying on track.

Once I finished cutting out all the pieces, I took the broken pieces and moved them to the side.

Jasper stepped up to help me when it actually came to me making the stairs. I started with making a Permanent Sticking Charm from the bottom stair to the floor, and moved up.

The whole process of the stairs alone, with the mix of magic, it took me about two hours.

"It looks great," Peter said as I bounded back down the stairs.

"Thank you."

"What are you working on now?"

"The platform." I pointed to the space between the stairs and the opening. "We'll have to bring the wood outside of the bag. I'll build the platform out of the room, slip it back inside then attach it to the sides of the bag."

They all nodded as I grabbed the pile of wood. The three of them followed behind me.

"Okay, I said, once they were all out. "I'll set to work on this. I'll let you know if I need help."

"Okay, Darlin'," Jasper said, kissing my temple. He sat across from me watching carefully as I made a large platform.

"So how are you going to get to the stairs?" he questioned, cocking his head to the side.

"I have a plan for that," I said, looking up to him. "See, if I cut here, and attach a cord, I could reach down, and open up the door. Then when I'm finished, all I have to do is reattach it."

"It's not a bad plan," Peter said, shrugging.

"You're doing great, Alice," Jasper said.

"I've always had big ideas," I said, looking back down to my work. "I wanted a suitcase or a bag, like Newt Scamander. I used to tell Remus I was going to travel the world, and keep animals in a suitcase."

I grinned and shook my head.

"How did you know the stories about Newt Scamander?" Charlotte asked.

"Dumbledore told me stories. He used to come over every so often to check on Remus and me in the beginning. He told me if I ever thought about becoming a Magizoologist, he could get me in a meeting with Mr. Scamander. I considered it for a time. But I decided I wanted to be an Auror for a little while, then I'd consider being a Magizoologist."

"You can't do that now?"

I shook my head.

"I can't uphold a permanent job in the Wizarding World. It's dangerous to make a name for myself, and it's even more dangerous if I somehow get a picture of me taken somewhere. My family have to believe I'm dead. It's the only way I can keep them safe."

I looked back at the board, my smile gone.

Jasper sighed, and pulled me onto his lap.

"You're doing the right thing," he said quietly as he rocked me side to side. "You know that you are. And if the day ever comes, where James is dead, then you can go see them."

"You'll go with me?"

Jasper nodded.

"Of course I will. I have some people to thank," he said, smiling against the back of my neck.

I patted his cheek.

"Thank you, Jasper."

"Don't thank me, Darlin'. I was only telling you what you already knew."

I turned to kiss his cheek, before slipping off his lap and returning to work.

Once I finished, I turned to Jasper. "What do you think?"

"It's great, Alice. You're doing a great job."

I may need help holding it up while I fasten it."

"I'll help you," Jasper said. "What do I need to do?"

"Okay, I need you to go down to the top step. Then I'm going to pass this down to you, and I need you to hold this up while I fasten that. Think you can do that?"

He nodded and jumped to his feet.

"Got it."

He disappeared inside the bag, and I turned to Peter and Charlotte.  
"Do you think you two can hold onto the sides?"

They nodded, and both rose to their feet.

"Where do we hold?"

I pulled out the sides and handed it to each one of them.  
"Once I get it inside, you can let go."

They nodded, and I peered inside.

"Ready?"

Jasper nodded.

"Ready."

I picked up the large board that was bigger than me in both height and width.

It was easier to get the board inside that I had thought it was going to be.

"Do you have it?" I asked Jasper, still holding tightly onto the sides of the board.

"I've got it, Al. You can let go."

"And you're sure that you can hold me on top of this?"

Jasper laughed.

"Yes, Alice. I've got this. I'm not exactly weak, and it's not like I haven't carried you before."

I grinned and let go of the board, and finished slipping into the bag.

I laid flat on my stomach and crawled to the side to bind that side.

That didn't take more than about ten minutes before I had both sides attached.

"Okay, Jazz, we're good." I moved over and lifted the hatch off the platform.

He stepped up and smiled.

"What time is it?" I asked. "I thought this would take a lot longer for me to do."

"It's nearly midnight," Jasper said, smiling at me. "You wanna take a break for the night?"

I shook my head.

"No. I think I'll start working on the potions case. You go hang out with Peter and Charlotte for a while."

Jasper nodded, and reached over to kiss me.

"I'll come down in a little while."

"Okay," I said, smiling.

He disappeared through the hole in the bag, and I disappeared through the hole in the platform, pausing to return the door.

I could still hear Peter, Charlotte, and Jasper talking quietly above me. And I couldn't help but listen it.

"I was wrong about her," Peter said. "She actually is pretty great."

"I told you so," Jasper grumbled. "You just have to get to know her."

"I'm glad she's forgiving," Peter said.

"You're lucky she is," Charlotte said.

I chuckled lowly.

"She really is great. And thank you for making an effort to get to know her."

Peter didn't respond right away.

"She cares about you?"

"Yes."

"And you care about her?"

"Yes."

"And you love each other?"

"Yes," Jasper said for a third time.

"Then I like her."

I grinned, and focused on my work again.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know my updating schedule is odd, but once I get back to where I was, I will have a more set date. We're getting closer and closer to that point, but we're not there. Not yet. Thank you all to everyone who has followed and favorited this story, and to those who have left reviews. The support and feedback mean a lot to me.**

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	24. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

_"Maybe, he thought, Christmas doesn't come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps, means a little bit more." ~How the Grinch Stole Christmas by Dr. Seuss_

* * *

Chapter 24- Happy Christmas and a Happy New Year Alice's POV

The Christmas season came quickly. About a week before Christmas, I went Christmas shopping. The other three had done theirs a few days before. I hadn't gone with them, since my energy was still low from the energy burst. And due to that same energy burst, I hadn't been able to see any indication to what any of them were getting me. We had relocated to Nebraska while I still had energy, and by the time we got here, the crash took affect.

While I was gone, Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte discussed how much longer we would travel together. Jasper felt like being with them, wasn't helping him stick to our diet.

"New Year's Day," he told me while I wrapped Peter and Charlotte's gifts. We were in the living room in the tent, that was still hidden inside the bag. "That's the date we agreed on."

"That soon?" I asked, looking up at him.

He nodded.

"I told you, Al. I feel like traveling with them isn't helping me, and I want to stick to this diet."

I watched his face. His amber eyes bore down into mine.

"Jasper, are you sure? If you are absolutely sure you want to separate from them this quickly?"

Jasper nodded.

"I'm sure."

"Okay then. But where would we go? We'll have to figure that out in the time between here and New Year's Day."

Jasper nodded again.

"And we will."

Jasper looked down at the table, where I had a small stack of presents for each person.

"Isn't this all a little much?" Jasper asked, the presents I was currently wrapping. "Peter and Charlotte won't be able to carry this much in their backpack."

"Which is why I gave Charlotte a spare bag that I had," I said, smirking.

"Always two steps ahead," he said, shaking his head. "But still."

I sighed.

"Jasper, I haven't had a real Christmas since 1995. Please let me have my fun."

He grinned as I puffed my bottom lip out into a pout. His grin turned into a laugh as he leaned over to kiss me.

"Okay, okay. Have your fun. Just please put the lip away. I can't tell you no when you do that."

"I'll keep that noted," I said, grinning. "It could come in handy one day."

He grinned and kissed me again.

"I'll have to learn to not be phased by it then, won't I?"

"I think," I said, slowly, "that I will have to find another way."

He grinned and pulled me into his lap.

"I'd walk to the ends of the Earth for you. You don't need to try and find anything to get me to do that."

I smiled, and leaned against his shoulder.

"I'd walk to the ends of the Earth for you too, Jaz. Maybe even further."

He smiled against the back of my neck.

"Okay," I said, clapping my hands together. "I have to finish wrapping these presents."

"Well I'll let you finish, and I'm going to run and see if Peter and Charlotte have a map so we can figure out where to go next."

I nodded, and watched as he went out the tent.

When Christmas Eve came around, I moved all the presents from the tent to the motel room.

"You bought all of that?" Charlotte asked astonished. "For three people?"

"For one, I like to shop. Two, I haven't had a real Christmas in a long time. One that doesn't involve me killing a family, or performing the Cruciatus Curse on an eleven-year-old. So I figured I'd do this right."

"Alice, you really didn't have to go through all this trouble," Peter said, frowning as I seperated all the gifts into piles. "Especially not for me."

"Whether or not I had to, doesn't mean that I didn't want to."

"I've told you, Peter," Jasper said, smiling as he crouched down to help me. "It does no good to argue with her. Alice does what she wants."

"And you let her," Charlotte teased.

I laughed, and the sound of windchimes echoed off the walls.

"You've got him wrapped around your finger, Alice," Peter said, shaking his head.

"I never really thought about it that way," I said, laughing more quietly.

"It's not a bad thing," Jasper said, kissing my temple. "I'd rather it be you than anyone else."

I smiled.

"My angel."

"Will I always be an angel to you."

I nodded.

"For the rest of our lives."

He grinned at me.

"I suppose that wouldn't be so bad."

I set the piles of presents against the wall and moved to the spare bed.

Jasper looked over at me, and decided to join me.

"You don't have to stay attached to my side," I said, curling up against his side.

"You don't appear to be complaining," he said, smiling down at me.

"Shut up," I mumbled, leaning up far enough to look at the clock.

"We'll start opening presents at midnight," I said. "You three will be opening your first so I can take pictures."

Jasper frowned.

"What about when you open yours?"

"We'll see."

Jasper sighed and shook his head as I closed my eyes.

"What're you thinking about?" Jasper asked quietly as Peter and Charlotte started making travel plans across the room.

"My family."

"What about them?"

"Do you think they celebrated Christmas this year?"

Jasper sighed, and pulled me close to him.

"I'm not sure, sweetheart," he said, running his hand up and down my back like he always did. "I think maybe they did. To make it feel a little more normal."

I shrugged.

"They've lost so much. But I'm sure Molly set down and knitted everyone a jumper, and make fudge for everyone."

I laughed and opened my eyes.

"I loved her fudge. She sent Fred and George with it to my house for weeks after Remus and I broke up."

Jasper laughed too.

"She sounds great."

"She is. You'd love her."

"Would she love me?"

I nodded.

"Molly had a big heart. She'd love you for the sole reason that I did."

Jasper smiled, and rested his cheek on the top of my head.

When midnight hit, I grinned happily as I pulled out my camera.

"Okay, this one is Peter's, Charlotte's, and Jasper's," I said, passing out presents before sitting across from them with my camera ready.

Jasper's first gift was homemade. I had bought several maps, and cut out the locations for our different firsts. First time meeting, first kiss, first I love you.

Jasper looked up and me and smiled right as I snapped the picture.

"I love it," Jasper said, as I set the developing picture to the side. He leaned over and kissed me.

"Wait until the end," I said, smiling when he pulled away. "Then you can kiss me. But it's easier to take pictures when you're not kissing me."

He grinned as I turned the camera to Peter and Charlotte. Charlotte had just opened a charm bracelet set while Peter opened up a new leather jacket.

"Thank you, Alice," Peter and Charlotte said together, smiling as they looked at me.

Each of them got various things, ranging from new clothes or jewelry to things to do in spare time.

By the time they finished, I had several pictures of everyone, and everything they got. When I set my camera down, Jasper quickly caught me in a kiss.

It was the shudder of my camera that caused me to pull away and turn.

Charlotte was was grinning at me, holding out my camera and the already ejected photo.

I took the picture and grinned looking down as it developed. I leaned over, and showed it to Jasper.

"Good job, Charlotte," Jasper praised, taking the picture from me. "It turned out well."

"I figured it'd be something you want to remember. Your first Christmas together."

I smiled.

"Thank you."

"Of course."

Jasper clapped his hands and pulled me to him.

"Okay, Alice. Time for your presents."

Peter rose to his feet to grab a few presents, and handed them to me.

"Most of them came from Jasper," Peter said quietly. "We tried the best we could to get you stuff, but we weren't really sure."

"That's alright," I said, smiling at him. "I would have been fine getting nothing at all."

"Nonsense," Jasper said, resting his chin on my shoulder. "Now open your presents."

Charlotte picked up the camera from next to my leg.

"You didn't look ahead and ruin any of this, did you?"

I laughed and shook my head.  
"It actually never occured to me. I was so tired when you guys went to buy everything, and I just never thought about it afterwards."

"Okay," he said, contently. "Go ahead then."

I grinned and shook my head.

The first gift from Jasper, was a ring. It was a silver snake with a green emerald on the head that was coiled around itself.

I grinned.

"It's beautiful, Jazz. I love it," I said, turning and kissing his cheek.

I took it out of the box and slid it on my finger.

"I'm glad you like it. It was the first thing I saw, and I had to get it."

"Thank you," I said, kissing his cheek.

"Save it for the end," he said, mimicking my voice in a fake accent.

I laughed, and picked up the next present.

I got various things. A new scrapbook from Peter, and a new collection of Muggle stories from Charlotte, and different pieces of jewelry, drawing materials, and some picture frames from Jasper.

"Thank you," I said to the three of them after I finished opening my presents.

"Merry Christmas, Alice," Jasper said quietly.

"Happy Christmas, Jasper," I said, smiling as I turned back to kiss him.

Jasper and I spent more and more of our time with Peter and Charlotte. The four of us were all waiting for New Years, and there were different emotions.

"It's going to be okay Jasper," I said, a few days after Christmas while Peter and Charlotte were out hunting. "You have the mirror. And they can come see us anytime."

"I know," he said, tracing the scar running down my spine. "Anyways, I wanted to seperate."

I looked up to him, and kissed his jaw.

"It's all going to work out in the end, sweetheart."

He met my eyes.

"I'm sorry, Alice. This isn't fair to you."

I smiled and shook my head.

"That's okay, Jasper."

By December 30, we started packing up everything. We made sure that everything was separated, and organized. The had money sitting on the side, along with my camera, sketchbook, pencils, and scrapbooks.

"I think I have everything ready," I told Jasper, setting my bag against the back wall. "We'll be all set to go Saturday morning."

He nodded and I closed my eyes.

I knew I had to look ahead for weather conditions to see what time we should turn up to the hotel. It would be mostly cloudy.

"Are we going to start trying to find the Cullens again?" he asked as I wrote down the weather for the next two weeks.

I nodded.

"Remember when we went to New York, and I had a good feeling about it?"

Jasper nodded.

"Yes. Then we have found Rosalie Hale."

"I have that same feeling about Athens."

"Okay. So we'll go and check a local police station. Speaking of which, do you have that file on Rosalie Hale still? It could come in handy."

"Hold on a minute. I think I left it in the tent."

I hopped off the bed, and disappeared into the bag.

Sure enough, the file was still sitting on the counter of the kitchen in the tent.

"Maybe this would be a good thing to keep on the top of my bag," I said, handing him the folder as I returned to his side.

"Maybe so."

He flipped through the file, and then looked over at the paper filled with dates and weather.

"We can go on Thursday the sixth."

"Then we'll leave on on the twelfth."

Peter and Charlotte stepped into the room, and looked between the two of us.

"We didn't interrupt anything important, did we?" Charlotte asked, as they slowly moved to the other bed.

I shook my head.

"No. We're just discussing travel plans."

"Don't tell me your tired of us already, Alice," Peter teased. "We still have tomorrow."

"Of course I'm not tired of you guys," I said, grinning. "Like you said, we still have tomorrow and the rest of our lives after that."

They both chuckled, and Jasper did too.

"We do have a long time together," Peter laughed.  
Peter and Charlotte spent some time telling me stories about Jasper. Between his time as a newborn, to after he left Maria.

"I've seen him fight," I said, looking at Jasper's face. He had closed his eyes, and I was running my hand through his hair. "He just seems too sweet to actually harm anybody. Both the Newborn Army, and the Confederate Army….it just doesn't sound like Jasper."

A smile crept on his face, but he didn't open his eyes.

"I hope that you'll never have to see that," Jasper said, not opening his eyes as he leaned over to kiss my jaw.

I smiled.

"I don't think you have to worry about that," I said, quietly. "You don't have to do anything like that again."

He smiled, and pulled me to him.

Peter and Charlotte smiled at me.

"I'm really happy he has you, Alice," Peter said. "I can see a difference in him. He's happy."

"He makes all the difference in my life," I said, looking back down at Jasper's face. I looked back up to Peter. "I know I've said it before, but I want to say it again. Thank you, for getting him out of that place. Thank you for taking care of him, and leading him to me. I am eternally grateful for that."

"Of course."

When New Year's Eve came, we all stayed close together to bring in the New Year.

"Did you and Remus do the kiss at midnight?" Charlotte asked.

I had been laying in Jasper's lap, while the four of us sat in a circle on the floor.

I shook my head.

"Never?"

I shook my head again.

"Would you want to?" Jasper asked, looking down at me.

I smiled.

"Starting a new tradition."

He looked over at the clock.

"Well only a couple hours until the new year."

I pulled his face down to mine and kissed his cheek.

"I can't wait."

To fill the time, Peter, Charlotte, and Jasper talked. I straightened up the room to try and save trouble for the housekeepers. Each of us glanced at the clock every once in a while. When it came to be 11:58, I returned to my spot on Jasper's lap.

"1949," Jasper said, shaking his head. "Hard to believe I'm turning 105."

I laughed.

"Well you're still beautiful to me."

He looked at the clock, that was nearing midnight as the seconds ticked by.

When the clock struck midnight he leaned over and kissed me. Time slowed down and then came to an abrupt halt.

"I love you," I murmured to him when he pulled away, "more than I ever thought anybody could love a person."

"I love you too, Alice, and I'll tell you that everyday."

I smiled and pressed my forehead against his.

"Happy New Year's, Jasper," Peter said, patting Jasper on the back.

"Happy New Year's."

We smiled and looked at each other.

"I'm going to miss having you guys around," Charlotte said, watching the two of us.

"We'll miss you too, Charlotte."

"Well we still have another seven hours before we have to say goodbye," Jasper said, looking at Peter and Charlotte before turning to look down at me. "So let's make the best of the time we still have together."

I nodded and sat up.

"Jasper is right. And it's not like we will never see each other again. We have the mirrors, and once we find the Cullens, I don't suppose they'd mind if you came up every once in a while."

Everyone smiled, and looked between each other.

Through the remaining time, they asked me stories about my past. About Fred and George, and Harry.

Time seemed to pass more quickly. Before we knew it, we were out of time. It was time to go check out.

"We'll see you soon," Peter said, pulling Jasper into a hug outside of the office, after we returned the room key. "I probably won't call for a couple weeks so you guys can focus, but you'll hear from us soon."

"Okay," Jasper said.

Charlotte pulled me into a hug.

"He's lucky he has you. Make sure you keep him happy."

"Of course."

Charlotte let go of me, and Peter took her place.

"You take care of him, Alice."

"I will, Peter. I promise."

Peter stepped back, and Jasper took my hand.

"We'll see you soon."

Peter and Charlotte waved, before turning on their heels and sprinting away.

"Come on, Al," Jasper said, smiling at me as he squeezed my hand. "We should get going."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! During the next upload period, there will more likely be more chapters, so it may take me a little bit longer to upload. I hope you are enjoying the story!**

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	25. Emmett McCarty

_"Of the three boys, one was big-muscled like a serious weight lifter, with dark curly hair." ~Bella Swan on Emmett's appearance, Twilight_

* * *

Chapter 25-Emmett McCarty Alice's POV

Jasper and I got to Athens around five hours after we parted from Peter and Charlotte.

"Motel or tent?" Jasper asked, wrapping his arm around me.

We were on the outskirts of the city.

"I say motel. I feel like Peter and Charlotte gave me more than we're using. Actually, I'd say they gave me way too much. So when we go to see them, remind me to get most of whatever's left back."

Jasper chuckled.

"You've got it."

"So what's the plan? It's supposed to be sunny tomorrow, but you don't want to go until Thursday."

"Well we'd actually have to leave Athens, but I can take you to the Parthenon."

"Like the one in Greece?"

He nodded.

"There's one about an hour away if we run."

"I like that idea."

"Well let's go check in."

Jasper and I were mostly quiet through the night. I read some of the books Peter and Charlotte got me, and Jasper sat with his eyes closed, tracing the long scar trailing up my spine.

At around 4:30, I started moving around to go and get clothes for the both of us. We decided we weren't going to leave until around one that afternoon, but I was starting to get tired of sitting.

"Lay down with me," Jasper murmured after we were both dressed. "We still have time."

I curled up against his chest, and he held me tightly to him.

"It's so different," I said, my voice was quiet, "being alone. Just the two of us."

"Do you not like it?"

I shook my head.

"No, no, no. I love it! It's just different."

"Yeah, I suppose it is."

"Do you like it?"

He nodded.

"Charlotte was slightly relieved. She likes you a lot, but I think she's happy she has Peter's full attention again."

I chuckled.

"Do I have your full attention again?" I teased, smiling up at him.

"You've always had my full attention. You always will."

I grinned as he leaned down to kiss the top of my head.

"Good to know."

I closed my eyes, and Jasper quietly started humming.

I liked the humming. It made me feel safer. Even during the energy bursts, the humming helped to keep me calm.

The time seemed to pass, and before I knew it, Jasper stopped humming.

"Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine," he said in my ear, "but unless you don't want to go to the Parthenon, we need to get going."

He took my hands, and pulled me to where I was sitting up.

"Come on, Al, let me see those beautiful eyes."

I grinned and opened an eye.

He leaned down, and kissed below my eye.

I laughed and opened my other eye.

"Come on!" he said,excitedly, pulling me off the bed. "We have to go!"

"Okay, okay," I laughed. "I'm coming."

He grabbed my bag and placed it around me before taking my hand.

The run didn't take too long. Before we actually entered the grounds, and before the building was visible, Jasper put his hands over my eyes.

"I want it to be a surprise," he said quietly in my ear. "Make it seem like we're in Greece."

I laughed and held onto his wrists.

He guided me forward and then stopped.

"Ready?"

"Ready."

He uncovered my eyes.

It was an exact replica of the one in Greece. While I had never been there, Remus showed me pictures.

"Beautiful," I murmured, looking up to the large building before me.

"Come on," he said pulling me forward. "Let's go inside and see the statues."

"Statues?"

"Athena, Dionysos, centaurs."

"Come on then!"

He laughed and stepped forward.

We stayed there looking at the statues until it closed. I told Jasper the stories of the Greek Gods and Goddesses.

"Did you like it?" Jasper asked once we made it back to the room.

I nodded.

"It was great. Thank you for taking me."

"Any time."

He kissed my cheek, and I moved to set my stuff against the wall.

"So on Thursday, we're still going to find any information on the Cullens?"

I nodded.

"That's the plan."

"What are we going to do in the meantime?"

I shrugged.

"Whatever I suppose. It's supposed to be sunny until then….maybe tomorrow night we can go for a hunting trip. We haven't hunted in a while."

I traced below Jasper's black eyes.

"Being around all of those people must have been difficult for you."

Suddenly, I could remember how close Jasper stood to me while we were at the Parthenon. He had stood with his arm wrapped tightly around my waist. He didn't breathe, and he looked tense. In my excitement, I hadn't put two and two together, and I hadn't caught the small burn starting in my own throat.

I stepped away from him, wide-eyed.

"What?" Jasper asked, suddenly worried. "What is it, what's wrong?"

'Why didn't you tell me?" I exploded. "You were uncomfortable! You should have told me!"

"Alice, Darlin', you were excited about going. I wasn't going to ruin that for you."

"You wouldn't have ruined it. You mean more to me than anything else."

He smiled, and took my hand.

"I don't mind it. It was worth it to see you smile."

I grinned and looked at the ground, shaking my head.

"Next time tell me."

I playfully punched his arm, and he winced slightly, causing me to jump back again.

"Come here," he said, laughing as he pulled me to him.

I started getting ready early Thursday morning. Jasper and I hunted Tuesday night into Wednesday afternoon, and for the rest of the day, Wednesday, I started getting everything ready for the police station the next day.

"Come on," Jasper said when I was dressed. "The police station won't open for a few more hours. Come lay back down while I finish this book."

I curled up against his side under my comforter. It was peaceful like this. Jasper read some book by someone with the last name of Lovecraft, but while he did so, he traced the same scar along my spine. I think at this point, he didn't realize what he was doing.

I closed my eyes, and listened to the soft sounds of him breathing in quietly.

It wasn't until before noon that we left. Jasper finished his book, and I sat contently at his side with my eyes closed pretending, even for a little while, that I could sleep and dream.

"What're you thinking about?" Jasper asked, looking at me.

"Dreams. I miss dreaming."

Jasper looked down at me as we made our way down the road.

"You've never told me this."

"I've never really thought about it actually. Not until today."

Jasper sighed, shook his head, and kiss the top of mine.

"You know I would give you anything. If I could give you the possibility of dreaming again, I would."

"I know that."

"What do you miss about it? Dreaming?"

"Possibility."

I looked up to his confused face.

"In our dreams," I continued, "impossible things can happen. For example, you and I growing old together."

Jasper chuckled.

"Well you can still grow old with me. I, however, was already old when you met me."

"But you're still beautiful to me, my angel," I said, reaching up to kiss his cheek.

We made it to the police station before he could say anything else.

"Can I have a minute before we go in?" Jasper said, hesitantly, as he looked at the door.

"As long as you need. But I've looked. Nothing will happen."

He smiled and pulled me as close to him as I could possibly go.

"I'm sure nothing will. Just stay close to me."

I nodded.

"Of course."

He took a deep breath and nodded.

"I'm ready."

I guided him to the door, linking my arm with his.

The woman behind the desk seemed happy to be there when she looked up as Jasper and I stepped into the warm room.

"Good afternoon!" she said cheerfully. "What can I help you with?"

"I'm looking for somebody. I was hoping somebody here could help me."

She nodded, and pulled her long, white-blonde hair into a small ponytail on the nape of her neck.

"Do you want to speak to the Chief?"

"Anyone can help me really. I just need some information. But I think a chief can provide more help."

The woman nodded and smiled.

"Give me one moment, and I'll see what I can do."

She rose from her seat, and Jasper and I headed for a row of plastic chairs against a wall.

I traced circles into the back on his hand while we waited. He smiled and kissed my hand.

"Are you okay?" I murmured.

He nodded.

"I'm fine."

The woman returned shortly after that.

"The chief can see you."

Jasper and I raised to our feet, and followed the woman through a door. There were several desks crunched together, and an office in the back of the room.

"Go straight through those doors," she said, stopping outside the office.

"Thank you very much for your help."

She smiled and nodded before turning on her heel and walking away.

I knocked lightly on the door before me.

"Come in," called a gruff voice from inside.

I pushed open the door, and stepped quietly inside.

"Oh," the chief said looking at me. He jumped to his feet and extended his hand. "My name is Jonah Smalls."

He turned his hand to Jasper then turned back to me.

"What can I help you with today?" he asked, running a hand through his hair.

"We're looking for any information you might have on a Carlisle Cullen."

He turned his chair from his desk, and turned to a group of files.

"I don't have much. About fourteen years ago, up in Gatlinburg, however, he and his family disappeared right after Emmett McCarty went missing."

He handed me a slim file.

"The Gatlinburg police sent out files on both the Cullens and the McCarty boy."

"Were either of them found?"

He shook his head.

"Seven years ago, Emmett McCarty was declared dead. I don't have much, but I can write a note and the sheriff in Gatlinburg can show you the full file."

I looked down at the file, and wandlessly and nonverbally copied it.

"I'd like that very much."

He turned to get a piece of paper and a pen.

"What's your name?"

"Mary," I said, looking over to Jasper.

"And last name?"

"Whitlock," Jasper answered for me.

I smiled and looked back over to the sheriff.

He handed me a note, and smiled.

"Here you are. Just give that to the sheriff whenever you go, and you can get the full file."

"Thank you, sir," I said, rising to my feet.

I shook his hand one more time, and Jasper and I swiftly left the small office.

Once we left the police station, I pulled out the file from my jacket it and opened it. A picture, almost exactly matching one of Emmett Cullen that I had pulled up from the crystal ball, stared back at me. The eyes weren't the same. This man, had bright blue eyes.

"Is that him, Alice?" Jasper asked.

"Yes."

"So we've found another clue?"

"Yes."

I grinned down at the file.

"I told you I had a good feeling about Athens."

Jasper grinned and kissed the top of my head.

"One day I'll learn to stop doubting you."

"One can only hope."

He chuckled and looked down at me.

"When are we going to Gatlinburg?"

"How far do you suppose it is from here running? If it's not that far, we can just head there now. If it's further, we can go once we see about an early check out."

"It's about forty-five minutes from here."

"Then we go ahead and go now. We should be back before nightfall."

Without closing my eyes, I focused on the near future. I could feel Jasper tightening his hold on me.

I nodded when my vision refocused.

"We'll be back before the sun starts to go down. It's cloudy in Gatlinburg too, so we should be good to go now if you want."

He nodded.

"Let's go."

So we set off to Gatlinburg to see what we could find about the disappearance of Emmett McCarty. From what I learned from Athens, was that Emmett joined the coven after Rosalie.

The two of them were mates, so maybe she decided she couldn't live without him.

It didn't take long at l thought it would have to get to Gatlinburg. It took less time than Jasper thought it would.

"Okay, the station should be this way," Jasper said, pulling me with him.

Once we got there, we paused outside again. Jasper looked at me.

"I'm okay, Alice."

I nodded.

"I know that. I just want you to be comfortable."

He smiled, and pressed his lips to my forehead.  
"Just don't leave my side, and I'll be okay."

I nodded again, and squeezed his hand.

"Let's go and see what we can find."

It seemed that nobody was there. The from room was empty except for the woman with salt-and-pepper hair.

"What can I do for you?" the woman asked. She didn't sound happy to be there.

"I have a note from the Athens Chief of Police to talk to your sheriff."

She looked at the note that I had extended to her, before looking up at me.

"I'll go see if he's available."

"Thank you, ma'am."

She disappeared rather quickly down a long, narrow hall.

I swayed back and forth as Jasper and I waited. It seemed like a very long time before the woman came back, and this time, she was accompanied by a man, who I assumed to be the sheriff.

He looked fairly young. Maybe a little bit older than Severus, or maybe even a little bit older than Kingsley. His hair had faintly started to grey, but the way he had it combed over, you couldn't tell unless you stood close to him.

He extended his hand.  
"Good afternoon, ma'am. I'm Sheriff Charles Card. You're Mary Whitlock, I presume?"

"Yes, sir," I said, shaking his hand.

"And you are?"

"Jasper Whitlock, sir."

"Her husband?" he asked, looking at Jasper's arm around my waist.

"Yes, sir," Jasper said, flashing a quick smile in my direction.

"Come with me then, and I'll see what I can do for you."

We followed him down the same hall the original woman went down, and behind me, I could hear the sharp clicks of her heels as she returned to her desk.

"Can I get either one of you anything?" Sheriff Card offered. "Water? Coffee? Tea?"

"No, thank you," I said, with a small smile.

He motioned to the chairs in front of his desk before sitting in the chair behind his desk.

"Now, your note from Chief Maxwell says to give you access to the file of Emmett McCarty, any any information I have on Dr. Cullen and his family. Is that correct?"

I nodded, and pulled a notebook from my bag.

"Can I ask you a few questions about the doctor?"

He nodded and motioned for me to continue.  
"Go ahead, Mrs. Whitlock."

"Thank you. Now, what can you tell me about Dr. Cullen and his family? Did they stick out?"

Sheriff Card nodded.

"They were all extraordinarily nice. His kids, Rosalie and Edward, never gave me any trouble. But they all stuck out because they didn't cause trouble."

"And the doctor? What stood out about him?"

"The nurses at the hospital had a hard time focusing on their work with him around. They were all…." he struggled to find the words, "good-looking."

"What led them to be suspects in the McCarty case?" I asked.

"They aren't so much suspects. It's more of a questionable situation. The kid goes missing, the doctor and his family leave town."

I nodded, and watched as he spun his chair around to grab a folder.

It was a lot thicker than the one I had gotten in Athens.

"This is everything I have on the case," he said, handing it to me.

As he turned again, I copied the folder, and slid it into my bag.

When I opened the folder, the same blue-eyed man stared up at me.

"About a month after the kid went missing, money appeared on the McCarty family's doorstep. They asked me about it, and I told them to keep it. There isn't much we can do about money turning up."

I flipped through the pictures, police reports, reports from Emmett's family. Lists of names of people who had joined search parties. Everything that could be tied into the case was in this folder.

"It says here that he was hunting the day he went missing," I said, tapping one of the lines in one of the files. "Could he have simply been involved in an animal attack?"

The sheriff smiled at me.

"You're smart. You put the pieces together quicker than some of my deputies. You're right. We thought it could be an animal attack, but there were no traces of a body."

I read through the rest of the file.

"He's been presumed dead," Sheriff Card said, sadly. "It's a shame really. His family are great people. I'm good friends with his oldest brother."

"So you knew Emmett well, then?"

Sheriff Card nodded.

"I did. He was a good kid. Can I ask you a question?"

I nodded.

"What about this case took your interest?"

"My father died, a long time ago. Carlisle Cullen is the only link I have to my father."

"If you don't mind my asking, what about your mother?"

"She died, long before he did. It's sad to say, but I have no other family. So I am trying to seek out Dr. Cullen."

"That's completely understandable."

"Thank you, for all your help," I said, extending my hand again.

He shivered under my touch, but smiled anyways.

"It was my pleasure, Mrs. Whitlock."

He shook Jasper's hand, and guided the two of us back to the front room.

"Good luck to you, Mrs. Whitlock," Sheriff Card said, before turning back to the direction of the office.

Jasper and I nodded to the woman at the desk, and headed for the door, moving quickly to get back to the motel room.

* * *

 **Here we are! A new set of chapters is up! Like I mentioned in the last chapter uploaded, there was more than likely going to be a gap between chapter uploads, because for his, I wanted to have more chapters put up.**

 **I hope you enjoyed, and will enjoy the chapters to come!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	26. March, 1949

**A/N: Hey guys! This chapter isn't going to be very long. But in Eclipse, Edward says that Alice knew everything about everyone when she and Jasper came. So I figured I would have my take on how that could of happened. Not every conversation will be shown however. I want to save some of them for when Alice and Jasper actually join the Cullens. But Alice does touch on each member and their back story. I hope you enjoy!**

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 _"It was one of those March days when the sun shines hot and the wind blows cold: when it is summer in the light and winter in the shade." Great Expectations by Charles Dickens_

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Chapter 26- March, 1949 Alice's POV

During the month of February, Jasper and I didn't get any leads. We only had the information that we had on Rosalie and Emmett Cullen. Put together, however, that information alone was a lot.

Jasper and I both decided we needed to stop and reevaluate everything. So we headed to Oregon, where we planned on camping for a few weeks. In those few weeks, we decided we would look over all the information that we had.

"Rosalie Hale," I said, looking down at the file, "was born in 1915, in Rochester, New York. Her parents were wealthy, and she eventually became engaged to Royce King, whose father owned the bank that Rosalie's father worked at. At some point in there, Carlisle Cullen changed Rosalie, and after that, Royce King, a few bodyguards, and friends of Royce King were all found dead."

Jasper nodded.

"Sounds right so far."

"Fast forward to 1935, and we meet Emmett McCarty. He goes hunting one day, and never comes home. At some point after Emmett left, he came across one member of the Cullen clan who changed him. He became Rosalie's mate, and in my vision, Rosalie wore a ring, so I assume that at some point between then and now, the two of them got married."

"So what was the reason to change either of them? Two humans wouldn't pose any threat to a coven of vampires."

I shrugged.

"Maybe Carlisle was looking to extend his family. He saw Rosalie, liked her, and added her. Then suppose she came across Emmett. She falls in love, decides she can't live without him, and either changes him herself, or gets someone else to do it for her."

Jasper shook his head.

"Even if that was the case, I feel like there's something we're missing."

"It's a likely cause. I was changed for protection, you were changed for military purposes. Helen was changed for love, but Tobias was changed because his creator liked him."

I watched him carefully. His almost golden eyes watched me more intently.

"I don't know, Alice," he said as I moved closer to him. "You might be right, but I just have this feeling that we are missing something. Something important."

I shook my head, and rested my forehead on his shoulder.

"Maybe we are. But I only know what information I have. I'd have to focus to try and fill in the missing spots. Focus on a conversation that we haven't had yet."

"Do you think you could do it?"

I nodded.  
"I suppose I could."

Jasper nodded.

"Maybe it can help."

Jasper and I moved to clear the bed on the room we were in. I shrank underneath the comforter, and Jasper pulled me close to his side.

"Focus, Alice," he whispered in my ear. "I'll be right here the entire time."

I nodded, and closed my eyes.

I decided to focus on Rosalie. She was the first person to came to mind. Her story had the most holes to fill. Why was Royce King killed? Why did he have bodyguards?

I couldn't make out a clear picture in my head of the scene around me. Several decisions hadn't been made yet. The picture was fuzzy, and everything was distorted, but I could make out the sounds of echoing voices.

 _"Royce King was the most eligible bachelor in town. I barely knew him, but I loved him. I thought he loved me."_

 _"He didn't?" my voice echoed. It almost didn't sound like a question._

 _"I don't think he did. But we were engaged after a months or so after I met him. So maybe it could have turned into something more. We didn't plan for the engagement to be very long. I wanted a big wedding, and that's what we were planning."_

 _Rosalie paused._

 _"On the last night of my life," she continued slowly after a long pause, "I was coming home from my closest friend, Vera's, house late. I had always been jealous of Vera. She had a husband who loved her, and they had the most beautiful baby boy. He had curly black hair, and dimples. His name was Henry. For a time, after Royce and I got engaged that I wasn't jealous of Vera anymore. That night however, I realized that I was in a loveless relationship."_

 _She paused again._

 _"I went home late. When I look back on it, maybe I should have called my father to escort me home. But I was too busy thinking about the wedding. It was cold….too cold for April. The wedding was a week away, and I was scared I would have to move it inside."_

 _She laughed weakly._

 _"Silly isn't it? I was more worried about a wedding."_

 _"It's not silly," Jasper's voice echoed. "Weddings are important events."_

 _"Maybe so," Rosalie agreed. "I was a few streets away from my house. I found a group of drunk men under a broken street lamp. At that point, I wished I had called my father. I hadn't realized who the men were. Not until Royce called my name._

 _'Rose!' he called. When he said my name, the other men laughed like idiots."_

 _Rosalie paused._

 _"Royce was with a bunch of sons of other rich men. There was someone else, a friend of a fried._

 _'Here's my Rose!' he shouted. "You're late. We're cold, you've kept us waiting for so long. What did I tell you, John? Isn't she lovelier than all your Georgia peaches?'_

 _I didn't like how John looked at me," Rosalie said, quietly. "He looked at me like I was a horse he was buying._

 _'It's hard to tell,' John drawled slowly. 'She's all covered up.'_

 _They all laughed. Even Royce. Then suddenly, Royce ripped my jacket from my shoulders, popping the brass buttons off and scattering them across the road._

 _'Show him what you look like, Rose!'_

 _He tore the hat from my head, and the pins ripped out some of my hair. When I screamed, they seemed to enjoy it."_

 _Rosalie's echoing voice paused again._  
 _"From what I know of the two of you from these past few days, I can tell you're both smart, so I'm sure you can piece together what happened next."_

 _I must have because next, I said,_

 _"Oh, Rosalie. I am so sorry."_

 _"Don't be sorry….they left me in the street thinking I was dead. Believe me, I wanted to be. They were teasing Royce, saying that he'd have to find a new bride, and learn some patience. Carlisle found me. He could smell the blood and he came to investigate. I remember being irritated while he tried to save my life. I never liked Carlisle, or Esme, or Edward, who was pretending to be her brother at that time. I didn't like them because they were far more beautiful than I was. But I had only seen them a few times."_

 _She paused again._

 _"I thought I had finally died when he ran with me….because of the speed. I was horrified that the pain hadn't stopped, since I was dead. I remember a bright and warm room. I was relieved when the pain started to fade, but then it felt like razors cutting my wrists, ankles, and throat. Carlisle stayed with me the entire time. I begged them all to kill me, and Carlisle apologized each time I screamed. They talked about me some. But they seemed to know Royce was at fault, and that pleased me. When the pain stopped, they explained to me what I had become."_

 _This pause was a lot longer than the other ones, but I could hear echoing footsteps, and they seemed to be moving away from me._

 _"I got my revenge on them," Rosalie said, smugly. Her voice was certainly further than before. "I saved Royce for last so he'd know that I was coming. I killed his bodyguards in a second, and then killed him. I even stole a wedding dress for the occasion. He screamed when he saw me….he screamed a lot that night."_

 _She paused._

 _"Things were better after I found Emmett. He had been mauled by a bear and was nearly dead when I found him. I carried him over a hundred miles back to Carlisle so he could change them. It was selfish on my part….but Emmett doesn't seem to mind."_

The echoing voices faded away as I fought to bring myself back to reality.

"I have the missing pieces!" I said, shooting up.

Jasper jumped and sat up completely.

"What'd you find out?"  
I filled Jasper in on the conversation.

"But it was fuzzy?"

I nodded.

"Some decisions about the conversation haven't been made yet. But judging from what Rosalie says, it takes place not long after we get there. A week tops."

"Do you think you can do the same for the others? Find out a little more about the others?"

I nodded.

"I can definitely try."

So that continued throughout the next three days. I would focus on one particular member of the Cullen family and try to learn more about them through conversations that hadn't taken place yet.

"She lost her baby," I said, sadly, after I focused on Esme Cullen. "She jumped off a cliff. Carlisle heard her heart, and changed her. They fell in love."  
"She has a happy ending, Al," Jasper soothed. "She's okay."

"But her poor baby—"

"I know, sweetheart. It's a sad thing. But the baby was sick."

I shook my head as he held me close to him.

"It didn't have a chance."

Jasper sighed and kissed the top of my head.  
"It's okay, Darlin'."

 _"I was born in June 20th of 1901," Edward Cullen's voice echoed. "My name was Edward Mason then. I was named after my father...World War I was going on, and I wanted to be a soldier. In 1918, my father was killed in the first wave of the Spanish Influenza. My mother and I got sick during the second. My mother begged Carlisle to do everything in his power to save me. So he changed me. Then in 1921, he changed Esme."_

 _"Have you always been close to Carlisle?"_

 _Edward paused as he thought about the answer to my question._

 _"There was a time, from 1927 to 1931, where I rebelled against Carlisle. I was angry with him for making me curb my appetite. So I went on my own. I killed rapists, murderers….I even killed Esme's ex-husband."_

 _"He was abusive," I said, quietly. "Don't feel remorseful about that. The way I see it, you saved more lives than you took."_

 _"I don't think you understand."_

 _"I think I do," I murmured. "You know my story, Edward. I had to kill innocent people. The people you killed weren't innocent."_

 _"But they were still people."_

When I sat back up, Jasper had his eyes closed. He looked peaceful. Almost as if he were sleeping. When he felt me shift, his eyes flew open.

"What'd you learn?"

"Edward was dying of Spanish Influenza when Carlisle changed him. He was the first one to be changed."

"Have you noticed the pattern that everyone Carlisle changed was dying? Rosalie was raped and beaten, Emmett was mauled by the bear, Esme jumped off the cliff, and Edward was dying of Spanish Influenza. Could it of had something to do with how he was changed?"

"It's definitely a possibility."

"Did you learn anything else?" Jasper asked as I wrote down the conversation between Edward and I.

"We have the same birthday, although they were seventy-five years apart."

Jasper chuckled and shook his head.

"You asked what I learned. You never said it had to be helpful," I said, smugly, beaming up at him.

We had to take a break between Edward and Carlisle due to the energy burst, which caused me to not be able to sit down long enough to actually try and find any information on Carlisle, and the energy decline left me too weak to get the conversations to come up. It came a week earlier than we had anticipated, and it put a gap in our travel plans.

"Don't stress yourself out about this," Jasper murmured quietly in my ear. "Once you get your energy back we'll try again."

"But what if it doesn't come back for a while?"

"Then we wait until it does. Alice, sweetheart, I love you, but it's not going to do you any good to overwork yourself."

I sighed, and closed my eyes again.

"Maybe you're right."

"You know I am," he said, kissing my forehead. "Rest now."

It took another week before I could manage to get visions, and any source of magic back.

"Are you sure you won't want to wait a few more days before you look?" Jasper asked.

I nodded.

"It gives me something to do."

Jasper chuckled, and pulled me to him.

"Okay. Go ahead."

"Afterwards, we should go walk around."

Jasper nodded.

"Whatever you want, Darlin'."

He hummed quietly as I started focusing.

Finding Carlisle seemed easier than the rest of them. Maybe it was because it was his decisions I tried to watch for. His came slightly more clearly. I still couldn't see the surroundings so well, but I could tell that there were seven figures. Seven shadowy figures. That would mean all of us were there. The voices weren't echoing as much as the others. This one, I was sure, would happen much sooner than the others.

I didn't tell Jasper what I learned from Carlisle's story. I wanted at least one of them to remain a surprise to him. While he didn't know everything that was said in each conversation, he knew the context of them all, but this one I would keep secret.

"There's everyone," I said, as we packed up the tent to continue traveling. "Now, all we have to do is find them."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I realized when I was writing this that Edward and Alice have the same birthday. I hadn't realized when I set Alice's birthday before, and I didn't realize it when I had written the story before because I had gotten the day that Sirius died wrong. I had misread it on the Harry Potter Wiki when I was reading it, and I had set her birthday to the 26th. But Alice will remember that fact.**

 **Again, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and thank you for the continued support!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	27. April, 1949

**Okay, I have a note that I want to mention before this chapter starts, I realize as I was writing it, I have the dates a little messed up. I had gotten the time frame of Severus calling Lily a Mudblood wrong. So things will be cleared up for the most part in this chapter. Enjoy!**

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 _"April is the cruelest month, breeding lilacs out of the dead land, mixing memory and desire, stirring dull roots with spring rain." ~TS Eliot_

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Chapter 27-April, 1949 Alice's POV

Time seemed to move quicker now. Jasper and I had agreed to take a break on finding the Cullens, and before we joined Helen and Tobias, we would try a few more places. In the meantime, we traveled every couple of weeks and switched between staying in the tent and staying in the motel.

We decided to go to Wyoming. Jasper thought that I'd like to see Yellowstone National Park. I figured it was one of the many things he had seen in his travels around the country. So on the last day that we were in Wyoming, on a day that happened to be cloudy, we decided to go.

"Will you be okay?"

Jasper laughed and nodded.

"I'll be alright."

I smiled, and took his hand.

"And you'll let me know if you're not?"

He nodded.

"Yes, Alice. I always do."

"Good."

He smiled and looked down at me.

"Will you always worry about me?"

"Does it bother you?"

He thought about it for a moment.

"I know that you care about me this way. But I can't be bothered by it when I worry about you too."

I laughed and squeezed his hand.

"We'll both be alright."

Jasper grinned and looked down at me.

"You're right."

"Okay, come on," I said, pulling him to the door. "Let's go see Yellowstone."

It didn't take us long to get to the border of the park.

"It's going to be a decent amount of walking," Jasper said, wrapping his arm around me. "Are you sure that the sun won't come out?"

I looked straight ahead of me, but focused on the distant future.

"It won't be sunny until tomorrow afternoon," I murmured. "It will rain later tonight."

Jasper sighed.

"I should have known better than to ask you if you are sure."

"One day," I muttered as I focused my sight.

He chuckled and kissed the top of my head.

"Come on."

Most people used cars. Jasper and I preferred to walk, not to mention that we didn't have a car.

"Have you ever drove?" I asked, watching as a car.

Jasper nodded.

"I did once."

I watched the cars on the road carefully.

"It doesn't look very safe."

Jasper laughed.

"I forget that you don't use cars."  
"Well I rode in one once I think. Fred stayed close to me the entire time."

"It's safe. Trust me."

"Would you use a car now if we had one?"

Jasper shrugged.

"It would make traveling easier."

I looked up at him.

"I'd think we'd have enough money if you truly wanted one."

"Why don't we wait, until we meet up with Helen and Tobias, and then we'll talk to them and see."

I nodded.

"Sounds like a plan."

We walked side by side, and I watched him carefully.

I could feel the happiness radiating off of him. He seemed happier than I had seen him in a while.

"What are we going to see first?"

"Well we're going to see a lot along the way," he said, looking down at me, "but we are heading to the Grand Prismatic Spring."

"What all will we see along the way?"

"Old Faithful, Jackson Lake, Yellowstone Lake."

"I think I've heard about Old Faithful. It's a geyser, right?"

Jasper nodded.

"If we're lucky, we can make it in time for an eruption."

"I can check."

Jasper shook his head.

"Please, don't. I want it to be a surprise."

"Okay. I won't look."

He let go of my hand, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"So what do you think?" he asked me quietly.

"Of what?"

"Traveling. In the last nine or so months, we've traveled all across America."

"I like traveling. I've gotten to see so much of America in the short time we've been here."

"Maybe before we join Helen and Tobias we can go to Canada," he suggested. "Peter, Charlotte, and I went there once right before I left them."

"I like that idea," I said.

"What's Wizardkind like in Canada?"

"Well they have Quidditch teams, but they don't have a Wizarding School if that's what you mean."

"So where do the Canadian witches and wizards go to school?"

"Ilvermorny."

"Each country doesn't have a school?"

I shook my head.

"There is actually very few wizarding schools in the world."

"So there's Ilvermorny, Hogwarts. What else?"

"Beabaxtons, which is in France, Durmstrang in Bulgaria. Castelobruxo in Brazil—"

"I'm sorry for interrupting," he said, turning to face me, "but how do you remember all the names and locations?"

I shrugged.

"I've always remembered them. Should I continue, or do you get the idea?"

"Continue."

"Mahoutokoro is in Japan, Uagadou which is in Africa."

"What about everyone else?"

"Most people prefer homeschooling, which can be understandable."

Jasper thought about it for a moment.

"Did you ever think about homeschooling?"

I nodded.

"In my first year, a lot of people brought up my mother and father. It made me very anxious, so one day Dumbledore called Remus in. That's why I was able to sit at Gryffindor table. Dumbledore could see that I was bright, and he didn't want to lose me as a student, so he was more lenient."

"What about when Remus was a teacher there?"

"Sometimes he'd let Remus sit with Fred, George, and I at the end of Slytherin table."

"Dumbledore sounds like a good man."

I nodded.

"He was…." I trailed off and looked at the ground.

"What is it?"

"I think Dumbledore was a good man. I honestly do, but I remember the day that I learned that Harry was supposed to die."

As I spoke, I could see the memory clouding my vision.

 _"Why hasn't he told us anything?" Severus growled, throwing his hands up in the air.  
We were in the Defence Against the Dark Arts classroom, waiting for eleven o'clock. At that time, we'd meet with Dumbledore.  
"We risk our lives every single day," he continued. _

_"Just be patient, Severus. It's almost eleven."_

 _"Does Potter know you're here?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"Dumbledore asked me not to say anything," I said quietly.  
He looked at me and then his face softened. _

_"You look tired. Have you been sleeping?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"I try, but I can't. I keep seeing their faces."_

 _He knew immediately what I meant, and sighed._

 _"Alice, why do you continue to do this for Dumbledore?"_

 _"I'm not doing it for Dumbledore," I snapped. "I'm doing it for Harry."_

 _"You can't help the boy if you aren't helping yourself."_

 _"I have no choice, Sev," I said, closing my eyes. "Dad's gone. I have to take care of him."_

 _Severus shook his head._

 _"I still think you should put yourself first."_

 _"And I think we should go, or we're going to be late."_

 _Severus followed behind me as I set off from the Defence classroom to Dumbledore's office. It felt odd being in the castle. It felt even more odd being accompanied by a teacher._

 _"Severus, can I ask you a question?" I asked suddenly._

 _"Go ahead."_

 _"My father tortured you, so did James. You don't like Harry, but you don't have a problem with me. Why is that?"_

 _"I didn't in the beginning. I thought you'd be like your father. You were so young when your mother died, so you were only really raised by your father and Lupin—"_

 _"Dad took care of me for five months and then got arrested," I interrupted._

 _"Still," he said. "I thought you were going to turn out like him. But you're more like your mother. Potter is a spitting image of James."_

 _"How'd you meet my mother?"_

 _"She was my neighbor on Spinner's End."_

 _"Were you close?"_

 _"She, Lily, and I were. We were like you and the Weasley Twins."_

 _"Until you called Lily a Mudblood," I said._

 _He nodded._

 _"She and your father had already been in a relationship for sometime when that happened….she was pregnant with you. I think they had some kind of arrangement, and your mother didn't know that your father was involved that day."_

 _We made it to Dumbledore's office then, and I knew the conversation was over._

 _"Sugar Quills," Severus announced clearly._

 _The door slid open, revealing the stairs, and Severus gestured me forward._

 _We both moved quickly up the stairs, pausing only when we reached the top._

 _"Alice, Severus, come in," Dumbledore called before I could knock._

 _"Please. Sit," Dumbledore said, gesturing to the chairs in front of him._

 _Once Severus and I sat down, Dumbledore stood. The room was quiet. Even Fawkes sat quietly on his perch. He walked quietly around us ask he talked._

 _"Harry must not know, not until the last moment, not until it is necessary, otherwise how could he have the strength to do what must be done?"_

 _"But what must he do?" Severus asked quietly._

 _"Please tell me it's not something too dangerous," I said, frowning._

 _"That is between Harry and me, but I can assure you that he will not be in anymore danger than he already is. Now listen closely, Severus and Alice. There will come a time—after my death—do not argue, do not interrupt! There will come a time when Lord Voldemort will seem to fear for the life of his snake."_

 _"For Nagini?" Snape looked astonished._

 _I couldn't picture Nagini being in any danger._

 _"Precisely. If there comes a time when Lord Voldemort stops sending that snake forth to do his bidding, but keeps it safe beside him under magical protection, then, I think, it will be safe to tell Harry."_

 _"Tell him what?"_

 _Dumbledore kept changing his mind about what he was going to say, not allowing me to get a good idea. I didn't like that feeling. It made me feel sick._

 _Dumbledore took a deep breath and closed his eyes. They had been watching me carefully until this point._

 _"Tell him that on the night Lord Voldemort tried to kill him, when Lily cast her own life between them as a shield, the Killing Curse rebounded upon Lord Voldemort, and a fragment of Voldemort's soul was blasted apart from the whole, and latched itself onto the only living soul left in that collapsed building. Part of Lord Voldemort lives inside Harry, and it is that which gives him the power of speech with snakes, and a connection with Lord Voldemort's mind that he has never understood. And while that fragment of soul, unmissed by Voldemort, remains attached to and protected by Harry, Lord Voldemort cannot die."_

 _I felt sicker, although I couldn't wrap my head around the words._

 _"So the boy. . . the boy must die?" asked Snape quite calmly._

 _"No," I whispered._

 _"And Voldemort himself must do it, Severus and Alice. That is essential."_

 _I jumped out of my seat._

 _"YOU LIED," I roared, causing Dumbledore and Severus to both flinch. "I JOINED THE DEATH EATERS TO SAVE HIM! YOU TOLD ME IT WOULD SAVE HIM!"_

 _"I'm sorry I lied, Alice," Dumbledore said, quietly. "I couldn't get you in there any other way."_

 _"Why did you need me?" I hissed. "You had Severus. He's good at his job. He would have been enough!"  
"Voldemort wanted you, and I thought Severus could use help on the inside." _

_I felt my throat tighten, and I sank back into my seat. Harry was going to die. I couldn't save him._

 _"I thought. . . all those years. . . that we were protecting him for her. For Lily," Severus said._

 _"We have protected him because it has been essential to teach him, to raise him, to let him try his strength," said Dumbledore, his eyes still tight shut. They didn't even open when I was yelling in his face. "Meanwhile, the connection between them grows ever stronger, a parasitic growth. Sometimes I have thought he suspects it himself. If I know him, he will have arranged matters so that when he does set out to meet his death, it will truly mean the end of Voldemort."_

 _Dumbledore opened his eyes. Severus looked horrified, and a sob broke through my lips._

 _Harry wouldn't live to get married or have kids. His life would end before it even started._

 _"You have kept him alive so that he can die at the right moment?"_

 _I looked up, and both Severus and Dumbledore were both watching me. Severus leaned over, and placed a hand on my back._

 _"Don't be shocked, Severus," Dumbledore said, turning away from me. "How many men and women have you watched die?"_

 _"Lately, only those whom I could not save," said Severus. He stood up, and placed a hand on my shoulder. "You have used us."_

 _"Meaning?"_

 _"We have spied for you and lied for you, put ourselves in mortal danger for you. Alice has been forced to kill innocent people, resulting in her innocence to be lost in the process. She's been branded, and she didn't even want to do this in the first place, but she did it for you because she thought she could keep Harry Potter safe. Everything that we have done was supposed to be to keep Lily Potter's son safe. Now you tell me you have been raising him like a pig for slaughter—"_

 _Another sob broke through my lips as Dumbledore interrupted him._

 _"But this is touching, Severus," said Dumbledore seriously. "Have you grown to care for the boy, after all?"_

 _"For him?" shouted Severus, causing me to flinch away from him as he jumped up. "Expecto Patronum!"_

 _From the tip of his wand burst the silver doe. She landed on the office floor, bounded once across the office, and soared out of the window. Dumbledore watched her fly away, and as her silvery glow faded he turned back to Severus, and his eyes were full of tears._

 _"After all this time?"_

 _"Always," said Severus, looking at me._

I shook the memory from my head.

"I was so angry with Dumbledore," I said, quietly. "He lied to me, and told me becoming a Death Eater would keep Harry safe. In the end, Harry was supposed to die, and I couldn't keep him safe anymore."

Jasper pulled me to stop in front of him before pulling me closer to him, and kiss the top of my head.

"It's okay, Alice," he soothed quietly as my breath hitched. "Don't cry, Darlin'. It's okay."

"Today was supposed to be a happy day," I murmured in his chest. "I've ruined it."

"No," he said in my ear. "It's okay."

I shook my head.

"When will the memories stop?" I asked.

Jasper sighed.

"I don't know, sweetheart, but I'm here. I'm not going anywhere."

We stayed there, hidden in some trees for a little while before we kept moving. Once we got to Old Faithful, much like any other place we had been to, Jasper covered my eyes until we were close enough.

"Ready?" he murmured in my ear.

"Ready."

The second he moved his hand off my eyes, steam began moving out of the vent.

"We made it in time," Jasper said, excitedly, wrapping his arm around the front of my shoulders.

We watched quietly as the steam turned to water shooting out the vent.

When it was over, we turned away from the crowd and began walking again. Jasper kept an arm tight around my waist as the crowd behind us became closer together.

"Are you okay?" I asked quietly.

He nodded, but didn't loosen his hold on me.

We decided to run through the trees to the Grand Prismatic Spring. It took us a little over an hour to get there.

"It's beautiful," I said, once we finally got there.

It wasn't as crowded as Old Faithful. There was an older couple to the right of Jasper and I, and a small group of children, who didn't look to be older than fourteen, and the adults accompanying them.

Jasper nodded.

"Did you like it?"

I smiled and nodded, as I turned back to look at him.

"I did. Very much."

I kissed his cheek before leaning my head on his shoulder.

* * *

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	28. One Year Since The War

_"To have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever." ~Albus Dumbledore, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_

* * *

Chapter 28- One Year Since The War

Jasper and I made it to Vermont near noon the next day. We were going to camp in Alburgh for a while, and then we would make our way up to Canada.

When I realized the date, I couldn't help but think about my family. I didn't really speak a lot, and around five o'clock that evening, Jasper came to lay down with me.

"What's the matter, Al?" Jasper asked, pulling me close to him. "You've been upset all day."

"It's May 1st."

"Yes, it is," he said slowly, confused. "I don't understand."

I sighed, and closed my eyes.

"In a few hours, the Battle of Hogwarts will start. Fred is going to die soon. And at midnight Harry will come to the Forbidden Forest—"

My voice broke off, and Jasper held me tightly to him.

"It's okay," he soothed as I weeped into his shoulder.

He sat up and pulled me into his arms, rocking me from side to side.

"It's going to be okay, Alice," he said, kissing my forehead. "I know it doesn't seem like it now, but it will."

I wrapped my arms around him, and closed my eyes as I buried my face in his shoulder.

"Are you okay now?" Jasper asked me, running a hand up and down my back.

I nodded, but didn't let go of him.

He chuckled and kissed my cheek.

"I love you, Alice," he said quietly. "Don't forget that."

"I love you too," I mumbled, closing my eyes.

He stayed with me for the rest of the night. We didn't talk, but both of us seemed to be okay with that. As I laid there, I thought about my life before this. I liked this life more, because I was happier, but in exchange for this life, I had to leave my family behind.

As I thought about them, I remembered a particular day in the weeks before the battle. From what Helen and Tobias described, it was the first time James caught my scent.

 _"Time will be out soon," I said, quietly to Severus. The two of us were in his office while the Carrows were patrolling the halls. "Harry will realize that he has to come here, and he'll realize it soon."_

 _"He's smarter than I've given him credit for," Severus said, shaking his head. He looked back up at me. "When are you supposed to go to Malfoy Manor? Alecto mentioned that you had been called."_

 _I nodded._

 _"I'm supposed to leave here in about a half an hour."_

 _"Do you know what it's about?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"He's being careful enough to not settle on any one decision. I think he may try and get me to look into Harry's future again." I said. "Last time I told him that Remus may be traveling with them because I couldn't see Harry's future anymore. Which at the time, it wasn't a lie. I couldn't see Harry, so Remus had to be with them."_

 _Severus sighed._

 _"I forgot he figured out the loophole."_

 _"Harry told Hermione about it," I said. "She's careful to not make any definite decision since Godric's Hollow….I think she might have seen me."_

 _"You never told me about that," he said, surprised._

 _I shrugged._

 _"It didn't seem important."_

 _He looked at me, curiously._

 _"Harry knew the loophole?"_

 _I shrugged._

 _"I suppose Dad would have told him. But I'm sure he does. If Dad didn't tell him, Ron would have."_

 _Severus nodded._

 _"I guess you're right."_

 _I nodded and looked at the clock._

 _"I should go ahead and leave," I said. "He'd have my head if I'm late."_

 _Severus nodded, and motioned to the fireplace._

 _"Go ahead. I'll be here when you get back."_

 _I nodded._

 _"I shouldn't be too long. Just make sure the Carrows aren't here when I'm back."_

 _Severus shook his head._

 _"They are patrolling the halls until three. Then you and I take over."_

 _I nodded._

 _"Okay. I'll see you soon."_

 _"Oh, Alice?"_

 _I turned to look at him._

 _"Be safe," he said, quietly._

 _I smiled._

 _"Of course."_

 _When I made it to Malfoy Manor, Lucius, Narcissa, Draco, and Bellatrix were all sitting in the drawing room._

 _"Alice!" Draco said, jumping to his feet._

 _"Hey, Draco," I said, as he hugged me. "How are you?"_

 _"I'm okay. I didn't know you were coming."_

 _"The Dark Lord told me to meet him here," I said, looking up to Narcissa._

 _"He's waiting for you in the dining room," Lucius said._

 _"Thank you."_  
 _I turned back to Draco._  
 _"I'll come and see you before I go back to Hogwarts."_

 _"Maybe I could come back with you," he said, quietly. Draco had been home for Easter break, and Severus was letting him stay for a few extra days before classes started again, since I was constantly coming back and forth through Malfoy Manor._

 _"We'll see."_

 _He nodded, and returned to the seat next to Lucius, returning to the book he had been reading when I came in._

 _I walked down the long hallway to the dining room at the end of the hall._

 _Voldemort had his back turned to me, but he knew exactly when I entered the room._

 _"Mary Alice," he said, in a quiet voice. "You're early."_

 _"Yes, my Lord. I figured it was better to be early than to be late."_

 _Voldemort chuckled._

 _"Smart girl. Come. Sit."_

 _He gestured to the seat across from him at the other end of the table._

 _I walked quickly to the seat he gestured to._

 _"Any word on Potter?" he asked, eyeing me carefully._

 _I shook my head._

 _"No, my Lord. The Granger girl is careful to not make any certain decision."_

 _"So you can see them again?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"Yes, sir. Whatever was blocking my vision before is gone now."_

 _"Do you still suspect Remus Lupin?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"Yes."_

 _"Harry Potter was here, yesterday, Mary."_

 _My eyes widened._

 _"What?"_

 _"You didn't know?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"No, sir."_

 _"A few of our Snatchers caught him and his friends in the woods. They escaped before I was called, however."_

 _On the inside, I sighed in relief._

 _"I however, can never too sure about certain things. Your loyalty for example," he said, not taking his eyes off me._

 _"My Lord?" I asked taken aback. He seemed pleased at this response._

 _"I understand that your friends and family are siding with Potter. I can't help but think maybe you're siding with him too."_  
 _"Not all of my family and friends have sided with Potter. Severus is my friend and has sided with you. So has, Narcissa, Lucius, Draco, and Bella."_

 _Voldemort chuckled._

 _"You're right about that. You and Severus have become rather close. But you do still associate with Fred and George Weasley, yes?"_

 _"On occasion. Usually we only speak when I am there for Order meetings."_

 _"But the Order has disbanded again in the last few months?"_

 _"That would be correct, sir. Only when they realized they had no chance."_

 _It wasn't true. The Order became an underground resistance rather than disbanding entirely._

 _Voldemort grinned pleased._

 _"Well, I still have to be cautious of course. You understand, don't you, Mary?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"Yes, my Lord."_

 _He extended his hand._

 _"Come with me."_

 _"Where are we going, sir?"_

 _"A place where you can prove to me that your loyalty hasn't wavered."_

 _I rose to my feet, as he did. Nagini followed closely behind me._

 _Voldemort wrapped a hand around my wrist, and waited for Nagini to slither around his shoulders._

 _I felt the tight tube as Voldemort Disapparated from the Malfoy's dining room. Suddenly, we were on an unfamiliar street._

 _"I am going to pick a house," Voldemort said quietly in my ear. "In the house I chose, you are going to kill whoever is in it. Understood?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"Crystal clear, my Lord," I said as calmly as I could manage._

 _"Good."_

 _He stopped and looked around before placing a hand over my eyes._

 _"You will stay in the spot I tell you to until I'm ready for you," he said in my ear as he guided me to the house he had chose._

 _"Of course, my Lord."_

 _I could hear the click of the door unlocking._

 _Inside, I could hear faint whispering._

 _"Go, Nagini," Voldemort hissed, locking the door behind us._

 _He took the hand off my eyes, and I could see that we were in a kitchen._

 _A few moments later, I could hear Nagini hissing quietly._

 _"Nagini says everyone is sitting in the living room," Voldemort said quietly in my ear. "Stay here so I can put a Silencing Charm up, and I'll call for you when I'm ready."_

 _"Yes, sir."_

 _He glided out from behind me into the next room. I could hear the sounds of the family moving, and the thuds as each of them were stunned. There were three thuds, and one was much, much lighter than the other two._

 _"Mary!" Voldemort called from the room. "It's time!"_

 _I slowly made my way out to the room._

 _In front of me, was a man, a woman and a little boy. I turned and looked at Voldemort._

 _"All of them?"_

 _He grinned evilly and nodded._

 _"Even the boy?"_

 _He nodded again._

 _The family stared at me with wide terrified eyes._

 _"Her first," Voldemort said, pointing to the woman._

 _I turned my attention to the woman._

 _"Please," she begged, looking at me. "Please don't kill me."_

 _I turned and looked back at Voldemort, who was turning to the kitchen._

 _"I will be back," he said, looking up at me. "To make sure you have carried out your task. I won't leave the house, but I will let you do this on your own."_

 _"Of course. Thank you, my Lord."_

 _I turned back to the woman, who had tears streaming down her face._

 _"Please," she begged shaking her head._

 _"I'm so sorry," I whispered. "I have to do this."_

 _"No you don't," the man said, tears welling up in his eyes._

 _"No, I do. If I don't, he'll kill me and my family."_

 _My voice didn't come above a whisper, but they seemed to hear me just fine._

 _"You're so young," the woman said. "You have a whole life ahead of you."_

 _"Please forgive me," I begged, as I pulled my wand from the holster on my arm._

 _"I forgive you, sweetheart," she said, smiling at me._

 _"I promise, it won't hurt. It will be like your falling asleep."_

 _I extended my arm, and pointed it directly at her chest._

 _"I'm so sorry," I whispered as she squeezed her eyes shut. "Avada Kedavra!"_

 _Her face relaxed, and her husband began sobbing._

 _The boy, who looked to be the same age that I was when I watched my own mother die, looked to his father, than to me._

 _"Please," the man pleaded as I watched his son. "Spare him. He's just a child!"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"I can't," I whispered. I crouched down and looked at the boy. "What's your name, sweetheart?"_

 _"Henry," the boy said in a small voice._

 _"Can you forgive me, Henry?"_

 _His baby blue eyes gleamed up at me as he nodded._

 _"You're going to go see your mummy," I said, quietly, pushing his long brown hair out of his eyes. "I need you to close your eyes. Can you do that for me, Henry?"_

 _He nodded and closed his eyes. I stepped back from him, and pointed my wand down at his chest._

 _"Avada Kedavra," I said, loud enough for Voldemort to hear me from the kitchen._

 _Henry's lifeless body fell back against his father, who was shaking as he sobbed loudly._

 _I fought back tears, knowing that if he saw me cry, he would know that my alliance wasn't with him._

 _The man looked up at me, shaking his head._

 _"Your name was Mary, wasn't it?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"Mary Alice."_

 _"Mary Alice, please. I beg of you. Don't do this. I can help you."_

 _"You can't help me," I said, crouching down in front of him. "Nobody can help me now."_

 _He closed his eyes and sobbed._

 _"Please," he begged._

 _I looked back at Henry._

 _"How old was he?"_

 _"He just turned four."_

 _I closed my eyes tightly._

 _"Can you forgive me, sir?"_

 _He nodded._

 _"I forgive you, Mary. It's not your fault."_

 _I sighed, and wiped a tear from my eye._

 _"Thank you."_

 _I stepped away from him, and pointed my wand at him._

 _"Avada Kedavra," I said through clenched teeth._

 _I could hear footsteps behind me, and I turned to the doorway. Voldemort came through with Nagini wrapped around his shoulders._

 _"It's been done, my Lord. They're dead."_

 _He looked at the three bodies behind me._

 _"Well done, Mary Alice!" he praised. "Your loyalty is no longer in question."_

 _He extended my hand._

 _"Come, girl. It's time to return to Malfoy Manor, and for you to return to Hogwarts."_

 _I took his hand, and the pair of us went back through the tight tube._

 _Draco came back with me to Hogwarts. After Severus and I signed him a note, he made his way to the Slytherin dormitories, and I sank into a chair and sobbed._

 _"What is it, Alice?" Severus said, quickly making his way around the table, and draping something around my shoulders._

 _"He was questioning my loyalty."_

 _"Was? He isn't anymore?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"I regained his trust."_

 _"How?"_

 _"I killed a Muggle family."_

 _"A family?"_

 _I looked up into his black eyes and nodded._

 _"I killed a child, Sev."_

I buried my face in my hands as I sobbed.

When I opened my eyes, Jasper was watching me quietly.

"What were you thinking about?"

"The day James caught my scent. I didn't know he was there...Voldemort had been questioning my loyalty, and he was trying to make sure I was loyal to him. So he had me kill a family. A woman, then her child, and then her husband. I remember the boy's name was Henry. He was the same age I was when I watched my mother die."

"You knew his name?"

I nodded.

"I asked each one of them if they forgave me before I killed them. I asked him for his name, because I couldn't think of a way to tell him I was going to kill him. So I told him he was going to see his Mum."

I shook my head, and looked up at Jasper.

"Can you forgive me for what I've done, Jasper?"

He watched me carefully but didn't respond right away. This made me nervous.

"Of course I can forgive you, Alice," he said, as I moved away from him. "Why wouldn't I?"

I looked into his golden eyes.

"Do you still love me knowing what I've done?"

His face softened, and he leaned over to kiss me.

"I'm always going to love you, Alice. It doesn't matter to me what you've done. You did what you had to do to survive."

"He was four years old," I said, closing my eyes. "He didn't get a chance at life."

"Alice, if you didn't kill him, Voldemort would have killed you and your family."

I sighed, and leaned into his shoulder.

"You're right."

Jasper kissed me again, and hugged me tightly to him.

"It's going to be okay, Al. You don't have to go through that again."

In the next two weeks, Jasper was able to return my usual happiness. When the anniversary of my mother's death came, he did the best he could to keep me happy. He was more than understanding when I couldn't be as happy as he wanted me to, and he stayed with me the entire time.

As we laid there talking, I could clearly remember the day she died. I was a month away from turning five.

 _Dad was planning to go see James and Lily, and I had seen a vision of someone coming to the house, and hitting Dad with a green light. At the time, I didn't understand that the green light meant that you died._

 _"Mama!" I exclaimed running up to her, after the vision disappeared._

 _"Alice?" she asked, worried, pulling me into her lap. "Is everything okay?"_

 _"I saw another one," I said, struggling to find a word to express the vision._

 _"Really?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "Tell me about it."_

 _"People came here, and they hit Daddy with a spell."_

 _Mum looked around worried._

 _"What color was the light, Alice?"_

 _"Green," I said, automatically._

 _She moved me off her lap, and into a chair._

 _"Stay here for a moment."_

 _She walked to the doorway, and looked around._

 _"Sirius!" she called. "Can you come here for a moment?"_

 _Dad came bounding into the kitchen, grinning. He picked me up and swung me into his lap._

 _"I shouldn't be out too long tonight. James and Lily wanted pictures of Ali."_

 _"Sirius, before you go, I want to talk to you," Mum said, seriously, taking the seat next to us. She turned to me. "Alice, tell your daddy what you saw."_

 _I told him everything that I told her. About the group of people, describing them to the best of my ability, and the green light._

 _"Johanna," Dad said, watching her carefully. "Nothing is going to happen to me tonight. I'm sure it was just a dream."_

 _"Sirius please," Mum begged. "Let's say it's not a dream. What would I do if something happened to you?"_

 _Dad put me down and pulled Mum into his arms._

 _"Nothing is going to happen to me," he soothed kissing the top of her head. "I'm going to see James and Lily then I am going to come home to you and Alice, just like I always do."_

 _Mum looked up to his face where he had a goofy grin etched on, which caused her to smile._

 _"Be safe," she pleaded._

 _"I will."_

 _"Please, take your wand, just in case."_

 _He nodded._

 _"I always do, babe."_

 _She smiled warmly and kissed him._

 _"I love you," she said, when they finally pulled apart._

 _"I love you more," he said, kissing the top of her head again._

 _He turned back to me, and held his arms out._

 _"Come here, Ali."_

 _I ran into his arms, where he scooped me up and started walking._

 _"Alice, I need you to do me a favor," he said seriously. "Please don't tell Mummy anymore of your stories. She worries enough, and she'll only worry more. Can you do that for me?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"Thank you, Al."_

 _He hugged me tightly to him._

 _"I love you," he said, kissing the top of my head the same way he did Mum's._

 _"I love you too, Daddy."_

 _He put me down, and grabbed his wand from the table. He waved to me, and to Mum who had come to stand against the back wall of the living room._

 _After he had gone, Mum and me had went upstairs to play. We were in her's and Dad's room, and she stayed by the window, glancing out of it every couple of minutes._

 _"When's Daddy coming home?" I asked, looking up at her, the fourth time she looked out the window._

 _"Soon, I hope," she said._

 _She came and sat next to me._

 _"Don't worry, Mama," I said, patting her hand. "He's going to be okay."_

 _She grinned down at me, and moved to kiss my forehead._

 _"How'd you grow to be so smart, hmm?"_

 _As she spoke, I could hear a loud bang come from outside._

 _Mum jumped to her feet, and darted to the window._

 _She turned back to me with wide eyes._

 _"Alice, sweetheart, I need you to listen to me. I need you to get under the bed, okay? Can you do that for Mama?"_

 _I nodded, slid under the bed. Mum moved all the toys I had under there with me._

 _"Whatever you hear, don't leave this spot. No matter what. Remember that I love you more than my own life. Never lose hope, Alice. See the good in everyone, like you always have, and be happy. Can you do that?"_

 _I nodded again._

 _"I also need you to tell Daddy that I love him, okay?"_

 _I nodded._

 _She quickly pulled out her wand, and muttered several incantations under her breath._

 _"I love you so much, Alice," she said again before she jumped to her feet._

 _I could hear the sounds of people bounding up the stairs, as I looked out from underneath._

 _The door to the room burst open, and several pairs of feet came in._

 _"Expelliarmus!" an unfamiliar male's voice shouted. I would never meet this man face to face, but I would later learn that this was the voice of Barty Crouch Jr._

 _Mum's wand fell to the ground, and rolled to the edge of the bed._

 _"Where is he?" said a high voice. I would later recognize the voice to be associated with Bellatrix Lestrange._

 _"He's not here. He won't be here for a long time. Alice saw you coming, so he took her and ran."_

 _"And he left you behind?" Bellatrix said, astounded._

 _"I told him to."_

 _Bellatrix walked around the room carefully._

 _"So he left you here, to fend for yourself?"_

 _Mum shook her head._

 _"Not exactly. I was going to pack some things up, and then I was going to meet them."_

 _"You're not as quick as the others then," the man from before said._

 _Mum shook her head._

 _"It's not that. If I had Disaparated, then one of you could have grabbed onto me, and then I would have put my husband and my daughter at danger."_

 _"I don't get it," Bellatrix said, walking around Mum. "You could have joined your family, Johanna. But you fell in love with Sirius Black, and had a child before you were even out of Hogwarts."_

 _"I wouldn't change it for the world."_

 _"That's what I don't understand," Bellatrix exclaimed. "Why wouldn't you change it? If you didn't have Mary Alice, you could have been something more!"_

 _"Mary Alice is the best thing that could have happened to me, Bellatrix. Maybe one day, if you ever had a child you would understand."_

 _"Get to the point, Bella," another man said. Later, I would know this voice to be Rodolphus Lestrange._

 _"Maybe she can help us," Bellatrix said, slowly._

 _"Help you?"_

 _"Well your daughter is special, no doubt you know that. We can never get to Sirius while she is with him, she'd see us coming in an instant. So, we were thinking you could tell us where Lily and James Potter are being hidden."_

 _Mum shook her head._

 _"I don't know," she said, quietly. "Sirius never told me."_

 _"Why is that?" Barty asked, surprised._

 _"He wants to keep them safe."_

 _"More than you and his own child?" Bellatrix teased. "If I knew my cousin at all, I would say that he doesn't care about you at all Anna."_

 _"It was for my own protection that he didn't tell me," Mum growled._

 _Bellatrix smiled wickedly._

 _"Well, Sirius didn't do a very good job at protecting you, did he, Anna?"_

 _Mum closed her eyes as Bellatrix raised her wand._

 _"You're going to kill me, aren't you?"_

 _Bellatrix chuckled quietly._

 _"I'm afraid so. See the original plan was to kill Sirius, but he's not here. So we're using you to take his place. Unless of course, you want to tell us where Sirius is. He can help us more."_

 _"I won't tell you."_

 _Bellatrix cocked her head to the side._

 _"Crucio!" Bellatrix exclaimed suddenly. I watched in horror as my mother dropped to the ground. She didn't scream, but her face twisted in pain. Then suddenly, it returned to normal as she glanced at me._

 _"Are you sure that's your final answer?" Bellatrix said._

 _When Mum didn't answer, Bellatrix's wicked smile returned._

 _"Avada Kedavra!" she cried, and a green light filled the room._

 _"Come on," Rudolphus said to Bellatrix, "Barty went to cast the mark. We should go inform the Dark Lord of what happened."_

 _Bellatrix nodded, and I could hear the thuds of Bellatrix and Rodolphus leaving the room._

 _When Dad and Remus came back, I had crawled out from under the bed, and wrapped myself around Mum. When she wouldn't wake, I began to cry, and that's how Dad and Remus found me._

 _"Johanna! Alice!" Dad yelled from downstairs. "They're gone, Remus! I have to be too late."_

 _"Sirius, calm down. I'll go check downstairs. Send a Patronus to Dumbledore."_

 _I could hear Remus quickly running up the stairs._

 _"Johanna?" Remus called, down the hall. "Ali?"_

 _Remus hit the room then._

 _"Sirius! Quickly!"_

 _Remus walked in the room, and crouched down in front of me._  
 _"Alice, sweetheart, come here," Remus whispered, extending his arms to me._

 _I shook my head._

 _"Mama won't wake up," I said softly, not moving from her side."The people from my dream came, and they hit her with the green light."_

 _"You saw it?" Remus asked, bewildered._

 _I nodded. Remus kneeled over me, and pressed me to his chest, pulling me away from Mum. He tucked me inside his cloak._

 _Dad made his way to the room then, and a sob echoed off the walls._

 _"Johanna!" Dad screamed, dropping to the floor. "Come on," he muttered. "You're okay. You're just fine. Johanna, I'm home. I came home to you and Alice like I promised."_

 _"Sirius—"_

 _Dad shrugged off Remus's hand._

 _"No, Remus. She's fine. She's okay."_

 _He looked down at Mum's lifeless body._

 _"Come back to me, baby," he cried. "I kept my promise. Please, come back to me."_

 _"Sirius, we have to think about Alice now."_

 _Dad turned back and looked at me._

 _"Come here, Al," Dad said, extending his arms to me. I moved from Remus's arms to Dad's._

 _"I couldn't get Mama to wake up," I mumbled against his shoulder. "I'm sorry."_

 _"Don't be sorry," he whispered, his voice breaking. "Alice, I'm going to give you back to Uncle Moony, and the two of you are going to go downstairs and wait for Professor Dumbledore, okay?"_

 _I nodded, and he kissed my cheek._

 _"Mama said she loves you," I said, quietly as he moved to return me to Remus._

 _"What?"_

 _"Before the people came, she told me that she loved me, and to tell you she loves you."_

 _"Come on, Alice," Remus said, cradling me in his arms. "Let's go downstairs."_

 _Remus paused in my room to grab my blanket, which he wrapped tightly around me, and we made our way down the stairs._

 _Dumbledore came about ten minutes later._

 _"Remus, what's happened?"_

 _"Johanna," Remus started, choking on his words. "Johanna is dead. Death Eaters killed her."_

 _I didn't understand what that meant._

 _"Where is she?" Dumbledore asked._

 _"Sirius is with her. Oh, and Professor?"_

 _Dumbledore, who was already at the foot of the stairs, turned to face Remus again._

 _"Alice was there. When it happened. She watched it."_

 _Dumbledore turned and watched me carefully._

 _"See what she'll tell you about it. I'll send a Patronus to the Ministry."_

 _Remus nodded, and moved to the couch holding tightly onto me._

 _"Alice?" he asked._

 _I looked up at him curiously. His amber eyes were filled with tears._

 _"I need you to tell me what you can remember about when the people came. Can you do that?"_

 _I nodded, and began to tell him about what happened. When the Minister of Magic came, Dumbledore came downstairs, and Remus gave him the notepad where he had written down everything that happened._

 _"They want us to take her memory from that time," Dumbledore said to Remus. "Sirius said that she wouldn't do it from someone she doesn't trust, so it would have to be either you or I."_

 _"It won't hurt her, right?"_

 _Dumbledore shook his head._

 _"Of course not, Remus."_

 _Dumbledore turned to me._

 _"Alice, can I perform a small spell on you?"_

 _"It's not going to be the green light, is it?"_

 _Dumbledore looked back up to Remus, who was pulling me closer to him, then back to me._

 _"No, it won't be the green light."_

 _I nodded._

 _"Okay."_

 _He put his wand to my temple, and pulled the memory from me._

 _"Thank you, Alice," he said, handing Remus another vial. "This will help her sleep."_

 _He turned back to the staircase._

 _As Dumbledore disappeared, I turned back to Remus._

 _"Moony?"_

 _"Hmmm?"_

 _"When is Mama waking up?"_

 _Remus closed his eyes and buried his face in my hair._

 _"I don't think she is," Remus said quietly._

 _Sometime later, Dad came back downstairs, and extended his arms to me._

 _Remus passed me off to him, and Dad held tightly onto me, as he laid down on the couch._

 _"Sleep now, Alice," Dad said quietly in my ear. "It's been a long night, and you need rest."_

"He was a good father at one point," I said to Jasper quietly. It was the first time I had spoken in hours.

"What?"

"Dad. He was a good father once….I had forgotten about it until now. The night Mum died, he wouldn't let me go. Remus told me once that Dad was scared that if he let go of me, then he was going to lose me too. I was so mad at him for going after Pettigrew, I almost forgot about that."

Jasper smiled at me, and kissed the top of my head.

"Have you forgiven him?"

I nodded.

"I think I have."

Jasper smiled and kissed my head again.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I figured I'd put memories in this chapter, because they were things that I wanted to write, and Johanna dying was one that I had already written. Just so you know, her name is pronounced as Joe- Anna, but Anna is pronounced like Hannah without the 'h'. I know I had a friend read through my plans a few days ago, and she wasn't sure how the name was pronounced, so I wasn't sure if you had the same problem.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed the chapters!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	29. One Year Together

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own anything in this chapter, aside from a few mentioned characters. The poem, "Childhood is the Kingdom Where Nobody Dies," belongs to Edna St. Vincent Millay.**

* * *

 _"Forever is a long time, but I wouldn't mind spending it by your side." ~ I Wouldn't Mind by He is We_

* * *

Chapter 29- One Year Together Alice's POV

On the day that Dad died, for the first time in years, I actually took the time to sit back, and think about that day. I had been so busy during the last few years, I hadn't really had the time to grieve. Now I had time, and I had Jasper, who tried the best he could to keep me happy. Now that I had forgiven him entirely, it was easier to grieve for him.

"Good morning," Jasper said, kissing my temple.

"Good morning," I murmured.

"What have you been up to?" he asked quietly, as I turned to face him.

"I've been thinking."

"About?"

"Do you know what today is?"

He thought about it.  
"June eighteenth," he said after a moment. Then, it all clicked and his eyes widened. "Al, I didn't—"

I shook my head, and held a finger up to his lips.

"No, don't. It's okay. I was just thinking….I've never really had time to grieve for him. The first year….I was so busy with my undercover work, and I was gone before the second year came."

Jasper closed his eyes, and kissed my temple again, but lingered there.

"Alice, I know it's hard, but you don't have to go through it alone."

"When he died, I was working on forgiving him," I said quietly. "We had been spending the day together, and he was trying to get to know me more."

Jasper pulled me tightly to him, and I closed my eyes again.

 _I could remember the day Dad died just as clearly as I remembered the day Mum died.  
Since Christmas, I had been spending more and more time at Grimmauld Place. Remus insisted Dad and I tried to fix our relationship, and I myself didn't think it was that bad of an idea. _

_"What happened to our old house?" Dad asked, not looking up from his cards._

 _"When I turned seventeen, it was transferred over to my name. It's still there."_

 _"And your mother's stuff?"_

 _"It's still there. Her wand, clothes. Everything. I haven't been back."_

 _"Have you thought about going back?"_

 _I shrugged._

 _"I haven't been there since the night you were arrested. Remus left me with Molly and Arthur while he went back to get my stuff. I had nightmares for some time…."_

 _I trailed off, and looked up to Remus, who wasn't quite meeting my eyes._

 _Dad turned back and looked at him too._

 _"Is he okay?" Dad asked me quietly._

 _"I don't know," I murmured back. "He's been like this for a few weeks."_

 _"You two didn't get into a fight, did you?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"No."_

 _"When is the full moon?"_

 _"It was the first of the month."_

 _Dad leaned back in his chair, and learned to Remus._

 _"Alright there, Moony?" he asked loudly._

 _Remus jumped, and looked up from his book._

 _"What?"_

 _"Are you alright, sweetheart?"_

 _He smiled weakly and nodded._

 _"Yes. I'm perfectly fine."_

 _I looked back at Dad._

 _"I'm scared that he's going to leave me," I said, quietly._

 _"I don't think he will. He loves you a lot. Besides, if he does, I'll kill him."_

 _I laughed and leaned back, as Dad winked at me._

 _From the other room, I thought I heard the sharp bang of the fireplace._

 _"Did you hear that?" I asked, looking up again._

 _From the next room, it sounded like Harry yelling, then the crackle of the Floo system._

 _The three of us looked at each other before I jumped to my feet. As I stood, I was hit with a vision, which almost caused me to fall backwards._

 _Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood stood in a dark room with glowing orbs. Harry stepped forward and reached for one of the glowing prophecies. In the next instance, Lucius Malfoy and Bellatrix Lestrange was walking towards Harry and the others. The scene of the vision shifted, and I was shown a tattered, black veil. The veil had whispers coming from it. It shifted again, and I was shown a sign that said, The Department of Mysteries._

 _"Alice?" Dad asked, holding tightly onto my elbows. "What is it?"_

 _"Harry," I murmured as my eyes struggle to focus. "He's going to the Department of Mysteries. Death Eaters are going to be there."_

 _Once I regained my balance, I bounded out of the room to the room I had heard Harry's voice. Kreacher sat in the floor near the fireplace, grinning._

 _"Kreacher!" I exclaimed, catching his attention. "Was Harry here? Did he come through the fireplace? Answer me honestly!"_

 _"Yes, Little Miss," Kreacher said with glee. "Harry Potter came to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place searching for Master Sirius."_

 _"What did you tell him Kreacher?"_

 _"Master Sirius was not home. That he would not return from the Department of Mysteries."_

 _"Stupid elf!" Dad roared from behind me._

 _I turned on him.  
"Dad, that's enough!" _

_Remus turned to me.  
"Alice, you must gather the Order. Tell them they must meet us here." _

_I nodded, and pulled my wand from my cloak._

 _"Expecto Patronum!"_

 _The silver glistening dog sprang from my wand, and turned to face me._

 _"Find Alastor Moody, Kingsley Shacklebolt, and Nymphadora Tonks. Tell them to come to Number Twelve Grimmauld Place. I had a vision, and Harry is in trouble."_

 _The dog bowed his large head before disappearing._

 _"Alice!" Dad said, running up to me. "We don't have time to wait for them!"_

 _"We must," I said. "Harry's smart, and he'll get them through this—"_

 _"We don't have time! We have to help him!"_

 _"The best way for you to help him, is to stay here and wait!" I exclaimed, pushing him into a chair. "We have to figure out the best way in!"_

 _Suddenly I heard footsteps rushing through the room, and Remus appeared with the three Order members I had sent for._

 _"Black!" Mad-Eye exclaimed pointing at me. "What exactly did you see?"_

 _"Harry, Hermione Granger, Ron and Ginny Weasley, Neville Longbottom, and Luna Lovegood were going to the Department of Mysteries. They're trying to find Dad. Kreacher told Harry Dad wouldn't come back from the Department of Mysteries."_

 _"What section were they in?"_

 _"There were prophecies," I said._

 _"Hall of Prophecy," Tonks mumbled under her breath._

 _"And there was a black tattered veil."_

 _"That sounds like the Death Chamber," Kingsley said._

 _"You got a number for the isle in the Hall of Prophecy?" Mad-Eye demanded._

 _I shook my head._

 _"Close your eyes," Kingsley said._

 _We all turned to look at him._

 _"Kingsley, we don't have time to—"_

 _"Sirius if you want to find Potter, then your daughter needs to get us a number. So I suggest you let us do this." He turned to me. "You. Eyes closed, now."_

 _I closed my eyes._

 _"Alice, focus on that vision, and bring it back," Kingsley said._

 _I sighed, and focused on the vision I had previously seen._

 _"Do you have it?" Mad-Eye asked. He sounded far away._

 _"Yes," I murmured._

 _"Focus on your surroundings," Kingsley said._

 _I looked around the glowing hall. A little ways down, I could see a marker. I focused on the blurry marker, and the more I focused, the clearer it became._

 _"Ninety-seven," I said, snapping my eyes back open._

 _"Lupin and both Blacks," Mad-Eye said, snapping to gain our attention._

 _The three of us turned to him._

 _"You three go first. If she sees anything else, she can move quicker."_

 _We nodded, and Remus, who had a hold on my waist, reached for Dad's hand._

 _The tube was tight as the three of us squeezed through, appearing in front of the phone booth._

 _I jerked open the door and stepped inside. Remus kept an arm around my waist._

 _"When we get to that floor, we can't wait," I said, to the two of them after I got our badges. "If they see Dad, they'll ambush us."_

 _"I'll change into my Animagus form."_

 _"Won't they know it's you?" I asked._

 _He shook his head._

 _"I'm not like you. I didn't register."_

 _Before I could get another word out he shifted, and the lift came to a jerking hault. Once we were outside the doors, Dad shifted back, and everyone caught up._

 _"So we're going to the Hall of Prophecy, isle ninety-seven, right?" Tonks asked._

 _I closed my eyes and focus on Harry._

 _"They're not there anymore," I mumbled. "They've moved."_

 _"Find them!" Dad exclaimed._

 _Behind me, I could hear shouting, and my eyes snapped open._

 _I turned and kicked the door open before running inside, everyone else following behind me._

 _Lucius Malfoy looked up, and raised his wand to Dad._

 _"Stupify!" Tonks and I shouted in unison._

 _Both streaks of light hit him square in the chest, sending him flying backwards._

 _I Apparated off the platform, and directly in front of Antonin Dolohov._

 _"Crucio!" he hollered._

 _I felt my knees buckle as I dropped to the ground, but nothing registered. I could hear screaming, but I didn't know where it was coming from. I couldn't focus on anything but the pain._

 _I struggled to raise my hands, suddenly thankful for being able to do wandless magic._

 _I concentrated on the wand in the Death Eater's hand as best as I could, and suddenly it clattered against the floor and the pain stopped. So did the screaming. I grabbed my wand, and pointed it at his chest._

 _"Stupify!" I gasped weakly._

 _Much like the older Malfoy, he flew backwards across the room._

 _Remus was ducking through the jets of light, running to me._

 _"Alice!" he yelled._

 _"I'm okay," I gasped, and he pulled me into his arms._

 _"Sirius and I heard you screaming. He was going to come find you, but I told him to go find Harry. That I'd come for you."_

 _In the pain, I had forgotten why we were here. Harry._

 _"Come on," I yelled. "We have to hurry!"_

 _We ran through to where Dad was fighting. The jets of light had stopped, but I wasn't sure why._

 _"Come on!" Dad teased, his voice echoing through the room, as he ducked out of the way of a red light. "You can do better than that!"_

 _The second jet of red light hit him scare in the chest. He laughed as his eyes widened in surprise._

 _It took Dad a long time to fall. His body curved into an arc and he fell through the veil. The second his body touched the veil, he was gone._

 _The room was silent as we waited for Dad to come back through the whispering veil. He didn't reappear. Bellatrix screamed, triumphantly._

 _"SIRIUS!" Harry bellowed. "SIRIUS!"_

 _Harry ran forward, and Remus sprinted after him._

 _I was held frozen in place, unable to bring myself to move as I watched wide eyed in horror._

 _"DAD!" I screamed._

 _I wasn't frozen anymore, and I moved to run forward._

 _Suddenly, someone held me back, pinning me to them. After I moment, I could see that it was Kingsley._

 _"Kingsley let me go!" I shrieked, fighting against him. "DAD!"_

 _Mine and Harry's screams echoed off the walls of the room._

 _"LET ME GO!" I screamed, clawing at Kingsley's hands._

 _"You know I can't do that, Alice. I'm sorry. He's gone."_

 _"HE'S NOT GONE!"_

 _"HE IS NOT DEAD!" roared Harry from beneath me. "SIRIUS!"_

 _I stopped thrashing against Kingsley's hold, and crumpled to the floor, and sobbed._

 _Kingsley let go of me, rushing forward to take Dad's place in the duel with Bellatrix._

 _I looked around the room. The fight seemed to have continued. I clutched my wand and jumped to my feet, rushing for Bellatrix._

 _"Alice!" Remus shouted. "Harry, no!"_

 _"She killed Sirius!" Harry bellowed at him. "She killed him! I'll kill her!"_

 _Bellatrix, who was halfway up the stairs now, turned, and fire one more spell, which hit me in the chest._

 _I fell forward, my legs bound together. Harry disappeared in the same direction Bellatrix had gone. Footsteps ran behind me, and Remus was pulling me into his arms._

 _He muttered a spell under his breath, and my legs were free._

 _I turned in his arms, and buried my face in his chest. While I sobbed, he rocked me side to side._

 _"I'm so sorry, Alice."_

 _"He's not gone," I said again. My voice was muffled by his robes._

 _I knew he had to be gone at this point. However, I thought that if I said it enough times he'd come through the veil laughing, saying it was all a joke. The joke wasn't funny._

 _"He is, Alice," Remus said. His voice was muffled as he buried his face in my hair. "He's gone."_

 _My sobs echoed off the walls of the Death Chamber. Remus held me tightly, and began crying himself. Kingsley, Tonks, and Mad-Eye made their way to us._

 _Sometime later, after I cried all that I could cry, the Minister approached me._

 _"Ms. Black, I am so terribly sorry for your loss," he said, crouching down in front of Remus and I._

 _I stared up at him, but I couldn't speak._

 _"Given the proof that He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named has returned, we have no choice to believe Mr. Potter's story that he gave last June," the Minster continued, pulling out a piece of parchment paper from his robes. "Taking that story into account, we have to believe that Peter Pettigrew is alive. Therefore, Sirius Black is determined innocent, and is now a free man."_

 _"So that's what it took?" I asked. My voice was raspy, and barely went above a whisper. "It took his death to make him free again?"_

 _"Ms. Black, I am truly sorry—"_

 _"I lost twelve years with him," I interrupted. "If I had those twelve years, maybe our relationship would have been better than it was when he died."_

 _The Minister looked at the ground for a long time. When he spoke to me, he didn't meet my eyes._

 _"Ms. Black, we will be sending Dumbledore to your residence, after you've had time to rest of course, to sort out your father's will."_

 _"Thank you, Minister," Remus said, nodding at him._

 _"Of course."_

 _He turned and looked at me._

 _"I truly am sorry, Ms. Black."_

 _"Come on," Remus said in my ear. "Let's go home. The Order is going to meet us there. Once we get there, I will send Floo Molly, and see about Fred and George coming over."_

He wrapped his arms tightly around my waist, and we were gone from the Death Chamber.

"We were working through everything," I said mumbled against Jasper's shoulder. "We were in a good place the day he died."

"That's good."

I looked at Jasper.

"I told him I was scared Remus was going to leave me."

"What'd he say?"

"That if Remus left me, he'd kill him."

I grinned and Jasper laughed.

"Do you think Sirius was mad when Remus got to wherever you go after you die?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"If I know my Dad, I'd say he was happy to see him first, and then he'd be angry with him."

Jasper laughed and I smiled up at him.

"Tell me more about him," Jasper said. "Tell me more about all of them."

"Well what do you want to know?" I asked, closing my eyes. "You know just about everything there is to know about them."

Jasper thought about it.

"I don't know what else there is to know," he said. "I just want to know more."

So I told him stories. Of my days in Hogwarts, and my days in training to be an Auror.

"I thought about becoming an Unspeakable. But after Dad died…." I trailed off and looked up to Jasper.

"An Unspeakable?"

"They work in the Department of Mysteries. I was asking Kingsley about it. But once I saw Dad die in the Death Chamber…."

Jasper put a finger under a chin, and tilted my head back so I was looking at him.

"It's all going to be okay. Don't be sad."

He leaned down and kissed me.

"He wasn't supposed to die," I said quietly.

"What?"

"Dad. He wasn't supposed to die. Bellatrix didn't hit him with the Killing Curse. He wouldn't have died if he hadn't went through the veil."

Jasper closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against the side of my head.

"But," I said, taking his hand in mine, "wherever he is, he has Mum again. And James, and Lily, and Remus. Wherever he is, he's happy. "

Jasper smiled, and I turned to face him.

"And I am here with you. And I'm happy."

Jasper beamed at me.

The day passed, and the day after. On my birthday, Jasper came up to me grinning. He held roses in one hand, and a box in the other.

"Happy birthday!" he exclaimed, kissing my cheek.

"Thank you, Jasper," I said, kissing his cheek as he placed the flowers and box in my hand. "Is this what you've been changing your mind about?"

He nodded proudly.

"I found it a few weeks ago. Open it."

I placed the flowers behind me on the bed, and moved to open the box.

Inside was a ring. It was silver, and inside sat an unfamiliar stone. It was red, and had a few black lines running through it.

"It a jasper stone," he said, as if he had read my mind.

I laughed, and looked up to him.

"It's beautiful, Jasper."

"It gives you courage," he said, taking the ring from the box and sliding it onto my right ring finger.

"Are you calling me a coward?" I teased, looking up at him.

"Of course not," he said, kissing my forehead.

I smiled and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you," I said. "I love it."

"I'm glad."

He kissed me again and looked down at my hands.

"You're not wearing your other rings."

"I have a lot of rings," I said, looking down at my hands. If I wear them all at once, I'm going to start looking like a gypsy."

He laughed.

"Well that's a good point."

I looked up to him.

"But I do love the rings you've given me."

He smiled and kissed me.

"Good to know. Happy birthday, Al."

"Thank you."

He hugged me tightly to him.

"I love you," he said quietly.

"I love you too," I said, grinning up at him.

In the days leading up to the anniversary to the day we met, I spent time in the city, aiming to find the perfect gift. We had decided that we would celebrate our anniversary on the day we met, since we had always been something more than friends.

The day before our anniversary, I found a gift, and I felt like it wasn't much, but it would do.

"I know it's not much," I said, sheepishly, shaking my head. "I asked around, and they say for the first anniversary something paper would be good. Books, calendars, things like that….although I think they were talking about marriage and—"

Jasper cut me off by kissing me and smiled.

"I love it."

"You had said you liked philosophy," I said.

He smiled and nodded.

"I do. I like it. Besides, I did the same thing."

He leaned over the bed, and pulled out a box before handing it to me.

"I thought the ring you gave to me on my birthday was my present."

He shook his head.

"No. I gave you that on your birthday. It was for your birthday. This isn't your birthday."

He smiled, and handed me the box.

"Open it," he said.

I smiled, and moved to open the box.

Inside was a book titled Collected Poems by Edna St. Vincent Millay.

"I thought maybe you'd want more Muggle reading outside your fairy tales."

I grinned.

"I love it, and I love my fairy tales thank you very much."

He laughed and pulled me close to him.

"I know you do. But I figured you might want to try something else."

"Why this though? All the books in the world, and yet you chose this?"

He grinned.  
"That's because this book, happens to hold a poem I like."

"Really?"

He took the book from me.

"Would you like me to read it to you?"

I nodded.

He flipped through the pages, and I closed my eyes. His mouth lingered close to my ear as he began reading to me.

 _"Childhood is not from birth to a certain age and at a certain age, the child is grown, and puts away childish things. Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies._

 _Nobody that matters, that is. Distant relatives of course die, whom one never has seen or has seen for an hour, and they gave one candy in a pink-and-green stripéd bag, or a jack-knife, and went away, and cannot really be said to have lived at all."_

His voice was soothing as he read.

 _"And cats die. They lie on the floor and lash their tails, and their reticent fur is suddenly all in motion, with fleas that one never knew were there, polished and brown, knowing all there is to know, trekking off into the living world. You fetch a shoe-box, but it's much too small, because she won't curl up now: So you find a bigger box, and bury her in the yard, and weep. But you do not wake up a month from then, two months, a year from then, two years, in the middle of the night, and weep, with your knuckles in your mouth, and say Oh, God! Oh, God!_

 _Childhood is the kingdom where nobody dies that matters—mothers and fathers don't die."_

He paused, and glanced down at me.

I was comfortable. Between Jasper's soothing voice, and the tight hold he had around me, it made me feel safe.

"Should I continue?" he asked in my ear.

I nodded.

"Please do."

He smiled, and returned his attention to the book.

 _"And if you have said, 'For heaven's sake, must you always be kissing a person?' Or, 'I do wish to gracious you'd stop tapping on the window with your thimble!' Tomorrow, or even the day after tomorrow if you're busy having fun, is plenty of time to say, 'I'm sorry, mother.'_

 _"To be grown up is to sit at the table with people who have died, who neither listen nor speak; who do not drink their tea, though they always said, tea was such a comfort._

 _"Run down into the cellar and bring up the last jar of raspberries;_

 _they are not tempted. Flatter them, ask them what was it they said exactly that time, to the bishop, or to the overseer, or to Mrs. Mason; they are not taken in._

 _Shout at them, get red in the face, rise, drag them up out of their chairs by their stiff shoulders and shake them and yell at them; they are not startled, they are not even embarrassed; they slide back into their tea is cold now. You drink it standing up, and leave the house."_

He closed the book, and laid it down at my side.

"So tell me," he said, "do you like these more than your fairy tales?"

I shook my head.

"Never."

"Do you at least like it?"

I grinned.

"Of course I like it. You gave it to me, so I'll read it, of course."

"Even if you don't, I will," he said smiling.

I laughed and turned in his arms to face him.

"Well some use will come out of it."

I pushed his hair out of his eyes.

"Thank you, Jasper."

He smiled, and pressed his forehead against mine.

"Don't thank me," he murmured. "I'd give you the world if I could."

I grinned.

"I already have the one thing I want."

"What's that?" he questioned, his voice turned more soothing than it had been before.

"You," I said, smiling.

"Forever," he murmured before kissing me.

* * *

 **Happy Valentine's Day! I unintentionally wrote this chapter corresponding to Valentine's Day….Well technically my time, it's not Valentine's Day yet. We still have two hours. BUT on any note, I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and those to come.**

 **New chapters will come soon, so be on the lookout!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	30. Back to New York

_"New York is not a city. It's a world." ~Iman_

* * *

Chapter 30- Back to New York Alice's POV

"Jasper!" I exclaimed, jumping onto his back.

It was the day after our anniversary, and he was flipping through the book I had gotten him.

"Hey," he laughed, rolling me onto my back and rolled back onto his stomach. "You're nervous, but you're excited. What's up?"

"I want to talk to you about something."

"Okay, so talk," he said, smiling. "You know you can tell me anything."

I nodded and breathed in deeply.

"I think it's time."

"Time?"

"To go back to Helen and Tobias."

He smiled.

"I think that's a good idea."

"Really?"

He nodded.

"I'd like to meet them. Besides, I know it is in our future to stay with them for a while. Besides, we leave tomorrow anyways."

"Thank you!" I exclaimed, throwing my arms around him.

"Of course," he laughed, kissing my cheek.

"So we leave in the morning?"

"We leave in the morning."

I grinned, and kissed him.

"Thank you, Jazz."

He smiled, and pulled me close to his side.

I was up early, and started packing. Making sure that everything was put in their proper spot while Jasper straightened up our room.

"Are you almost ready?" I asked, after we changed, and everything was cleaned.

He nodded.

"Are you?"

I grinned and nodded.

"Most definitely."

"Then let's go."

He extended his hand to me, which I took without a second thought.

"Ali, do you have an address?"

I nodded, and pulled it from my jacket pocket. I had grabbed it when I was packing everything up.

I passed it to him, and he glanced down at it.

"This shouldn't be too hard to find," Jasper said, passing the paper back to me.

"Good," I beamed.

He smiled down at me, and then his smiled disappeared.

"What is it?" I asked, pausing and looking at him.

"They don't know you yet," he said, quietly. "How do you know they'll believe you?"

"Well I'm here, aren't I?" I asked him, smiling. "If I'm here, they had to of believed me."

Jasper grinned.

"I suppose you're right about that."

"I mean, don't get me wrong, it's a lot to take in. But I'm sure, like you, it will take some explanation, and some proof to reason with them."

"Well you shouldn't have a problem with that."

I grinned.

"Well I would hope not. Besides, you guys know of some of our history anyways."

Jasper looked at me curiously.

"We do?"

I nodded.

"You made a fairy tale out of it."

"Which one?"

"Sleeping Beauty. The one about the girl who pricks her finger on the spinning wheel."

"I know of it. But how does that tie into your history?"

"Well, it's not exactly the same story, but yours was based off ours. A hag named Leticia Somnolens was jealous of the king's daughter. So she put Draught of Living Death on a spindle, and tricked the princess into pricking her finger. Sometime later, a prince put some Wiggenweld Potion on his lips and kissed the princess. And it woke her up."

"So how did he get the story?"

I shrugged.

"Maybe he was a villager. Maybe Somnolens gave him the story, or he wrote it down before he was Obliviated. I couldn't tell you the answer, but either way, he did."

Jasper smiled.

"Well, either way it goes, your history is very interesting."

"Yes," I agreed. "I didn't realize it until last night. I couldn't remember why the story was so familiar to me."

"So tell me more about them," Jasper said. "Helen and Tobias, I mean."

"Well I know that Helen is from Greece, and Tobias came from France. They've been in America for some time now, and they said after some time, my accent would be there, just not as heavy."

"When that day comes, it will be a great shame. I like your accent."

I smiled at him.

"I like it too. But once it fades, my cover up story will be more believable."

He shrugged.

"I guess you're right about that."

"What else do you want to know about them?"

"Will they like me?"

I nodded.

"They spoke very highly of you to me. They say that you love me very much, and you don't like being far away from me."

"Well they're not wrong," he said, looking away from me.

"Don't be embarrassed, sweetheart," I said, reaching up to kiss his face. "Speaking honestly, I don't care too much for being away from you either."

"Really?"

I nodded.

"I'm scared if I let go of you for too long, then you'll disappear."

"A year later and you still think I'm leaving?" he asked softly.

I nodded.

"I guess in a way, I'll always be afraid."

Jasper sighed and stopped, pulling me into his arms.

"I'm not leaving," he said, kissing the top of my head. "Ever. I promise you."

"I know you won't," I murmured.

"You feel safe."

It wasn't a question.

I nodded.

"Yes. I always feel safer with you. You know this."

I could feel him smile against the top of my head.

"I'll always keep you safe."

"I know. Now come on. We've got to get to New York."

He kept his arm wrapped tightly around me, and the pair of us started to run again.

"It didn't take us very long to get to New York. Took about two hours to get to Manhattan, where the sun was starting to come out behind thin grey clouds.

"It will stay covered for two more hours," I said, opening my eyes.

We had stopped, hidden behind a building hiding in the shade.

Jasper nodded.

"We need to move quickly then. Manhattan is a decent sized city."

It took us another forty-five minutes for Jasper to find the address on the paper.

"You're amazing!" I said, throwing my arms around his neck.

He laughed, and looked down at me.

"Are you ready?"

I nodded.

"Come on then."

There weren't many windows on the front of the house, but the ones that were, you could tell they were covered by heavy drapes.

I opened the front gate, and stepped through, closing it once Jasper stepped through. Taking Jasper's hand, I walked slowly up the stairs to the door. Each step made the door seem further and further away.

"Don't be nervous," Jasper said, quietly. "It's all going to be okay."

In that instance, a wave of reassurance washed over me.

"Thank you," I murmured as I stepped onto the porch.

"Of course," he said, wrapping his arm around my waist.

I knocked on the door, and quickly stepped back to Jasper's side.

"One moment," Helen's voice called from inside.

She must have been walking at a human pace because it took a few moments for Helen to open the door.

"Hello," she said, looking between Jasper and I. "What can I do for you?"

"Hi, Helen," I said, smiling at her. "My name is Mary Alice Black. You and Tobias are my creators."

* * *

 **I know this chapter was short, but it's like most travel chapters. I hope you enjoyed the chapter! We're getting closer to the Cullens, and we're getting closer to where I was when I pulled the story!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	31. Helen and Tobias

_"The best mirror is an old friend." George Herbert_

* * *

Chapter 31- Helen and Tobias Alice's POV

"I'm sorry," Helen said, opening the door fully. Her long, wavy, red hair sat in a pile on the top of her head. "I think you have the wrong person."

"You are Helen Blanchett, aren't you?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I am," she said, watching me carefully.

"I can explain everything," I said. "Please, just give me a chance."

She studied my face, before sighing. She stepped to the side, and gestured for Jasper and I to come inside.

"Please," she said. "Come in."

"Thank you, very much."

"Tobias," Helen called, although her voice was the same tone she had just spoken to me in. "Come here, please. We have visitors."

She turned back to Jasper and I.

"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"Jasper Whitlock," Jasper said, extending his hand.

She took it and smiled warmly.

"It's nice to meet you, Jasper."

Tobias appeared from a long hallway.

"Hello," he said, looking at me, and extending his hand.

"Tobias, this is Mary Alice Black, and Jasper Whitlock."

"Please, just call me Alice," I said, shaking his hand.

It felt odd. I had known them for a year, and yet I was shaking their hands.

"Alright, Alice then."

"Alice says we're her creators," Helen said to Tobias, never taking her eyes off me.

"If you'll hear me out, I can explain everything."

"Well, let's sit down, shall we?" Tobias asked, cheerfully.

He gestured to the sofa and loveseat in front of the fireplace.

Jasper guided me to the couch, and Tobias did the same for Helen.

"Now, Alice, I mean this in the nicest way possible, but you said you'd give us an explanation."

I nodded.

"You're right. I did," I said, looking up at the two of them. "I think the best way to give you that explanation, is to tell you some of my story."

"Feel free," Helen said, smiling at me.

"See, I was born on June twentieth of 1976," I said looking down at my lap. "I had just finished fighting in the Second Wizarding War when the two of you found me. The year was 1998. You explained to me that there was a tracker, who's name is James, was tracking me. He had picked up my scent some time before. You two, were going to bring me back in time, and then go back to alter his memory."

I looked up to the two of them.  
"I'm sorry. I'm not making much sense am I?"

"No, no," Helen said, leaning towards me. "I understand. I think there's too much going through your head."

"Maybe you should start with the beginning," Jasper said to me quietly. "That may help you sort out everything."

"I think that's a good idea," Tobias agreed. "Start from the beginning. Tell us your whole story."

I looked over to Jasper, who nodded encouragingly.

"You've got this, Darlin'."

I turned back to Helen and Tobias. Despite knowing them for a year, it felt strange telling them my story. They had already known it when I had known them.

"Like I said before, I was born on June 20, 1976 to Sirius and Johanna Black. My parents were still in school. They were only sixteen. They made arrangements with the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, to make sure I was watched after while they were in classes."

I paused, and Jasper pulled me close to him.

"I was four when my mother died. I was turning five, the next month. She was murdered, by my cousin Bellatrix Lestrange. She was one of the major followers of a dark wizard. The wizard's name was Voldemort, and his followers were called Death Eaters. They were looking for my father, trying to get information about two of his best friends, who were in hiding, James and Lily Potter. Their son, Harry, he would be the downfall to Voldemort, so Voldemort wanted him dead. James was one of my godfathers and Lily was my godmother."

I looked over to Jasper, who was watching me intently.

"My gift, in my past life and in this one, is I can see the future. I saw my father being killed, but he didn't believe me.

'Please don't tell Mummy anymore of your stories. She worries enough, and she'll only worry more.' he told me. Then he left."

I shook my head.

"I didn't see Mum dying until it was too late. My gift has limits. I can only see the path is a person it's on while their on it. I can see the outcomes of different paths. Bellatrix decided on it at the last second. She thought I would see it, and I would tell Dad, and we would come back."

As my voice broke, and my breath quivered, Jasper pressed his lips against the side of my head.

"It's okay," he murmured. "It's all okay."

"Maybe we should give her a break," Helen said watching me carefully. "We can give the two of you a chance to get unpacked. I'm sure the two of you will be staying with us for some time."

I nodded.

"You said we stayed with you until you left to get me. I would help you learn everything you need to know about me in that time."

"Okay. Then you go get unpacked. Then you can tell us this story when you've settled in," Helen said, placing a hand on my shoulder.

Helen showed us to their spare room, then left us to get settled. It took us about an hour to get everything unpacked.

"Are you okay, Darlin'?" Jasper asked me, as I picked the scrapbooks up off the dresser, as well as books that would help me tell the story.

I nodded.

"It's just strange. I've known them for a year. Yet here I am telling them my story."

"Well they have to learn it somehow," he said, smiling. "How else are they going to get you to trust them?"

I sighed and smiled as I looked up to his face.

"Come on," I said, pulling on his hand. "Let's go finish telling them my story."

When we returned to the living room, Helen and Tobias had barely moved.

Jasper and I returned to our spot on the loveseat across from them. I passed them the scrapbook I had been keeping in this time.

"When you guys left, you told me I had kept a scrapbook of all the places Jasper and I have traveled."

"Did we create him too?"

I shook my head.

"You led me to him. In Philadelphia."

"I assume he'll come up in your story," Helen guessed.  
I nodded.

"Whenever you feel you can continue, go ahead," Helen said, smiling at me.

I nodded.

"After my mother died, my other godfather, Remus Lupin, started spending more time at my house. My father….well my mother was his world. When she died, he became depressed, and it was hard for him to look after me. On Halloween that year, I had a vision. I saw Voldemort going to James and Lily's. Dad figured he'd go to investigate, and left Remus with me. That night, Voldemort killed James and Lily. The spell rebounded when he tried to kill Harry, and instead, he destroyed himself. Harry became the first, and only person in the history of my kind, to survive the Killing Curse."

"How did he find them if they were in hiding?" Tobias questioned.

"Well they were in hiding in a place called Godric's Hollow. The house they were living in, had a protective charm on it called the Fidelius Charm. When a place is protected under that charm, there is a person called the Secret Keeper. They know the location, and when they give it to another, that person can then see the location. In the beginning, my father was the secret keeper to the Potters. He realized Voldemort would know James and Lily would choose him, so they changed it. To another friend by the name of Peter Pettigrew. They changed it in secret. No one knew. Not my mother, not Albus Dumbledore, and not Remus. So when the Potters were found after Pettigrew gave away their location, everyone blamed my father. He of course knew the truth and that night, he went after Pettigrew. Pettigrew blew up the street, killing twelve Muggles—"

"Muggles?"

"Non-Magic people," I said, looking up at them. "Forgive me, I forget that people in this world don't know our terminology."

"That's okay, Alice," Tobias said grinning. "Please. Continue."

I smiled.

"After killing the Muggles, Pettigrew cut of his finger, to make it seem like my father had killed him. Then he turned into his Animagus form, which I will show you in a moment, and escaped."

"What's his Animagus form?" Helen asked watching me.

"A rat."

Both Helen and Tobias raised their eyebrows at me.

"Here, let me show you how it works."

I took off my wand holster, and placed it in Jasper's lap.

"Now an Animagus is a witch or a wizard who can turn into an animal at will. I became one when I was seventeen, to help Remus during the time of the full moon."

"Full moon?" Helen questioned. "Remus was a werewolf?"

I nodded.

"But like most things, more will be told in my story."

I stood up and moved to the area of the living room where there was nothing but two racks of shoes.

I focused on the ground, and I could see it coming closer to me. As I looked up, Helen and Tobias's eyes grew wide.

I bounded back over to the space between the couches, and sat in front of Jasper's legs. I rested my large head on his knees, and he leaned forward to pet my head. Tobias crouched down in front of Jasper and extended his hand out to touch me.

"Incredible," he murmured.

"She prefers this form," Jasper said, still petting the top of my head. "She told me she feels the most free this way."

He beamed down at me, and I started focusing on returning to my human form.

"He's not wrong," I said, smiling, taking my holster back off his lap. "My father's Animagus took the same form. Although he was slightly larger."

Helen was grinning up at me.

"That's amazing!"

"Thank you," I said smiling warmly at her.

Tobias stared back up at me in wonder.

"I would never have believed it if I hadn't saw it with my own two eyes."

I grinned at him, and he returned to his spot next to Helen.

"Now, where was I?"

"Peter Pettigrew escaping after killing Muggles, and cutting off his finger."

"Right. Well naturally, Dad was arrested for the murder of Peter Pettigrew and the twelve Muggles. He was sent away to Azkaban, the wizarding prison. I went to live with Remus after that. He raised me, and when I was eleven, I got accepted in Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. And I returned to the castle, where I hadn't been since my parents were in school."

I opened up one of my scrapbooks to show them a picture of me before leaving for Kings Cross Station.

"That was me back then."

They watched as I danced happily to my trunk, and where my owl sat in a cage.

"You had an owl?" Tobias questioned, looking up from the picture.

I nodded.  
"I named him Regulus. After my uncle. I had a pretty normal time there, until in my fifth year, when Harry came to school. He was a magnet for trouble," I said, laughing.

I reached over to flip to the earliest picture I had of Harry.

"Who are these two boys with you here?" Tobias asked, tapping a picture of Fred, George, and I.

"My best friends," I said, smiling down at the picture. "That's Fred, and that's George."

"They mean a lot to you," Helen said, watching me.

"Yes," I said, meeting their eyes. "They do."

"What happened when Harry came to Hogwarts?" Tobias asked, looking back up to me.

"Well the first year, Voldemort had attached himself to the body of our Defence Against the Dark Arts professor—"

"I thought you said Voldemort died," Helen said, frowning.

"No," I said, leaning back into Jasper's arms. "I said he destroyed himself. Voldemort made what were called Horcruxes. They're pieces of your soul, placed into common objects. Voldemort made seven, so when the Killing Curse rebounded, he didn't die."

"Why did he attach himself to your professor?"

"He wanted to get to the Philosopher's Stone. It had the Elixir of Life. Voldemort wanted to use it to return to his body."

"Did he get to?"

I shook my head.  
"Harry got to him. I don't know the full extent of what happened that day. I do know that something happened, and when Harry touched Quirrell, it killed him."

"What happened to Voldemort?"

"He got away. Escaped to a forest in Albania. That all happened at the end of Harry's first year. In his second year, the Chamber of Secrets were opened."

I paused, and pulled out my copy of Hogwarts: A History. I flipped the chapter about the Chamber, and passed it to Helen and Tobias.

"Centuries ago, Hogwarts was founded by four people. Godric Gryffindor, Rowena Ravenclaw, Helga Hufflepuff, and Salazar Slytherin. Their names, became the names of the four houses of Hogwarts. Each founder had a different belief on who should be allowed in the , has three kinds of blood. Pureblood, Halfblood, and Muggle-born, and Slytherin only wanted to admit purebloods into the school. This caused the founders to get into a dispute, and Slytherin was driven out of the school. Before he left however, he made a secret chamber. One that could only be opened when his heir attended Hogwarts. It has only been opened two times in the history of Hogwarts."

"Harry opened it?"

I shook my head.

"The first time, Voldemort did. He was the closest heir of Salazar Slytherin. The second time, it was Voldemort again. This time, however, he used one of his Horcruxes. A diary, and he controlled Ginny Weasley, Fred and George's younger sister."

"It says here there's a monster in the Chamber," Tobias said, looking up at me.

I nodded.

"A basilisk."

From my feet, I pulled up a copy of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, opened to the page about the Basilisk before handing it to them.

"Has anyone looked in its eyes?" Helen asked, scanning the page. "It says if you look into its eyes, you die."

"And that's right. Only one person has died from it. The first time it opened, a girl named Myrtle. In my time, we called her Moaning Myrtle. The second time the Chamber opened, nobody died, but several were petrified. They looked into its eyes through a reflection."

They closed both of the books, and placed them on the table between the couches.

I flipped a few pages in the scrapbook. The one of Remus and I after we had just gotten together.

"In my last year at Hogwarts, and Harry's third, Remus became the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, and on my seventeenth birthday, which in my world was the year you became of-age, Remus and I became a couple."

I watched the picture as Remus kissed me, and then I turned to look at Jasper, he watched the picture with sad eyes.

I leaned back to kiss him.

"It's in the past, Jazz," I murmured, pressing his forehead against his. "I love you."

"You'll always love him in some way," Jasper said, quietly.

I sighed.

"I'll never love him the way I love you."

"I know," he whispered, kissing my forehead.

"Don't forget, Jasper," I murmured not meeting his eyes. "You loved someone before me once."

He looked up at me sadly, and kissed me once more.

"I know that too."

The conversation took only a few quick seconds, and when I turned back to Helen and Tobias, they continued to stare down at the picture.

"I did love him," I said, continuing my story. "For the longest time, he was the thing I loved most. Aside from Fred and George maybe. The staff of Hogwarts knew of our relationship, and for the most part, we were strictly professional. He sat with me at the Slytherin table from time to time, but that was the most we went as far as going public. That year though, before the school year started, my father escaped from prison. It was one of the biggest things in the history of Wizardkind."

"One person breaking out of prison?"

"Well nobody has ever broken out of Azkaban. The guards, Dementors, they ensured you wouldn't leave before your sentence was up. If your sentence ever ended for that matter."

"Dementors aren't in this book," Tobias said, picking up Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

"Have you ever heard of a wraith?"

They nodded.

"Well Dementors are like wraiths. But a Dementor, they feed off of happiness. If they get close enough, they give you a fate worse than death."

"What's worse than death?"

"If they get close enough, they give what's called a Dementor's Kiss. When they perform the Kiss, they consume your soul."

Helen and Tobias looked horrified.

"It's a fare worse than death, because they don't kill you. They take all the happiness from you and then you are left an empty shell. After all, it's our souls that make us who you are."

I turned and looked back at Jasper. His eyes were closed as he listened intently.

"So how did he get past them?"

"Dementors can't see. They feel and smell. He skipped meals and before long, in his Animagus form he could slip through the bars."

"Did he come for you?"

I shook my head.

"No. He came to seek out Peter Pettigrew. Although, everyone seemed to think he was coming for Harry. At the end of the school year, before I graduated, Dad, Remus, and I confronted Pettigrew."

"Where was he?"  
"Well Ron, Fred and George's younger brother, had a pet rat named Scabbers. We had all noticed that he lived longer than the common garden rat, but nobody really thought anything of it. As it would turn out, Peter Pettigrew was Scabbers."

"How'd you find it out?"

"During their time in Hogwarts, James, Dad, Remus, and Pettigrew were close. They called themselves the Marauders, and made what was called the Marauder's Map."

I paused, and looked down at my feet searching for my copy of the map. Once I found it, I pulled it up and pulled out my wand. I slipped down to the floor, moving the scrapbooks, and laying the map out on the table.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," I said quietly.

I watched as the Hogwarts map unfolded before me.

"Their isn't really anybody there but the Professors," I murmured looking down at the map. "There's Dumbledore in his study. He paces a lot. Anyways, they made this map when they were in school. The map never lies, and it shows where everyone is at every second."

"This is how they found him?"

I nodded.

"One night, Harry saw Pettigrew's name on the map. When he told Remus, Remus came to get me. We learned my father was innocent."

"So he was free?"

I shook my head.

"At the end of that school year, right before I graduated, Dad, Remus, and I confronted Pettigrew. Remus had forgotten to take his Wolfsbane Potion. It would help him keep his mind during his transformation. Dad and I were focused on getting Remus under control and keeping the children safe, Pettigrew escaped."

I looked down at the ground, and Jasper pulled me tightly to him before kissing my shoulder.

"He made his way to Albania," I said, resting my head on Jasper's shoulder. "He found Voldemort and started taking care of him. In the next year, Voldemort was brought back to his body. The year after that, at the Ministry of Magic, my father was killed by our cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange. The same Bellatrix who killed my mother."

I paused again, and looked down to Jasper's hand that rested on the arm wrapped around me. I took it before looking back up at Helen and Tobias.

"I watched both my parents die. And that night, Remus left me."

As I spoke, Jasper tightened his hold, and with him there, I couldn't feel upset about it.

"After he left, I went undercover for the Death Eaters."

I rolled up my sleeve and extended my arm to Helen and Tobias.

"That shouldn't be there," Tobias said, studying my arm.

"Scars and marks that were placed by magic, aren't taken by venom. So I still have scars from Remus, and some from curses."

Helen watched me carefully.

"Did that hurt?" she asked, pointing to the Dark Mark.

I shrugged.

"I think me trying to claw it off hurt more."

"Why'd you try to claw it off?" Tobias asked, bewildered.

"I didn't want the mark of Voldemort on me."

I sighed and looked down at my arm.

"Fred told me they'd love me no matter what. He stayed true to that problem. But when Remus married my cousin, Tonks, they saw less and less of me. I tried avoiding Remus at all costs."

I smiled and shook my head.

"Am I making any sense to you?" I questioned, looking up at them. They both smiled and nodded.

"You're doing wonderfully," Helen said.

I nodded.

"Good….when Dumbledore died, and Severus Snape, a close friend of mine, and another person undercover with me, took over as headmaster, I returned to Hogwarts for the last time. Harry was searching for Voldemort's Horcruxes. What he didn't know was that he himself was one, and he would have to die to end Voldemort. After Easter, Voldemort summoned me. Harry had been caught, and he wanted to make sure my alliance hadn't faltered. This is where James picked up my scent for this first time. Voldemort took me to a house, and told me I would kill the people inside."

I paused again and closed my eyes.

"It's okay, Al," Jasper murmured in my ear. "You're not there. You're here with me."

He lingered by my ear, and I tightened my hold on his hand.

"It was a family. I killed a woman in front of her husband and son….Henry, the son, he was four years old. Like his parents, I had no choice. I had to kill him to keep my cover alive."

I didn't meet any of their eyes. Jasper held me tightly to him.

"I killed a child, and in that moment I knew I couldn't forgive myself. A week later, I would fight in the final battle of the Second Wizarding War. We would call it the Battle of Hogwarts. Fred died that night. So did Remus."

I leaned forward, and flipped the scrapbook to the final page, with the picture of me and Teddy, and my family.

"You had a baby?" Helen asked, surprised.

I shook my head.

"It was Remus's son. But he was left an orphan."

"His mother died too?"

I nodded.

"Yes. Tonks died too. But it was that night that I decided I couldn't go on living. Between the things I had done and the lives I had costed, once Harry defeated Voldemort, I didn't see the need for me anymore."

"I thought you said Harry had to die," Tobias said, frowning.

"And he did. But once the Horcrux was killed, Harry was able to come back to life and end Voldemort once and for all. We've reached the point of the story where the two of you come in."

They smiled at Jasper and I, and I gave them a week smile in return.

"On the night of Remus's funeral, we held a party to remember the lives of our fallen," I pointed to the picture. "I was one of the first ones to leave because I was planning to take my own life that night. When I left, I ran into Tobias in an alley. He brought me back to the two of you, and you explained everything to me. Then on May 12, Tobias bit me, and my transformation began."

I smiled and turned back to face Jasper.

"I saw Jasper's face during my transformation. I thought he was an angel. I fought through the fire for my angel."

He smiled and leaned forward to kiss my cheek.

I turned back to face them.

"You two helped me fake my death, and then brought me back to June 20, 1948."

They nodded, and flipped through the photo album Jasper and I kept.

"I think it would help us if we could learn more about your family," Helen said. "It could help us gain your trust in the future."

I nodded.

"I can tell you everything you want to know."

Helen nodded.

"We'll let you go get your photo albums and books back in order, then we can start."

"Fantastic," I said, standing and collecting my stuff. Jasper stood with me, and helped me carry everything back to the bag.

"I didn't make the slightest bit of sense," I groaned once we got down into the bag.

"They seemed to pick up okay," Jasper said, smiling at me.

"It's a good thing too….I was just so nervous. I've known them for a year! They knew my story already. They knew you before I did!"

I groaned and hit my head on his shoulder.

"You did just fine, Alice. Calm down, sweetheart. You've had too much on your nerves."

I sighed and closed my eyes.

Once everything was packed away where it was supposed to go, Jasper and I headed back up to the house, preparing to tell Helen and Tobias about my family.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know this chapter seemed confusing, BUT HEAR ME OUT! Say you've known someone for a year, but their just meeting you. It would be an odd conversation to tell them a story they already knew when you met them. The way I pictured it, Alice got very nervous, and because of that, she didn't tell the story as clearly as what she told Jasper, or what she'll tell the Cullens. Now I know you guys have heard the story a few times now, but the reason for that is everyone reacts to it differently.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	32. Family Ties

_"...My parents, with their pure-blood mania, convinced that to be a Black made you practically royal..." ~Sirius Black, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix_

* * *

Chapter 32- Family Ties Alice's POV

"So," I said, as Jasper and I sat down. In the time that we were gone, Helen had gotten out a notepad and pen. "Where do we start?"

"You said your parents name was Sirius and Johanna Black, right?"

I nodded.

"Tell me about them," she prompted. She paused, and then looked back at me. "Or at least tell me what you can remember about them."

I nodded.

"Of course."

Jasper tightened his hold around me waist, and I turned to face Helen.

"I can remember that my mother was my father's whole world. She was the thing that he loved most. They had been together for some time. They got together sometime in their fifth year, I believe. I do know they weren't together for very long when I was born."

"I don't mean to be rude, but I am genuinely curious. Is teen pregnancies a common thing in your world?"

I chuckled and shook my head.

"No, not that I know of. The only case I ever heard of was Mum and Dad. But early pregnancies were common. Lily was twenty when she had Harry, I'm pretty sure."

"Can you tell me more about your father's family?"

I nodded.

"I can tell you all that I know."

"That'd be great."

I nodded.

"The Black Family is one of the Sacred Twenty-Eight. The Sacred Twenty-Eight are the twenty-eight wizarding families who were still completely Pure-blood by the 1930s. My family, more in particular my grandmother, Walburga, and grandfather, Orion, according to Dad, believed that to be a Black, practically made you royalty. We weren't a family with an entire magical ancestry like we made people believe. Those obsessed with blood purity simply removed any trace of a Muggle or a Squib."

"What's a Squib?" Tobias asked.

"Their pretty much the opposite of a Muggleborn witch or wizard. A muggleborn is a witch or wizard born to Muggles. A Squib is a Muggle born to a witch or wizard. Or both, depending on who you talk to. Muggleborns, are actually descendants of Squibs who've married Muggles, and the magic gene reappears in their generation. They're not common, but their not uncommon either. I knew of several."

"So why did your family erase traces of squibs?" Helen asked.

"They're like Muggles. They can't do magic."

"What if they trained?"

I shook my head.

"Not even then."

"So your family erased them?"

"Yes. My grandmother burned them off the family tapestry in my father's childhood home. My father was burned off after he ran away."

"He ran away?"

I nodded.

"The Black family wanted to keep things pure. A lot of the time, they would marry cousins. Dad had a broken relationship with my grandparents, and with my uncle, Regulus. He didn't hold the same views as them. Neither did my mother for that matter. I think that's what brought them together. They were two outcasts in their families…."

I trailed off as I thought of my parents. Everyone sat quietly for a few minutes before Jasper leaned up to my ear.

"Don't be sad, Darlin'. It's okay."

I turned to look at him. His dark gold eyes bore back into mine.

Looking into his eyes made it impossible to be sad, like it always did. Like it always did, my angel made it all better. He leaned forward and kissed my cheek before smiling warmly at me.

I smiled, and turned back to Helen and Tobias who were grinning just as widely.

"How about your mother's family?" Tobias asked.

"Same as my father's. Mum was originally called Johanna Nott. She and my Dad got married right before I was born. They didn't get married because they were having me though….they loved each other, very much. I believe that Mum and Dad were soulmates."

I paused and looked at the two of them.

"Aside from having soulmates, like we all seem to have, before you knew of each other, did you believe in true love?"

They thought about it for a moment, and then Tobias shook his head.

"I didn't believe in true love in my human life. It was until I met Helen that I believed that."

"I always have. I believed it with Mum and Dad. I believed it for Molly and Arthur, Fred and George's parents. For a time, I believed it for Remus and I," I paused and looked over to Jasper. "In the last year, I've learned Remus was not my true love."

Jasper smirked as I pushed the hair out of his eyes.

"When I met the two of you, I felt like I didn't have a soulmate. I looked at the relationships around me, and it didn't make sense. I looked at my parents, and Fred and George's parents. I felt there was no chance at love. While I was under my transformation, I saw Jasper's face. I thought he was an angel. I knew that I loved him, and I began to believe in the possibility of true love again."

I shook my head.

"I don't know as much about my mother's family as I do my fathers. There were Death Eaters from both sides, but I spent more time with Bellatrix and Narcissa."

"I've heard of Bellatrix, but who is Narcissa?"

"Another cousin. My father's uncle, Cygnus Black, married Druella Rosier. Together, they had three children. Bellatrix, Narcissa, and Andromeda. Much like my father, Andromeda was disowned. She married a Muggleborn. Edward Tonks."

"Remus's wife was their daughter?"

I nodded.

"I still don't see how he could do that," Helen growled. "He not only left you the same night your father died, but he turned around and married your cousin."

I chuckled.

"I didn't understand it either. He said he didn't love me. A year later he and Tonks became a couple, and then a month or so later, they got married. In April of 1998, Teddy was born."

I shook my head again.

"He must have really loved her if he had a child with her."

"Why do you say that?" Tobias asked.

I looked up at him.

"Remus said he'd never have a child with me. He'd marry me, but we'd never have children. He didn't want the lycanthropy to pass on to our child. He had a child with her."

Jasper rested his chin on my shoulder. He must have picked up on the slight shift in my mood.

"It still hurts to think about," I said, watching the two of them. "It will always hurt in one way or another. Even though I have Jasper now, I loved Remus very much."

"Tell us about something that will make you happier," Helen said, watching me carefully. "How about Fred and George? Or Harry?"

I smiled.

"Each of the three made me happy in their own special way. They made me realize that family is not about blood. It's about where you feel at home. Family is where you're loved."

"How'd you meet Fred and George? Was it at Hogwarts?"

I shook my head.

"After Dad was arrested, and I moved in with Remus, during the full moon, I would go and stay with the Weasley family. Fred and George were young when I started going there. I was the same age as their older brother Percy. When they grew up a little more we became very close, and when they came to Hogwarts, we were the best of friends. They were there with me through everything. When my father escaped and when Remus left. When I became a Death Eater."

I looked down at the ground.

"Fred died in the final battle. One of the extra gifts I had, aside from my visions of the future, was being able to see into the present of my family. On the last time I saw them, George and Harry were looking for the Resurrection Stone to try and talk to me. They were able to bring Fred back, and Fred saw me. He told me everyone was so proud of me."

"How could they not be?" Helen questioned. "From what you've told us, you've done a noble thing."

"I wouldn't call it noble. I just did what had to be done, and I'm glad I did."

I turned and looked at Jasper.

I told them more about James and Victoria. About how James picked up my scent.

"What was he even doing in London? Most nomads don't leave the Americas."

I shrugged.

"I suppose for a vacation. I'm not sure why he was there, but when he stumbled onto that family's house, he picked up my scent, and the hunt began."

Tobias shook his head.

"I've heard of James. He's dangerous."

I nodded.

"You and Helen told me that. You made me swear I wouldn't seek him out."

"It's a good promise," Helen said.

I chuckled and leaned back.

"I'm sure it is. He made me promise the same thing," I said, pointing a finger at Jasper, who sat quietly next to me, reading.

He looked up and looked around, causing Helen, Tobias, and I to laugh.

"Well, Alice," Tobias said as the sun starts to set. "We look forward to getting to know you in the next couple months."

I smiled.

"And I look forward to getting to know more about you."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know the chapter is short, but I didn't really want to put a lot of the same repetitive information. Over the next few chapters, time will move a lot faster, so there really won't be a lot of chapters detailing Alice and Jasper's stay with Helen and Tobias. Keep in mind that once Alice and Jasper leave them, they will still appear in the story. I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	33. A Day of Shopping

_"We didn't realize we were making memories. We just knew we were having fun." ~Winnie the Pooh_

* * *

Chapter 33- A Day of Shopping Alice's POV

Over the next few weeks, Jasper and I spent a lot of time with Helen and Tobias. They told me more about the early days of their relationship.

"Much like you with Jasper, I knew I loved Tobias from the moment I saw him," Helen said, smiling at Tobias.

"I knew that I couldn't live without her in my life," Tobias said, smiling. "I know it sounds selfish….taking her human life for my own benefit. But I did talk to her about it before I actually changed her."

Helen pointed up to a painting that hung above the mantle on the fireplace.

The pair of them were facing each other, and both were grinning widely. Helen was wearing a dress that in a way reminded me of Fleur's. The difference was Helen's was long sleeved.

"That was painted on our wedding day. We didn't have cameras back then, but I hired a painter so I would have the moment forever."

I smiled and looked up there.

"It was a beautiful wedding. I don't have to be there to see that. I also can see that you love each other very much."

They smiled and nodded.

"That we do."

Later that night, as Jasper and I laid in the room, which we had all agreed wouldn't be a bad thing to spend time away from each other, I started thinking about Helen and Tobias's wedding.

"What are you thinking about," Jasper asked, He was laying on his stomach, but he was hovering over me, watching carefully.

"Weddings," I admitted, smiling.

He watched me for a second longer, and then smiled as well.

"What about weddings?"

"The possibility of us getting married."

Jasper's smile faded. I could feel the fear radiating heavily off of him.

"What's wrong, Jazz?" I asked, taking his face in my hands. "Why are you afraid?"

"You don't want to marry me?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

My eyes widened, and I shook my head.

"No! No! Of course I want to marry you!"

I chuckled and kissed him.

"Then you're afraid I don't feel the same way?" he pressed, pulling away from me.

"No Jasper," I said, still smiling. "I know someday you'll want to marry me."

He smiled again, and nodded.

"Someday," he said, smiling. "So what are you thinking about wedding for? What possibility are you thinking of?"

"Well it's not so much of a possibility….I just…." I trailed off, and didn't meet Jasper's eyes.

"What is it, Darlin'?" he asked, quietly, pushing my hair back.

"Our families….from our human lives that is….they won't be with us."

"No. But our family in this life will. We have Helen and Tobias, and we'll have the Cullens. We have Peter and Charlotte. You said it yourself, Alice. Family is where you feel at home. It's where you feel loved. You're my family, Alice."

I beamed up at him.

"And you're mine."

He leaned down and kissed me.

By the next morning, my energy burst had began. Helen and Tobias, much like Jasper, were very curious about it. We were lucky that for the next few days, it would be cloudy.

"Maybe we should go shopping," Helen said, glancing at Tobias.

It was in the early hours of the morning, and I was getting agitated as Jasper kept his arms tightly around me to keep me in my seat.

"It would keep her on her feet," Tobias said pointing at me.

"What happens when the energy burst ends?" Helen asked, watching me.

"Her energy will decrease. She won't be able to perform magic, and her control on her visions go down," Jasper answered. "Physically, she resembles a very ill human."

"How have you been able to travel with her like that?" Tobias asked. "Judging from the timing on your pictures you didn't stay in some places that long."

"Well at first we didn't, but once she made that space in her bag, my friend Charlotte suggested carrying her in there. She keeps our tent up, so she seems content in there for the most part."

"Well it's a good thing that you don't have to travel for a long time."

Jasper chuckled and looked over at me. I had began to rub circles in the back on his hand.

"What do you say, Alice?" Helen asked, raising an eyebrow at me. "Want to go on a shopping trip?"

I grinned up at them.

"I like that idea."

"Of course you do," Jasper smirked kissing the top of my head.

When the time came around to actually leave, I was close to bouncing off the walls. Although on request of Helen and Tobias, I changed their eyes from the deep blood red to brown for Tobias and green for Helen.

We had decided to take a car rather than walking, as Helen and Tobias thought it'd be a new experience for me. I stayed very close to Jasper's side for the ride. It wasn't much different than the train that took me to Hogwarts, or the carriages that pulled me to Hogwarts, but I didn't like cars that much.

"You're alright," Jasper soothed in my ear. "I've got you."

"You want one of these?" I asked him looking around the car.

Jasper nodded.

"It would certainly make traveling easier if you're having one of your energy declines," he said, glancing down at me.

"Can you drive, Jasper?" Tobias asked, glancing in the rearview mirror.

Jasper nodded.

"I got a licence for the fun of it."

"So why don't you get one? We gave you money."

"Alice wanted to make sure that you two would be okay with it."

"I don't see why not," Helen said. "We gave you money and that money is yours to do with as you wish."

"Technically it's Alice's money," Jasper said, frowning.

"No," I corrected. "It's our money."

"So what do you say?" Tobias said, grinning from the front seat. "Maybe we should get Jasper a car."

I sighed.

"Do you truly want one, Jazz?"

He looked at me sheepishly.

"Kind of."

"Come on, Alice!" Tobias exclaimed from the front seat. "He could teach you to drive! You can fit into the Muggle world!"

I looked up to Jasper's face. He watched me just as carefully.

"Is this something you honestly want?"

Jasper nodded.

I sighed.

"Okay. We'll get a car."

Jasper, Helen, and Tobias all cheered with excitement.

"We'll wait until after your energy burst passes," Helen said. "This way we can make sure that your energy is back to where it should be."

I nodded.

"Sounds like a plan."

"Thank you, Darlin'," Jasper said, happily, kissing my cheek.

"Anything for you," I said, smiling up at him.

The rest of the car ride, Jasper and Tobias discussed car models.

"My father had a motorcycle once," I murmured quietly.

Jasper looked down at me curiously.

"Did he?"

I nodded.

"He made it to where it could fly. He gave it to Hagrid when he was sent away."

Jasper watched me carefully.

I smiled contently as my eyes found Jasper's.

"Hagrid tried giving it to me. I let him keep it, since I had never really liked Muggle cars."

I smiled up at Jasper.

"This one isn't so bad though," I said, shaking my head.

Jasper smiled and leaned down to kiss my forehead.

Within in a few more minutes, we made it to the store we were going to. It was a large mall complex, and it seemed to be filled with cars.

Jasper and I slid out the backseat, and Jasper immediately grabbed my hand.

"It's going to be okay, sweetheart," I murmured, rubbing circles into his hand. "You won't do anything. I can see that."

He sighed, and nodded.

"It's just easier if you're here."

"I know," I said, as we started walking. Helen and Tobias were ahead by a couple of feet. "And I'll always be here."

I smiled up at him, and he looked down at me in wonder.

When we got inside the mall, Helen and Tobias turned back and looked at the two of us.

"Where to first? Clothes, shoes?"

I shrugged and turned to Jasper.

"What do you think?"

"Which is closer? We can start at the closest store, and work our way back."

"That's a good idea," Helen mused.

So we started in the closest department store, which happened to be clothes. Jasper went with Tobias to the men's department, and I went with Helen.

"You really do care for Jasper, don't you?" Helen said, as we looked through a rack of shirts.

I nodded.

"I do. Like I told you and Tobias. He made me believe in true love again."  
I looked over my shoulder at Jasper and Tobias. Jasper was smiling as he and Tobias were chatting quietly. Suddenly he looked up, and made eye contact with me, causing both our grins to widen.

"He seems to really care for you," she noted, as I turned back to look at her.

"I'd like to think he does."

I smiled up at her, and shook my head.  
"He's amazing. He doesn't give himself enough credit though."

"How'd he react to the diet change?"

"It's difficult for him. Although I blame myself for some of that. I expected him to change his entire life in one night."

I sighed and shook my head.

"I do love him for it though. I want him to be happy rather than do what he thinks will make me happy."

I turned back and looked at Jasper again, before turning back to the rack of shirts.

When we finished in that store, Jasper immediately returned to my side, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"How was it?" I asked, looking up at him.

"I enjoyed it," he said, smiling. "Although it felt like an eternity."

I grinned and leaned my head on his shoulder.

Suddenly, as a group of teenagers passed us, Jasper tensed.

I pulled his face down to mine.

"It's okay, sweetheart. You're not going to do anything."

He eyes searched my face, and finally met my eyes.

"It's okay," I repeated, just as quiet as before.

"Should we leave?" Helen asked looking between the two of us.

I looked up at Jasper.

"Do you want to leave?"

He shook his head.

"No. I'll be okay in a moment."

"Don't push yourself," I murmured.

"I'll be okay!" he snapped. I could tell he was losing his patience, and I stepped away from him. As I stepped back, Jasper's eyes widened. "Alice I—"

"Don't worry about it, sweetheart. I shouldn't have pushed you."

I smiled and took his hand.

He looked down at our hands before meeting my eyes. A small and weak smile crept onto his face, and he pressed his hand against my cheek.

"I'm sorry, Alice. I shouldn't have gotten angry. You were only trying to help."

"It's okay, sweetheart. I pushed you, and I shouldn't have. Now then," I said, looking up at him. Let's continue."

We continued to shop for sometime after. Jasper seemed to stay closest to me. There came a point, however, when Helen and Tobias dragged him to look at clothes while I looked for some of my own.

"She's not wrong," Jasper said quietly. They weren't far from me, and I was listening, to make sure Jasper was okay. "What she told you when we first joined you. I don't like being away from her. I don't."

"Why is that?" Helen prompted.

Jasper was quiet for a moment.

"Well I think it's because she makes me feel the calmest. I could never hurt her. She's the thing I love most."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know this chapter is short, and I know there was a long period of time between uploads, but here is why. Thursday, March 1, I fell and when I fell, and bent my hand back. So now I have a bone spacing in my wrist that is concerning doctors. Because of that, I was put in a splint. That goes for making writing a slight difficulty, seeing as I can only move my hand but so much. I am going for an MRI sometime in the next week, and that will determine whether or not I need surgery to fix tendons and ligaments. If I have to get the surgery, I will try to upload as much as I can, but right now I am unsure of everything.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I will upload as soon as I can!**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review :)(:**


	34. Halloween

_"Hell is empty, and all the devils are here." ~William Shakespeare_

* * *

Chapter 34- Halloween Alice's POV

Time seemed to move quickly now. A few weeks turned into a few months, and soon it was October. I had started playing in the stock market, helping Helen and Tobias get the money they would give to me, and I even got them money that would help them out after we left.

"We have less than two months," I told Jasper, while I was folding our clothes. "Where are we going next?"

Jasper shrugged as he folded one of his shirts.

"Where do you want to go?"

"I haven't thought about it really."

"We still have two months. We have time to figure it out."

I glanced over at him, as he folded another shirt.

"I suppose you're right," I murmured turning back to the dress I was folding.

I looked back up and Jasper was smiling at me.

Neither Jasper or myself brought up traveling again. I guessed we'd talk about it again closer to that time.

Jasper had gotten the car he wanted. Helen and Tobias took him. I went along of course, and it was great to see him so happy. He had gotten a newer car. It was made in 1946, and it was a black Cadillac.

"Thank you, Alice!" Jasper said, once he was given the keys. He pulled me to him.

"Of course," I murmured. I pulled back and looked at him. "Are you happy?"

He nodded eagerly, and I smiled again.

"Good. Make sure you put it to good use."

Jasper nodded.

"Maybe I can teach you to drive now."

"We'll see," I said, smiling.

Helen and Tobias took their car back to the house, and I rode with Jasper in his.  
As Halloween drew closer, Helen and Tobias started decorating their house. I helped, and while we decorated, they asked me more about my life.

"What was it like?" Helen asked, "growing up surrounded by magic?"

"It was the only life I ever knew. But it still fascinated me. One day, I'll take you to a wizarding community. There's one here in New York."

Jasper stuck close by my side, and he'd help when needed, but he didn't talk much anymore.

"What's wrong?" I asked, as the two of us went out on a hunting trip. It was a week before Halloween and my energy was starting to increase.

"It's nothing," he mumbled, stepping forward.

I caught his arm and stepped in front of him.

"It's something," I said, catching his eye.

He sighed and looked up.

"Alice, you know I love you," he started.

This sent a chill down my spine, and I instantly stepped back from him. I didn't speak, and he continued.

"I think Helen and Tobias are great too. I just really don't see how this is different than traveling with Peter and Charlotte."

I frowned.

"What do you mean sweetheart?"

He sighed.

"We left Peter and Charlotte because their diet was making it difficult for me. Helen and Tobias hunt humans!"

"So you want to leave?" I questioned looking up at him.

He shook his head.

"No. You're happy here."

"But you're not."

He shook his head.

"I don't know what I am."

Over the next few days, Jasper's mood improved. I gathered it might have simply been the time it had been since we hunted, seeing as it had been a couple weeks. He still stayed close to my side, but he was always like that.

Halloween fell on the highest point of my energy burst. Helen and Tobias had ran out to the store to get candy to give to the children. Jasper and I would join them, so we were sitting trying to figure out costume ideas.

In the end, it was decided that Jasper would be a shadow, and I would be a fairy. I made the wings on my own, out of old coat hangers, and a old pair of leggings that I had brought with me from my time. They were a grey see-through type, and with some glitter, they looked like fairy wings.

Jasper decided that he wanted a charm that would turn his hair black to make it fit his costume more. Tobias, who was dressed as a soldier asked that I helped him with some makeup to make scars. I remembered what Helen had said, about me teaching her how to do makeup effects, and of course I helped.

"Where'd you learn how to do this?" Jasper asked as he watched me.

"Well I've always done makeup effects, but things with this stuff...well I learned it from Helen, but in this time, I taught her….who do you suppose learned first?"

Jasper shook his head.

"I'm not going to put too much thought into that," Jasper grinned.

I shook my head.  
"This stuff smells horrible though. I don't know why I didn't just teach her how to do it with makeup."

"Well why don't you?" Jasper asked, as I worked on Tobias's face.

"She can't," Tobias murmured under my hand. "It'll mess with the timeline too much. The smallest change can have the biggest impact."

Jasper sighed.

"She tells me that so often."

"Yet you never learn," I teased.

Jasper frowned at me, and I swooped over a pecked his cheek.

"There you go," I said, stepping back from Tobias, to grab a mirror.

"It looks great! Thank you, Alice!"

Helen, who was dressed as a Muggle version of a witch, came to look at Tobias.

"You look great, Toby!" she exclaimed.

I frowned at her as I looked at her outfit.

"What?" she asked looking at me.

"Come with me."

She followed me to mine and Jasper's room.

"Nobody I knew ever wore something like that," I said, disapprovingly. "The dress is far too short. And I was under the impression you Muggles figured us witches to be ugly and green with warts."

From another room, as I was opening my bag, I could hear Jasper and Tobias howling with laughter.

I brought out some of my Death Eater robes and handed them to Helen.

"Try these."

As she changed, I hovered my hands over my wand, making an exact replica.

I turned and handed her the wand.

"It doesn't hold any magic," I said, before slipping my wand back into the holster.

"You didn't change the hat," Helen noted.

"That's because I have several of those."

I stepped forward and tilted her hat slightly.

"There. Now you look like a witch."

"When did you wear these?"

"Those are from when I was a Death Eater."

She frowned.

"You took them with you?"

I nodded.

"My family thought I was moving to Italy. So I packed almost all of my clothes."

We returned back up to the house, where Jasper and Tobias stood side by side, both their lips pressed tightly together, as they grinned.

Jasper tightly wrapped his arm around my waist, and Tobias looked Helen up and down.

"So this is what witches look like," he murmured. "Not bad, Alice. Not bad at all. You look beautiful."

"What was the problem with her dress before?" Jasper murmured in my ear.

"Too short," I said, shaking my head. "I would have been killed if I went out in public looking like that."

"By who?"

"Everyone!" I exclaimed. "Remus, Dad, Molly, Arthur, Severus! Voldemort would kill be because I gave a bad reputation of the Death Eaters." I shook my head. "Besides, she's handing candy out to children."

Jasper, Helen, and Tobias all suppressed laughter.

"When was the last time you did anything for Halloween?" Jasper murmured it my ear.

"When I was three I think. That was the last time I went trick-or-treating….I never passed out candy though. My house was very secluded, and Dad's was hidden. Remus's….well people avoided it."

I looked down at the ground.

"Don't be sad, Darlin'," Jasper said, quietly.

"I'm not," I said, turning to look at him.

I knew that he knew, even if I didn't, everything I was feeling. But before I could think happiness filled the room, and any trace of sadness Jasper must have detected was gone.

Helen and Tobias watched me, and then looked back at Jasper.

"How long does it take to get used that?" Helen asked me.

I looked up at Jasper and smiled.

"I always have been. Since the first time he did it, it felt natural."

He smiled before leaning down to kiss my temple.

"What time do we need to go outside?" I asked, looking for a clock in the room.

"I'd say in about in half an hour."

We ended up going out fifteen minutes early. Jasper lingered behind me, almost as if he was my shadow.  
"You don't look half bad with black hair," I murmured running a hand through his hair.

"Which do you like better?"

"I like you any way you look."

He grinned at me, as I leaned back against him.

I glanced over at the bowl that separated me and Jasper from Helen and Tobias.

I picked up a small piece of candy and read the label. It was called Bit-O-Honey.

"I've never had Muggle candy," I murmured, looking back at Jasper. "Well….that's not entirely true. Dumbledore had something called Lemon Drops," I shrugged. "They weren't the worst things in the world."

Jasper chuckled.

"Care to try it?" he asked, taking the candy out of my hand.

I thought of the coffee on the day I met Jasper, and wrinkled my nose.

"What?" Helen asked, looking between Jasper.

"On the day I met Jasper, I had a cup of coffee. I didn't like it very much."

"Maybe you'll feel different about that," Tobias said, pointing at the candy Jasper was unwrapping.

I frowned at the candy and turned back to Jasper.

"Try it," he said, holding it out to me. "Please?"

I took the candy from Jasper and turned it between my fingers. It was sticky, and it smelled slightly better than the coffee. I brought it to my mouth, and took a small bite.

The second it hit my tounge, much like with the coffee, my nose immediately wrinkled, and Jasper, Helen, and Tobias burst into fits of laughter.

"It's not funny," I grumbled, spitting the candy back into the wrapper.

"I love you," Jasper said, smiling against my cheek.

"I doubt that," I grumbled, causing Jasper to laugh again.

"Well if that's what you truly believe," he teased, and he went to move me off his lap. "Perhaps I should go."

"No!" I exclaimed, wrapping my arms tightly around him. "Stay! Please?"

I pouted, and Jasper leaned forward to kiss my bottom lip.

"Put the lip away," he said, still grinning widely. "You know I could never leave you."

I smiled, and placed the wrapper of the candy on the ground next to us.

After a few more moments of Jasper and Tobias teasing me about the candy, children began to show up.

I saw pirates, and sailors, princesses, and ghosts. Children seemed comfortable around Helen and Tobias, and so did their parents. A few young girls asked to touch my wings, and I was complimented by many parents on my costume.

I liked seeing the children. They ranged from so many ideas, and all of their costumes were creative.

When the night was over, and we were all back inside, Jasper watched me carefully. My energy was starting to decline, and he wrapped me in a blanket on the couch.

"You look to be deep in thought," Helen said, sitting in front of me. "Is everything okay?"

I sighed, and sat up slightly, still leaning against Jasper.

"Does it ever get to you?" I asked, looking at her. "Seeing the children but knowing that you and Tobias can't have that?"

She thought about it before turning to me.

"No, I don't think it does. In the beginning it did, but even if I don't have children, I can watch those around me grow up. And that's just as good."

I looked up at Jasper, then back at Helen. She was right I suppose. Jasper would be enough. I could live with just him for the rest of eternity.

As I looked up to Jasper again, he grinned.

"I love you too," he mumured, kissing my temple. "Now and forever."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know this chapter is short, but the next few chapters are going to be longer. Soon, we will be leaving Helen and Tobias, but much like Peter and Charlotte, they will reappear throughout the story.**  
 **I also want to take the time to thank everyone, new and old, who have followed, favorited, and reviewed on this story. I am so much happier with this version than I was with the last, and I hope you guys are too.**

 **Enjoy the chapters to come!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	35. Diet Change

_"Your life doesn't get better by chance. It gets better by change." ~Jim Rohn._

* * *

Chapter 35- Diet Change Alice's POV

When Halloween ended, and my energy went down, we returned to work for Helen and Tobias's trip to the future. I had to tell them about certain details, only so they would understand.

"I spent my first birthday in this life with you," I said, quietly, on the day where my energy was the lowest. Helen and Tobias sat at the foot of the bed, and Jasper laid down next to me. All three of them listened quietly as I spoke. "That's the day you brought me to. You had gifts, and I loved them all very much. My photo album, the one I showed the two of you when we first got here, that was one of the gifts."

I smiled weakly.

"Then the notebook where I've keep all my details about the Cullens, you gave me that too."

"Do you know where we got them?"

"The photo album was custom made. I put in an order for it before Halloween."

"Alice, you didn't have to do that," Tobias said frowning.

"I just wanted to make sure it's ready for when you leave."

Jasper, who was reading a book turned and looked at me.

"I doubt you'd let anything be less than perfect when it's time for you to leave."

Helen, Tobias, and Jasper all laughed, as I pouted.

"How're you feeling?" Jasper asked, kissing my forehead.

"Drained," I murmured.

"Rest now, Alice," Helen said, patting my leg. "We'll come talk to you later."

I nodded, and I felt the cloud of tiredness return.

"Thank you, Jasper," I murmured, leaning against his chest.

The next day, as my energy was slowly starting to increase, we started talking longer.

I had their gifts laying out in front of me. The notebooks and the pens.

"You also gave me the money, but I think we haven't finished collecting that yet."

"Why'd we give you so much?"

"To make sure we got by."

Tobias nodded.

"Well, I suppose that's understandable."

"I think you guys will enjoy seeing me meet Jasper," I murmured, looking up at Jasper, who sat with his eyes closed. "It's my favorite memory. It's the memory I think of when I cast my Patronus. I also think of the first time I saw me it was love at first sight," I said, taking his hand.

A smile crept onto his lips, but his eyes remained closed.

"So when exactly do we go after James?"

"After I leave with Jasper."

"And I alter his memory?"

I nodded.

"I'm not sure whether I told you the story I came up with. Helen asked me for it when we were waiting to go to the castle. An important thing to note however, is I can only Apparate one more time after my transformation."

"We'll go over all that closer to that time," Tobias said. "Right now, we're going to let you rest."

Much like they had before, they quietly slipped out the room, and while I closed my eyes, Jasper didn't return the cloud, but he hummed quietly in my ear.

"Alice, do you think we could talk to you?" Helen asked the next day. My energy was still low, and I still wasn't able to do magic, so I took to reading some of the other books Helen and Tobias had.

I closed the book I was reading and looked up to her.

"Of course."

"Alone, if you would," Tobias added quietly.

I looked up to Jasper, and made a move to get up.

"No, no, no," Jasper said, placing a hand on my knee. "Stay here. I'm just going to go for a walk. I have my mirror. Just call when you're done."

He ducked down and kissed my forehead before he headed out the door. A moment later, I heard the front door close.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, sitting myself up more. "Is it Jasper?"

"No, no," Helen said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "It's not Jasper. We like him very much."

"We just think it's easier to talk to you," Tobias said quickly.

"Okay," I said. "What's up?"

"We're curious, about your diet. We want to try it, but we're not sure how to go about it."

I smiled happily.

"Of course! Jasper and I are going hunting once I've gotten my energy back. You're welcome to come with us. Just do keep in mind, your eyes were red when I knew you."

"Well we can continue our diet until we come back from getting you. But can you help us now?"

I nodded and smiled.

"Of course. I'll talk to Jasper when he returns. I'm sure he wouldn't have a problem with you joining us. Can I ask one question though?"

They nodded, and I continued.

"Why did you decide to try a different diet?"

Helen looked at Tobias, who took her hand, and then she turned to face me. A vision tried to push its way to the surface, but I fought it back, focusing on Helen.  
"We don't want to kill humans anymore. I haven't for a very long time. We want to leave peacefully with them, and we can never do that if they are our prey."

"Why didn't you change your diet earlier?"

"We heard rumors of vampires who preyed on the blood of animals. We didn't know it actually existed, until we met you."

"Right then," I nodded, "I'll call Jasper back and talk to him. Do keep in mind, this may not be easy. You have been living off human blood for a long time."

They nodded, and raised from the bottom of the bed.

"Thank you, Alice!" Helen said before she and Tobias left the room.

I smiled before reaching over to grab my mirror from the table.

"Show me Jasper," I murmured.

The dark space of his pocket appeared.  
"Jazz?" I called. "Jazz, are you there?"

It took a moment before I got a response.

Very quietly, I could hear Jasper say, "I'll be there in a moment, Alice."

The mirror showed my reflection then, and I waited. The way he spoke scared me. He sounded empty.

Jasper didn't come back for fifteen minutes, right as I was about to call Tobias to see if he could go look for him, Jasper stood in the doorway, looking at the ground.

"Jasper?" I asked, moving to stand up. "Is everything okay?"

"I'm sorry," Jasper said. His voice broke. "Alice, I'm so sorry."

Jasper moved to the bed as I started to stand. He sat down next to me, but he still wouldn't look at me.

"What's the matter, sweetheart?" I murmured, laying my head on his back.

He turned to look at me, and his eyes were no longer golden. They were burgundy.

"Oh, Jazz," I whispered.

"Are you mad at me?" he whispered.

He closed his eyes, and I took his hand, shaking my head.

"Of course not," I said, squeezing his hand. "Tell me what happened."

I moved over and he laid down next to me. He held me closely to him.  
"I went for a walk, like I told you I would, but I caught the scent of two humans. One smelled like blood," he trailed off for a second, and I placed a hand on his cheek. He closed his eyes. "I tried to keep control of myself. I tried to keep control of myself for you, but I couldn't."

"Stop," I said quietly. "Don't torture yourself, Jazz."

"I'm so sorry, Alice," he said, quietly. "I've given up everything you've worked for."

"No," I whispered in his ear. "Once I am better, we will go hunting, and you'll go back to how you were before."

Jasper nodded, and placed a hand on my face.

"I love you," I said, closing my eyes. "No matter what you do, I will always love you."

The cloud of tiredness washed over me, allowing me to rest.  
While I was under the cloud, Helen and Tobias came in to talk. All of their voices were muffled, but I could still make out what they were saying.

"She really does help you doesn't she?" Tobias asked.

I felt the bed sink as the two of them sat on the bottom of the bed.

"She does," Jasper murmured. "I will never understand how she was so forgiving. She didn't think twice."

"You wanted her to be angry?" Helen said, worried.

"No. I've never seen her truly angry, and I'd like to keep it that way as long as I can. But she just forgave me, without a second thought. After she worked so hard to give me a new life."

"She loves you very much. I can see a difference in the way she talks about you versus how she talks about Remus."

"I know she loves me," Jasper said. "It's impossible to not love her. I just wonder if I'm enough for her."

"You're more than enough," Helen said, sternly. "If you love her, you're more than enough. You mean the world to her."

"You're right," Jasper murmured.

He kissed the side of my head.

"When will she be better do you think?"

"She'll be completely better sometime next week I think. Magic and all. As far as getting up and walking, and being able to run, I think she'll be okay the day after tomorrow."

"Has she told you about our plan to change diets?" Helen asked.

Jasper was quiet for a moment.

"She didn't get a chance. I could tell she was exhausted, so I let her rest."

"She said on your next hunting trip we could come with you," Tobias said quietly. "We finally decided to give up our diet on human blood."

"It would seem Al has that effect on people," Jasper murmured. "The way I see it, she makes them want to change for the better."

I tried to fight the smile creeping onto my face, and I could hear Jasper chuckle. The cloud of tiredness faded, and I opened my eyes.

"It's not nice to eavesdrop, Darlin'," Jasper teased, kissing my forehead.

"It's not eavesdropping if you know I can hear you."

He smiled and I turned back to Helen and Tobias.

"He's right. The day after tomorrow we should be able to go hunting. He's going to need to."

I turned and looked back into his burgundy eyes. I had gotten so used to the gold, that seeing these eyes made it very different. But even now, looking into his eyes, they still belonged to my angel. Despite what happened, he was still my Jasper.

"So I make you want to change for the better?" I said quietly, leaning of his shoulder.

He nodded.

"Since the moment I met you, I knew I would give you the world if I could."

I smiled up at him, and closed my eyes again.

"Yet all I need is you."

Jasper laughed, and took my hand.

When my energy returned, and I was able to move around more, we finally decided to go hunting. I wasn't able to do wandless magic yet, but I was able to do magic with a wand again. I would be completely back to normal in the next few days.

"Your safest bet will be to start out small," I said, to Helen and Tobias, pausing in the middle of a forest. I closed my eyes, and as I did so, Jasper's arm automatically wrapped around me. "If we go west, there is a group of deer."

I opened my eyes.

"When you get close enough, let your instincts take over."

Jasper and I took off to the west, and Helen and Tobias followed closely behind us.

When we came closer to the pack, I paused, hiding behind a bush, checking to see what there was to offer. Most of the group were stags, but there was a few does.

Jasper and I looked at each other, and I offered a small smile. In the next second, both of us were hurling towards the group. Jasper took down the largest of the group while I took down the largest doe. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Helen and Tobias chasing down the rest of the group.

Once Jasper and I finished, he paused, and came over to me. His eyes were between the burgundy and a dark gold.  
"There's my Jasper," I murmured, tracing the under his eyes.

He smiled at me.

"Should we go find Helen and Tobias?"

I nodded.  
"And then we'll see what else we can find."

He took my hand and together, we set off to find Helen and Tobias.  
We found the pair a quarter of a mile south. Both had taken down stags of the group that had ran after mine and Jasper's attack.

"You did amazing!" I exclaimed, looking at the deer below me.

"You think so?"

I nodded.

"Yes, I truly do."

I waved my wand over the bodies, and they disappeared.

"Is this something you think you'd want to continue?" Jasper asked, hugging me to him, his chin resting on the top of my head.

Helen nodded.

"It makes me feel less guilty."

"It's going to be hard," I said, looking between the two of them. "I believe in the two of you. You'll always have someone to count on you. I'll be here, and so will Jasper."

Helen smiled at me, and turned back to look at Tobias.

"Thank you, Alice. For giving us this opportunity."

I smiled.

"Of course. Are you ready to take a second shot at it?"

When the both of them nodded, I closed my eyes, and focused on our surroundings.

Back in the direction that we came, there was a few black bears getting ready for hibernation.

When we all started heading back in that direction, we came across a few moose and a few more deers.

I turned back to Jasper, who had pounced on one of the moose. His eyes were returning to a dark gold.

"How're you feeling, sweetheart?" I asked, waving my wand over the body of the moose.

"Better," he said, sitting on a rock nearby.

"Good," I said, climbing on the rock next to him.

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"You were quick to forgive me. You've been so patient, yet you've worked so hard to give us this life. Why?"

"Because I love you," I said, taking his hand. "And I know you're trying. It was an accident, Jasper. I could see that when I saw you."

"You didn't see me make the decision to attack?"

I shook my head.

"A vision was coming through but I fought to keep it at bay. If I hadn't I would have stopped you, and you wouldn't be upset."

I had decided the day Jasper slipped, that I wouldn't push my visions away anymore.

"It's not your fault, Alice," Jasper said, looking down at me. "Don't blame yourself."

"I won't if you don't blame yourself," I said.

He grinned.

"Deal."

He squeezed my hand before hopping off the rock. He pulled me with him before we went to go find Helen and Tobias.

"How'd you think you do?" I asked, waving my wand over the carcasses of the deer they had went after.

"I think we did well," Helen said, grinning.

"I'd agree," I said. "Keep in mind, the transition from humans to animals may not be easy."

"Was it hard for you?"

I shook my head.

"This was all I had known. I slipped up once or twice, but I prefer animal blood more. I have learned that carnivores taste the closest to humans though."

Helen and Tobias nodded before turning to Jasper.

"How about for you? How hard was it to change?"

Jasper thought about about his answer for a moment.

"It was hard in the beginning, and it's hard now. It's easier to control myself when I'm with Ali, but without her, it's one of the hardest things to do."

"It would be the same for everyone," I said, squeezing his hand. "But I do believe all three of you are capable of doing it." I paused, and turned to look at Jasper before turning back to Helen and Tobias. "You just have to be sure that this is what you really want."

"We want this," Helen said.

I nodded.

"Great. Just know you can change back at any time."

They nodded.

"Are you ready to go home?" Tobias asked looking between Helen, Jasper, and I.

"You two go ahead," Jasper said. "We won't be too far behind you."  
They nodded, and darted in the direction of the house.

"Is everything okay?" I asked.

We walked back to the rock, where we were sitting before. Jasper looked down at his hands.

"When you were talking to Helen and Tobias, it felt almost as if you were directing it at me too."

I looked down as he turned to face me.

"In a way I did. If you don't want to do this, Jasper, you don't have to. If you want to change back you can. I know you can do this."

"Alice, I want to do this. It makes you—"

"No, Jazz! Don't do it for me! Do it for you. I want you to be on this diet because it's what you want, not what I want. That's what will make me happy."

He put a finger under my chin and pulled my face to his.

"I really want to do this, Al. Not just for me, but for you too."

He kissed me, and smiled when he pulled back.

"Do you really think I can do this?"

I grinned, and nodded.

"I think that you can do anything."

"Anything?"

My grin widened and I nodded.

I hopped off the rock, and held my hand out to him. He took it and pushed himself off the rock.

"Come on," I said. "Let's go back to the house."

* * *

 **Okay, so maybe the chapter isn't as long as I hoped for it to be. It is my plan to have them get longer, especially when we get into the Twilight novels, which will be soon. I do hope you guys are enjoying the chapters, and the story as a whole.**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	36. Making Plans

_"A goal without a plan is just a wish." ~Antoine de Saint-Exupéry_

* * *

Chapter 36- Making Plans

As November passed, Helen, Tobias, and Jasper all worked hard to keep on their diets. Jasper worked the hardest out of the three of them. I was proud of him.

"Soon I want to try working on self-control," he said, late one night while the four of us sat outside. I was laying in his lap, and he sat contently, running a hand through my hair.

"I think that's a good idea," I said, catching his eye. "But I can't take you with me to go Christmas shopping."

Jasper shook his head.

"No. I'll go with Helen and Tobias."

I nodded.

"We could always go as a group," Helen suggested. "He can stay with us while you two get each other's gifts."

I nodded.

"We can do that."

"I meant something like going to see a movie or something like that."

"What do you want to go see?" I asked.

"I think The Fallen Idol comes out tomorrow night."

"We can go see a late showing of that," Jasper said. "It's a thriller isn't it?"

Helen and Tobias nodded.

As the three of them spoke about what they had read about it in the newspaper, I started thinking of home. Was Harry and George okay? What was happening in the world that I had been away from?

I closed my eyes and focused on the weather for tomorrow. It was supposed to rain throughout the day.

"Alice, what is it?" Jasper murmured, pulling me into his arms.

"What do you say about spending tomorrow afternoon in Wizarding New York?" I asked the three of them. "It's supposed to rain tomorrow."

"I'd like to see it," Helen said. "But I'm assuming they don't take Muggle money?"

I shook my head.

"I do have some Dragots you can use. You do have to be careful though. American witches and wizards are very cautious of Muggles. Here, they'll call them No-Majs. I think you guys should be okay seeing as we're vampires."

Helen and Tobias nodded.

"I think that sounds great."

A little while later, Helen and Tobias stood up.  
"We'll be back in a little while," Helen said.

I nodded and closed my eyes.

"You miss them," Jasper said softly a few minutes later. It wasn't a question, and I didn't have to think to figure out what he was talking about. "It's why you're sad."

I sighed.

"Of course I miss them, Jazz. They're my family."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"You know you can."  
"Do you regret leaving?" he asked quietly.

"No," I said, watching his face. "I did what I had to do. I had to keep them safe. If I never left, I would have never met you. I just wish I could have them and you."

Jasper sighed, and hugged me to him.

"I know, and maybe one day you can. For now, you have me."

I smiled up at him, and kissed his cheek.

"For now, you're all I need," I murmured.

He smiled against my cheek, and began humming the same unfamiliar tune that he had hummed to me time and time again over the last year.

"What song is that?" I asked, turning my head slightly, to where my face pressed against his. "You hum it so often."

"Yet every time I do, it calms you."

I shook my head.

"Not the song. It's your voice. You as a whole calms me."

Jasper's smile widened.

"It's an old song my mother used to play for me on her violin. It's called Nearer, My God to Thee."

"She played violin? "

Jasper nodded.

"She was amazing."

"I've wanted to play violin…." I murmured, trailing off.

"Maybe one day you can."

I smiled and kissed his cheek before raising to my feet.

"Let's go inside."

He followed me into the living room, where Helen and Tobias sat.

"So much for coming back out, huh?"

"We figured the two of you could use some time alone."

I chuckled, and curled up next to Jasper on the couch.

"So what time should we be ready by?" Jasper asked, looking down at me.

"Noon," I said, quickly. "It'll give me time to cover this." I gestured to my arm, "as well as figure out how much money I have to take out."

"Is having that at this time as big of a deal as it is in your time?"

I thought about it.

"I suppose it's not as bad as wearing the Deathly Hallows at this time."

"Why?"

"It's the sign of Gellert Grindelwald. Grindelwald's downfall was only three years ago."

Jasper looked down at me, watching carefully.

"Voldemort won't be a threat in America. You'll be safe when that time comes," I whispered. "Just don't go to Britain. Please."

As my worry started increasing, Jasper pulled me tightly into his arms.

"Shhh," he soothed, running a hand up and down my back. "We'll cross that bridge when we get there."

He started humming quietly, and I could feel myself relax.

"I'll be back in a little while," I murmured, rising to my feet. "I am going to go find out what I am going to where today, and cover up this."

As Jasper went to stand, I shook my head.

"You don't have to come with me," I murmured. "I'm going to be okay."

Jasper sank back down onto the couch, and I quickly darted to the room Jasper and I were staying.

As I lowered myself in the bag, I could hear Jasper, Helen, and Tobias speaking quietly.

"I'm worried about her," Jasper said. He sounded almost stressed. This caused me to pause between the stairs and the platform.

"She's acting as well as you can expect her too," Tobias said. "Think about it, Jasper, she watched her parents die, she was forced to kill and torture people. She never had time to process it before Helen and I came along and changed her."

"Also take into account that her memory is much more clearer than ours. She sees her memories like it's a movie," Helen said. "I can see it in her eyes. She's trying to hold it together for you."

"I don't want her to do that!" Jasper exclaimed.

"We know that," Tobias said. "If I'm speaking honestly, I don't know how long it's going to be before she'll be completely okay. She is going to have to live through it all over again."

"But this time she has you."

Jasper didn't respond right away.

"Do you suppose it is possible for vampires to have Shell Shock?"

"Traditionally, no. I think the venom would have covered that," Helen said. "But for Alice….I think it's possible."

I sighed, and made my way down the rest of the stairs. Jasper was right to worry. I know I wasn't the easiest to live with. But Jasper would stay with me, wouldn't he?

Jasper came down almost half an hour later. I was changing my clothes, and he looked at me before giving a small smile.

"Hey, Darlin'," Jasper said, extending his hand to me. I took it and he pulled me to him. "How're you feeling?"

I shrugged, and buried my face in his chest.

"I don't know what came over me."

"It's not your fault," he said soothingly. "We all plan to respect your wishes, and none of us will be in or around Britain during that time."

I nodded.

"Thank you, Jazz."

"Of course."

"Jazz?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you angry with me?"

Jasper frowned.

"Why would I be mad?"

"Because I'm upset all the time. You worry about me."

"That doesn't make me mad at you, sweetheart. I just don't know what I'm supposed to do. I want to help you, I just don't know how."

"Stay," I murmured, closing my eyes.

"I'll always stay. I'll tell you as many times as you need to hear it."

I smiled.  
"Thank you, Jasper."

He kissed my forehead, before stepping back.

"So how are you covering this? Spell or makeup?"

I looked at it carefully.

"I think a spell maybe more helpful."

He held my arm as I hovered my hand over it. Slowly the mark began to fade, and it simply looked like my arm had before I was branded.

Jasper stared at my arm.

"What?" I asked, pulling his face to mine.

"I've never seen you without it."

"It was a different time," I murmured as he traced where the mark was only seconds ago. "A time much like now. I was happy."

Jasper smiled, and I looked up meeting his eyes.

When it was time for us to leave, I was in a better mood than I had been.

As we made our way to the entrance, Helen and Tobias slowed to a walk.

Jasper and I fell back to their side.

"So we think we've figured out when we're leaving," Helen said, watching me. "To go get you, I mean."

"Have you?" I asked, giving a small smile.

Tobias nodded.

"The night of New Year's Day."

I nodded.

"Sounds like a good plan," I said.

"I know it's not a whole lot of time," Helen started.

I shook my head.

"We've covered almost everything, and by next week we'll have all the money as well as all the presents you guys give to me."

"Are you going to be okay?" Helen asked me quietly.

I looked up at Jasper, who took my hand, and squeezed it tightly.

"I have Jazz. I'll be more than okay."

Jasper smiled, and wrapped his arm around my shoulders.

"Good," Helen said.

"The two of you can stay in the house as long as you need to."

I nodded.

"Thank you. That's very kind of you, but I feel like we've already overstayed our welcome."  
"No!" Helen exclaimed automatically. "Of course you haven't."

I shrugged.

"Even if you don't think so, we probably won't stay long after you leave."

"When you find the Cullens, make sure you write to us."

"I will," I smiled.

"Good."

Just up ahead was the entrance.

"Here we are," I murmured. "Follow me."

The pub was crowded, and Jasper immediately tensed up. It was of course his first time around humans since the slip.

"You're okay, Jazz," I soothed, rubbing circles into his hand.

"I know," he said quietly, stepping closer to me.

I approached the counter.

"Good afternoon. We're looking to get to the city."

The man nodded.

"Of course. Follow me."

He led us straight to the back, and turned.

"Tap the bricks to form a door, and you'll get through."

"Thank you," I said.

He nodded once and returned to the front.

I pulled my wand from my holster and tapped the bricks.

"It's that simple to get there?" Helen asked too quiet for the human ear.

I nodded.

"In Diagon Alley, we tap up and over from a trash can. Most just Apparate or Floo there, but seeing as I have neither I have to work with what I have."

I sounded more bitter than I intended to.

"Maybe when we find the Cullens we can see about getting you a Floo system, hmm?" Jasper said, squeezing my hand.

"Maybe."

I turned to Helen and Tobias as we stepped through the entrance.

"I don't mean to sound ungrateful. I'm just used to Apparating places."

"We understand," Tobias said. "The adjustment to the change may be difficult."

I smiled, and stepped to the side.

"Helen and Tobias, I'd like to welcome you to my world."

They looked around the street, as did Jasper and I. It reminded me so much of Diagon Alley. Of my home."

"We'll have to go to Gringotts," I said to Jasper. "Make sure we have enough money."

Jasper nodded, and looked around.

"Do you know where it is?"

"I'm sure I could find it," I said, placing my wand on my hand. "Take me to Gringotts."

Just like that my wand whirled in my hand, finding the way to the bank.

I turned and looked at Jasper smugly, before following the direction of my wand.

"Here we are," I smiled, looking up to the large building. I paused and turned to Helen and Tobias. "Now, when we get in here, there is bound to be things you've never seen before. Goblins run the bank, and they aren't known to be entirely trusting of humans. Especially witches and wizards. I know that in Salem, the Goblins were nicer than the ones in Diagon Alley, but still. Touch nothing and stay behind me."

They nodded, and Jasper took my hand as we all started to climb the giant staircase.

I approached one of the Goblins, and waited patiently.

"Yes?" the Goblin asked, peering down at me.

"I'd like to convert some money," I said, holding up a little over a hundred dollars in cash, along with my coin pouch for him to put the money in.

"The money of No-Majs," he said lowly, glancing at Helen and Tobias behind me.

I stayed quiet, glancing up at Jasper.

Some time had passed before he passed the pouch back down to me.

"Thank you," I said, softly.

The goblin nodded at me.

"Enjoy your day, Miss."

"You too."

I turned and moved quickly to the door.

Helen, Jasper, and Tobias followed quickly.

"Do you not like goblins?" Tobias asked as soon as we stepped out the door.

I shook my head.

"It's not that I don't like them, they just," I paused to find the right words. "I'd just rather not stay around them longer than I need to."

I shook my head, and turned up to Jasper.

"What do you guys want to see first?"

"I could use some new books when you get the chance," Jasper said.

I laughed, and nodded.

"Of course, sweetheart. And you two?"

They both looked at each other and shrugged.

"We want to see everything."

I smiled and nodded.

"Right. Well, we'll start off at one end, and work our way down."

The three of them agreed, and we started moving to the first store.

"So have the two of you figured out where you're going to go once you leave us?" Helen asked, and we made our way through the Apocrathy.

"We have a few ideas. We're thinking maybe Chicago, or maybe somewhere in Ohio."

"Anything special there?"

I shrugged.

"Just have good feeling about them."

Jasper came up behind us, and wrapped his arm around my waist.  
"I find it best to listen to her good feelings," Jasper said in my ear.

I smiled, and shook my head.

"Yet you always doubt me."

He laughed, and picked up the seeds in my hand.

"More seeds? You haven't planted the other ones yet."

"Well it doesn't help to have them," I said, lightly smacking his leg.

Jasper laughed and kissed my cheek.

"Tobias is getting impatient," Jasper muttered to Helen and I.

"Tell him he can wait," I said. "I'm almost done."

Jasper chuckled and nodded.

"Can do."

His arm dropped and he returned to where Tobias was across the store.

"I suppose being surrounded by plants isn't the most interesting part of my world," I said, moving towards the checkout counter. "Maybe I'll take you guys to go see the pets of my world. Just don't attack them."

I laughed, as I set everything down.

Once we left, I guided the three across the street to the pet store. Owls, snakes, cats and more could be seen from the window.

"There was another one, in Muggle New York," I told them outside the store. "A lot of stores are out on the Muggle side, but that one specialized in exotic magic creatures."

"What happened to it?" Jasper asked, as I stepped inside the store.

"MACUSA shut it down."

"MACUSA?" Helen questioned.

"Magical Congress of the United States of America. It's the government for American wizards."

"Like your Ministry?"

I nodded.

I turned to face a worker, watching us carefully.

"Is there something I can help you with, Miss?" the worker said.

I shook my head, and flashed him a smile.

"No thank you," I said cheerfully. "But thank you anyways."

The worker blinked at me a couple times, causing Jasper and Tobias to snicker behind me.

"N-n-no problem."

He quickly ducked into a back room, but not before I saw him blushing.

I grinned as I looked down at the cat pressing against my leg. It was black with a white stripe running down it's head up to it's tail.

I bent down, and ran a hand down it's back.

"Hello, beautiful," I murmured as it purred softly.

I looked up and the three of them were watching me carefully.

"Maybe the Cullens will let me get a Kneazle."

Jasper laughed and shook his head.

"I like cats," I said, standing up straight. "I almost got one after Remus and I split, but I decided against it. I would never have the time to take care of it."

Jasper looked around the store.

"With the exception of the owls, it looks like an overall normal pet store."

I nodded.

"We're not much different from the Muggles."

I paused before looking up to Helen.

"When you go to find James," I started, looking up at him. "Will he try to hurt you guys?"

Helen shook her head.

"I don't think so."

"But what if he does?"

Jasper quickly wrapped his arm around me.

"They're going to be okay, Darlin'."

"How about this, leave us an address when you leave the house. The second we get back, we'll send you a postcard. Deal?"

I nodded, and leaned back in Jasper's arms.

"Come on," Jasper said. "Let's go get some air."

I let him pull me out of the shop, and to a set of nearby tables. Helen and Tobias followed quickly.

It didn't take long before we were back up and moving through the city.

"Here's a bookstore," I said to Jasper, pointing to a small little shop.

We ducked inside, and Jasper's face immediately lit up.

"Get whatever you want. I'll buy it for you," I said, kissing his cheek.

He pulled me through the store, asking my opinion on the books he hadn't read.

"I wouldn't recommend that," I said, as he went to pull A Vampire's Monologue off the shelf.

"Why not?" he asked, looking down at me.  
"Well the book itself is incredibly boring. It's true intent was to make victims easier to be bitten. I think it would even put a vampire to sleep."

Jasper chuckled and pushed the book back onto the shelf.

"How about this?"

He pulled down a copy of The Monster Book of Monsters. I laughed.

"I forgot about that book. I must still have a copy of it at my house. It's actually a funny book. It's kind of like Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

Jasper moved to open it, and I took it from him.

"Is it something you want?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Then wait until we get home to open it."

"Why is it bound shut?" Tobias asked me quietly as Jasper continued to move through the store.

"You'll see," I whispered back.

Jasper got a few other books. One of them he got was The Dream Oracle. Despite not being able to sleep, he wanted to see what dreams meant, or where supposed to mean. He also got two books on Ancient Runes, and made me promise to teach him about them.

"So where to next?" I asked them, as we walked down the street.

They thought about it, looking around the street.

"Is there anything you need?" Jasper asked me, as I looked around the street.

"A new cauldron," I murmured. "I've had the one I have now since I started Hogwarts."

So we ended up in the potions store, and I bought a self-stirring cauldron and a pewter cauldron. I found Helen and Tobias looking at one of the gold cauldrons.

"They're nothing special," I told them quietly. "I won one once in a potion brewing competition, and I gave it to Severus after a week."

Helen laughed, and we returned to the street.

I paused at a newstand and grabbed a copy of the paper.

We made it back to the house by four that afternoon.

Helen and Tobias made a mark on their calendar to leave on New Year's Day. I caught up on the news going on in my world, and for the first time I realized the date.

"It's almost Bill's birthday," I told Jasper. I paused and then looked at him. "Well of course he won't be born for another twenty-one years, but of course his birthday is in a week."

"When was his mother and father born?" Jasper asked.

"Arthur won't be born until February 6 next year. Molly was born October 30th of this year."

"So have you figured out when you're going to leave?" Tobias said.

I thought about it.

"We'll probably leave the next night."

Helen nodded.

"So I guess that sets our plans," she said.

I nodded.

"I suppose so."

Despite all of us knowing that this was coming, it still didn't feel real. After all the planning, and me teaching them, it felt like there was still something missing.

Jasper squeezed my hand, and I turned to look at him.

"How're you feeling?" I asked him. "You were around a lot of people today."

"I'm okay," he said.

"And you still want to go to the movies tonight?"

He nodded.

"Okay then," Tobias said, clapping his hands. "Let's get ready then."

* * *

 **Hey guys! Like I've said a dozen times before, I'm working on getting the chapters longer. For the most part, I think this chapter is about the same length as old ones.**

 **So with this being said, I hoped you enjoyed the chapters, and thank you all for your support.**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	37. Christmas Time Again

_"Christmas will always be as long as we stand heart to heart and hand in hand." ~Dr. Seuss_

* * *

Chapter 37- Christmas Time Again

Jasper was doing extraordinarily well with his diet. His eyes returned to the golden color that they were just in time for Christmas. He had done what he said he was going to do and while I shopped for the three of them for Christmas, Jasper stayed with Helen and Tobias. He stayed with them while I wrapped present for everyone, and once I finished, he stayed right by my side and made sure I didn't try to look ahead to see my own gifts.

Despite his efforts, some visions got through. One, contained Carlisle.

 _"We have a few ideas of where we want to go next," Carlisle said, to the woman named Tanya. "Our plan is still to leave at the beginning of the year."_

 _"You'll have to let us know when you figured it out," she said, smiling._

 _"Of course we will."_

 _"Next time we'll have to come stay with you."_

 _Carlisle laughed._

 _"We look forward to it."_

"Alice?" Jasper asked worriedly. "Is everything okay?"

"Carlisle," I murmured trying to find Jasper's face. "They've narrowed down where they want to go."

"Where to?"

"He didn't say," I said, blinking a few time once I caught his face. "He said he'd tell Tanya once he decided. I'll have to keep tabs on him."

Jasper nodded.

"It's sounds like a good idea."

"When do you think they'll decide?" Helen asked, sitting next to me.

"Before the first of the year. They're leaving then."

"So we don't have much time left," Jasper said.

I looked at him.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Jasper's eyes widened slightly, before nodding.

"Of course it's a good thing."

"You didn't sound excited at first," I said, raising an eyebrow.

"No, Al, of course I am."

He smiled and leaned forward to kiss me.

As the days went on, I didn't see anything more about the Cullens, and Jasper continued to keep me occupied so I wouldn't see my gift.

"It's going to snow tomorrow night," Tobias said the night before Christmas Eve.

"We're going to have a white Christmas?" Helen asked.

I moved to close my eyes, but Jasper immediately shook my hand.

"Leave it to chance, Darlin'," Jasper whispered in my ear.

"Jazz, even if I wanted to see what you got me, I know that I couldn't. You spread along my little secret and none of you will settle on what you want to get me."

"You mean you've tried?" Jasper asked, shocked.

"I may have glimpsed," I said quickly and quietly, looking away from him.

Jasper went to speak, but I immediately jumped forward, and kissed him. He didn't pull back, but when we finally did part he scowled at me.

"That's not nice, Alice."

I pretended to be surprised.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

He pulled me onto his lap before I had the chance to slip away.

"You shouldn't look at your gifts before it's time for them to be given," he said, continuing to frown. "And it's not nice to try and distract me once you're caught."

"Well I didn't see what you got me," I said, grinning up at him. "So I think that should get me off the hook."

"Is that so?"

"You also love me," I said, patting his cheek.

He didn't take his eyes off me, but his lips turned into a smile that melted my still heart.

"You're right about that," he said quietly.

I grinned back, before sitting up.

"Okay. So I leave the weather up to chance," I said, leaning against his shoulder.

It did snow on Christmas Eve, but early in the morning rather than at night. In the matter of a few hours, the snow was already several inches tall.

"Before long you're not going to be able to go outside," Tobias teased.

I glared at him.

"Don't worry, Al," Jasper said quietly. "If it comes to that, I'll carry you on my shoulders."

He swooped down and picked me up, causing me to shriek with laughter.

"She loves the snow too much to not be able to go out in it," Jasper told Helen.

"When is the highest point of her energy burst this month?"

"It'll come later on today," I murmured, as Jasper swung me around onto his back.

"Well then we'll definitely have to go outside then, won't we?" Jasper said, smiling.

The snow stopped at a little after noon. It was a little over a foot when it stopped.

"Looks like Jasper won't have to carry you after all," Tobias said as I put on my cloak.

"I guess not," I laughed, putting on a pair of gloves.

Outside, there was several children playing in their yards, building snowmen or making snow angels.

"So what do you want to do, Alice?" Helen asked. "Perhaps we can have a decent snowman this year."

She threw a quick glance at Tobias, before turning back to me.

"Sounds like a plan," I said, smiling.

So the four of us set to work. I used wandless magic to roll the first ball, and the three of them paused to watch.

"It's how Fred, George, and I used to do it," I said, as I turned back to look at them. "They'd use their wands to make the other two."

I smiled at the memories, and then looked back at them.

"Perhaps I shouldn't have used magic. There are a lot of children around."

"It's okay," Helen said. "We've just never seen it done like that before."

I laughed.

"At Hogwarts, you see stuff like that everyday."

We continued to build the snowman, this time, we only used magic to make a carrot.

"There we are," I said, smiling. "Now he only needs a name."

Helen thought about it for a moment.

"How about Joy? It is after all Christmas, and it's supposed to be a joyous holiday."

I smiled and bent down to write the name of the snowman in the ground.  
As I went to stand up straight, I got a small glimpse of Tobias throwing a snowball at my face. I quickly scooped up a pile of snow, and just as quickly turned around and launched it at his face.

Jasper and Helen bursted into fits of laughter as Tobias stood dumbfounded.

"Your first mistake was making the decision. Your second mistake was deciding to wait until I turned around," I said, grinning.

As Tobias moved his arm to hurl the snowball at me, I ducked, having seen the decision not even a second before he moved.

"That's not fair!" he whined.

"Don't settle on one decision," Jasper told him. "Then she never expects it."

As I turned to glare at Jasper, I was met with a snowball to the face.

Jasper immediatly ducked out the way.

"Jazz!" I exclaimed. "You're supposed to be on my side!"

As he turned to give Tobias a high five, I scooped down and collected a large pile of snow. Jasper moved towards me with his arms extended.

"Come on, Darlin'. We'll call a truce."

He took one step closer, and I threw the snowball at him.

"Now we can call truce," I said.

Jasper wasn't as dumbfounded as Tobias had been. He immediately smirked before turning to Tobias.

"Not a chance."

Tobias ran after Helen, while Jasper ran towards me. Helen and I darted through the yard. I caught glimpses of Jasper reaching to grab me, and I ducked out the way. There came a point when I saw a flash of Jasper lunging at me, and I jumped into one of the trees in the yard. Jasper skidded to a stop a few yards from the tree.

As he moved under the tree, I jumped from the branch, and tackled him to the ground.

"Got you," I said, pinning his arms to the ground.

I moved his arms to one hand and grabbed a pile of snow with the other.

"Still want to call that truce?" I asked, holding the pile of snow up for him to see.

He thought about it for a moment, and while he thought, I covered his face in the snow I was holding.

"I win."

He scowled before moving to sit up.

"Fine, you win," he grumbled.

I beamed up at him.

"You can never beat a psychic, can you?" Tobias said, as he and Helen approached us. Helen's red hair had snow covering it.

"I suppose not," Jasper said, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"I'll know every decision you make," I said, smiling.

"Not every," he said. "You still haven't figured out what I'm getting you for Christmas."

"No, I suppose I haven't."

"Don't worry, Al," he said, kissing the top of my head. "Only a little while longer."

I looked up at the sky. It had started snowing again.

"What're you thinking about?" Jasper asked me.

"Before the war."

"What about it?"

I shook my head.

"It's not fair to you," I said, looking to the snow covered ground that Jasper and I still sat in. "It's not fair that I can't stop thinking about that life. I am very thankful that I met you, and I love you very very much, but I can't stop thinking about the life with you in it."

He hugged me to him.

"Alice, it's your family. Before the war, you had a good life. Remus made a good life for you."

"It's not even Remus that I'm thinking of," I said.

"What is it then, Al? Come on. You know you can talk to me."

"It's Harry, and George, and Freddie. I can't get them out of my head."

Jasper rested his chin on my shoulder.

"Tell me about it?" he asked.

"I see my memories," I said. "I look at the snow, and I think of one year, Harry had just come to Hogwarts, I was in my fifth year, and Fred and George was in their third year, and we all stayed at Hogwarts over the break. I look at you, and I think I'm happy, but what if they're not. How is it fair that I get to be happy, but they don't?"

"Because your work is done. You spent years saving them to make sure they were happy. In the end you had to save yourself to save them. Alice, I think it'll make you feel better to go see them. Just for a little while. You have a gift. Don't waste it."

"Maybe I can go see them for a while today," I murmured. "See if they're okay."  
Jasper kissed my cheek.  
"Come on. Let's get you inside, then you can go see them."

It would seem that no matter how many times I said it was the last time, it wasn't. I worried about them, and I guess I always would. I did mean what I said. I was happy here with Jasper, but I didn't see how it was fair that I got to be happy if they weren't.

Jasper, Tobias, Helen and I went to the room where Jasper and I stayed.

"We've never seen you use this gift," Tobias said quietly.

"I keep telling myself that it will be the last time," I said quietly. "It seems I can't stay away."  
"They're family," Helen said, smiling at me.

I nodded.

"How long will you be there?"

I shrugged.

"It can last from a few minutes to a few hours."

"Do you need company?" Helen asked Jasper.

"You're welcome to sit in here, but if you don't I'll be okay."

I looked up at him, watching his face carefully.

"You don't have to stay with me Jazz," I said, quietly, leaning against his shoulder.

"I want to stay with you. I always do."

I smiled, and laid down. Jasper pulled me as close to him as he could before I closed my eyes.

I focused on Harry, and I could see the image forming.

 _"We still haven't found whatever danger Alice warned us about," Harry said shaking his head. He was in the castle, talking to Minerva. "George and I have tried everything. We've tried the Resurrection stone, but all we got was Fred."_

 _"Maybe try again," Minerva said. "But, Potter, I don't think Alice is going to want the two of you spending the rest of your lives trying to find whatever danger she was keeping us safe from."_

 _"I know," Harry said quietly. "I miss her though."_

 _"I know, Harry," Minerva said smiling weakly. "We all do. But think about how she was. Do you really think she'd want this life for you?"_

 _Harry shook his head._

 _"So if you try the Resurrection Stone again, and you get nothing, stop looking Harry. Live your life."_

 _Harry nodded._

 _"Happy Christmas, Professor."_

 _"Happy Christmas, Potter."_

 _Harry made his way to the the fireplace. From there, he headed to Fred and George's shop in Diagon Alley._

 _"George?" Harry called, making his way through the store._

 _"Harry," George said, from the top of the stairs. "What did McGonagall say? Did she find anything?"_

 _Harry shook his head._

 _"She said to try the Resurrection Stone one more time."_

 _"And if we find nothing?"_

 _"George, as bad as I hate to say it, we may have to stop looking."_

 _"Harry—"_

 _"I don't want to either," Harry interrupted. "McGonagall made a good point though. This isn't the life Alice would want for us."_

 _George looked at the ground._

 _"I know," he whispered._

 _"So we try it one more time. And if we get nothing from her, then we move on. It's been a year, George. Almost two."_

 _George sank down to the top stair._

 _"I know."_

 _"Do you still have the stone?"_

 _George nodded, and disappeared into a room. He waved Harry up, and I followed behind Harry._

 _"You try it this time," George said, passing it to Harry. "I'll probably only get Fred again."_

 _Harry nodded and took the stone and turned it over three times in his hand._

 _I stood behind the two of them, and watched as six hazy figures appeared. As they became clearer, a smile appeared on my face. In front of me, stood Lily, James, Remus, Fred, my mother, and my father._

 _"Harry," Lily said, quietly._

 _"Mum," he said, reaching his hand out to her._

 _"You're looking for Alice," Mum said, looking at Harry then at George._

 _Harry nodded._

 _"She didn't come down," Harry said, looking at the figures._  
 _"She can't talk right now," Remus said._

 _"She wants to," Fred said, smiling at me. "She just can't."_

 _"Then maybe you know the answer," George said._

 _"What was Alice protecting us from?"_

 _"She kept saying she was keeping us safe."_

 _"That is why she did it," James said._

 _"We can't tell you what she was keeping you safe from. We do know what is was, but we promised not to tell you."_

 _"Why won't she talk to us?" George asked. I could tell he was getting annoyed._

 _Each of the spirits looked at me._

 _"She promised herself many times she wouldn't come back. She still watches over you. She worries about you," Dad said, giving me a small smile._

 _I moved from behind Harry and George, and went and stood in between Mum and Fred._

 _"We're so proud of you, sweetheart," Mum whispered so lowly that Harry and George could not hear._

 _Remus watched me carefully. Before turning back to the boys._

 _"Will you tell her we love her?" George asked._

 _"She knows that Georgie," Fred said smiling as I leaned my head on his shoulder._

 _I hugged him tightly, and Mum too. I moved down and hugged Dad, and paused when I got to Remus._

 _"Alice I'm sorry," he said lowly._

 _"I know, Re. But I know why you did it. I found Jasper, and I understand why you couldn't love me."_

 _"Are you happy?"_

 _I nodded, and hugged him just as tightly as the others. I could hear Harry and George talking behind me, and in a moment I would return to them._

 _"Thank you, Re. You showed me what love was. You gave me a wonderful life."_

 _"I also broke you, and I can never forgive myself for that."_

 _"I found love again. Jazz put the pieces back together."_

 _He smiled, and I moved to Lily and James._

 _"I'm sorry I couldn't get to you in time," I said quietly._

 _"It's okay," Lily said._

 _"Thank you for keeping Harry safe," James said as I hugged them quickly and tightly._

 _"Of course."_

 _I returned to Harry and George._

 _"Alice wants us to tell you that she loves you very much," Fred said._

 _"And that she wants you to move on with you lives."_

 _I smiled at my family and stepped up to Harry and George._

 _"You can do it," I whispered to where they could just barely hear me. I kissed both of their cheeks and fell back in line between Mum and Dad._

 _"You tell that Jasper he better take care of you," Dad whispered._

 _I laughed, and nodded._

 _"I will, Dad."_

 _"You don't have much longer left do you?" Harry said to them._

 _"No we don't."_

 _"So it's time to say goodbye?"_

 _Dad nodded._

 _"I'm afraid so."_

 _"You'll tell Alice we love her?"_

 _Everyone nodded once more._

 _"Oh, and Harry?" Remus asked stepping forward after throwing a quick glance at me. "When he's old enough, and you go to tell Teddy about Dora and I, tell him about Alice. I know he'd love her as much as I once did."_

 _I smiled and looked at the ground._

 _"I have to go," I said to the six of them quietly. "Jazz is waiting for me, and tomorrow's Christmas."_

 _"We love you, Alice," Mum said. "Never forget that."_

 _"I love you too."_

 _I gave my parents a quick kiss on the cheek, and gave one to Fred who hugged me tightly. Harry and George had already said goodbye, but I could still see them._

 _"Alice?" Remus asked, looking at me._

 _"Yeah Re?"_

 _"I really am sorry."_

 _"I know."_

 _I smiled and stepped back._

 _"I'll see you again," I said, smiling._

 _"We know. And we'll be watching over you."_

It would seem as quickly as I came, I was leaving my family once more.I was returning to Jasper. He too was my family, and I was more than happy to go back to him.

I could hear Jasper humming before I opened my eyes.

"Jasper," I murmured, opening my eyes.

"Hey, Al. How was it?"

"They were still trying to find me. Trying to find what I was trying to protect them from. They used the Resurrection stone one last time."

"So you saw Fred again?"

I smiled and nodded.

"And James and Lily, and Mum, and Dad," I paused before looking up at him, "and Remus."

Jasper's mouth twitched.

"What did they say?"

"Well Dad said you better take care of me," I said, smiling up at him. "But they also told Harry and George that they had to stop trying to find me. That it's not a life I would have wanted for them."

"And Remus? Did he say anything?"

"He told me he was sorry for everything. He told Harry that he wanted him to tell Teddy about me, and he was sure Teddy would love me as much as he had."

Jasper's mouth twitched again, and I could detect a hint of jealousy that was radiating off of Jasper.

"Don't be jealous, Jazz. I told him that I understand now. I had found love again with you. You were able to fix everything that he had broken."

Jasper smiled and kissed me.

"I love you," he said quietly.

"I love you more."

I turned to the door, where Helen and Tobias were waiting.

"How long was I gone for?"

"Four hours."

"It felt like five minutes," I said, looking at the clock. "Not much longer until Christmas."

The four of us moved to the living room where we talked. I told stories about Hogwarts, and they told stories about their adventures in Greece and France.

"Have you ever heard of Veela's?" I asked Tobias, when he asked about the wizard communities in France.

He shook his head. I grinned and flipped through my photo albums to find a photo of Fleur.

"This is Fleur. She's Bill's wife. She's a quarter Veela. Veelas are very beautiful. There is a family of half and quarter Veelas in France. That's where Fleur is from."

"Do the French vampires go to Hogwarts?"

I shook my head.

"They have a school for magic there. Beauxbatons Academy of Magic. In Harry's fourth year, the year after I graduated from Hogwarts, some of the students from Beauxbatons and some from the school in Bulgaria, Durmstrang, came to Hogwarts. For the first time in years the Triwizard Tournament was held, and Fleur was one of the champions."

"Did she win?"

I shook my head.

"She's good at magic, but she struggled with the tasks."

"Who won?"

"Harry," I said proudly.

When the sun came up, the glittering snow shined brightly through the window. We decided to wait until after noon before we opened gifts.

"Now you can finally see what I've gotten you," Jasper said handing me a small box.

I opened the box, to find a small bracelet. It was gold, and there was one charm on it. A heart with a lock.

"You are the only one with a key to my heart," Jasper said, smiling.

I laughed.

"That's very corny," I murmured.

"Yet you love it."

I laughed again and nodded.

"I do. Almost as much as I do you."

He smiled and lifted the bracelet out of the box and clasped it onto my wrist.

"There we go," he said, smiling.

"You're turn," I said, handing him the gift. "It's not nearly worth what you gave me, but it took me some time to put it together."

He opened the book, and flipped through the pages.

"It's the story of us falling in love," he said in a tone of astonishment. I could see the pictures on the page as he flipped through them.

I smiled, and he looked up to me with wide eyes.

"Why would you think this isn't worth that?" he demanded. "This is worth the world to me!"

He hugged me tightly before I had a chance to say anything, and then kissed my forehead.

"Thank you, Alice."

"Of course."

Helen and Tobias smiled as I turned to them.  
"We coordinated on your gift," Helen said, smiling.

"It's not a key to the heart, or a book of memories, but we think maybe you'd still like it," Tobias said.

They gave me three long rolls that were covered in wrapping paper, and a very large box.

I opened the rolls first. Inside the paper was three rolls of fabric.

"Hold these?" I asked Jasper, as I reached for the box.

He nodded and took the fabric.

Inside the box was a sewing machine.

"You said you used to patch up clothes when you were living with Remus. We figured you could take a shot of trying to make your own clothes."  
"Thank you," I said, smiling.

I passed the two of them their gifts.

To Helen, I gave a pair of fairy wings, and some fairy lights.

"Alice are these—"

"Fairies," I said, watching the fairies in the jars. "They often let themselves be used a decorations for Wizardkind. They're vain creatures."

"How have you kept them alive for this long?"

"I let them roam around in my bag."

I opened the jar, and the fairy flew out onto my finger.

"If you wish, you can let them loose, and they'll go back to the Fairy Forest."

"I appreciate you trying, Alice, but I don't think I can do that."

"It's no problem," I said, making my way to the window. I opened the window and turned to the fairy. "You can find your way home, can't you?"

She nodded slightly, before fluttering out of the window.

"I'm sorry Alice."

"It's okay," I said, smiling. "I forget that what's normal for me isn't normal for you."

Tobias was a bit more pleased with his gift. I got him a goblin made pocket watch. Engraved on the top was an owl.

"Thank you, Alice," he said, giving me a quick one armed hug.

"Of course," I said smiling.

"Happy Christmas," I said to them as I sat back.

"Merry Christmas, Darlin'," Jasper said, kissing my forehead.

"Merry Christmas, Alice," Helen and Tobias said together.

For now, the four of us sat calmly as the day faded to night.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the ones to come! I really don't have any news, but we're getting closer to finding the Cullens!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	38. Until We Meet Again

_"Goodbye makes my throat hurt." ~Charlie Brown_

* * *

Chapter 38- Until We Meet Again

Time was moving much to quickly now. Seven days turned to six, and soon six days would turn to five.

"I have to go tonight to get some blood for you to give to me," I said the day after Christmas. "You two need to make sure that your eyes are going to be red."

I turned to Jasper.

"Are you coming with me?"

He nodded.

"Of course. You'll need help."

I made a copy of a bag I had gotten while on a shopping trip with Helen and put an Undetectable Extension Charm on it.

"We'll go tonight and get the contacts," Tobias said.

"How far ahead do you have to go?"

"The late 70's," Helen said. "We'll be back in the morning.

I nodded before turning to Jasper.

"You ready to go?"

Jasper nodded, and while Helen and Tobias went forward, Jasper and I ran out the door.

"We still haven't figured out where we're going once we leave here," Jasper said.

"How about Ohio?" I said, glancing at him.

"What part?"

"I don't know cities, Jazz. I just know the states."

"Well there's Cleveland, Toledo, Columbus, Kent, Sydney."

"How about Columbus?" I asked. As soon as Jasper had said it, my gut told me we might find answers there.

"So when we leave here, we go to Columbus, Ohio," Jasper said, nodding.

"How much does the gas for your car cost?"

"Not much. We still have a good deal of money off what you made while we've been staying here."  
I nodded.

"We'll use the money for gas."

Jasper nodded.

"Sounds like a plan."

Jasper and I focused on the hunt then. We made our way into Canada, where Jasper thought we could find a great deal of animals.

"I know that we had deer," I called to him. "It was the first blood I've ever had."

"Anything else your certain of?"

"Bear," I said, automatically.

"Do you know what kind?"

"No."

He came to a stop, and I stopped a few inches in front of him.

"I can go get one, and you can go get the other, then we can meet back here."

"I'll take deer," I said.

"You sure?"

I nodded.

"You seem to like bear more than deer."

"Right you are," he said, smiling.

I smiled back and her pulled me close to him and kissed my forehead.

"So we meet here?" he asked.

I nodded.

"When?"

"You can decide when you're done, and I'll see it."

He chuckled.

"Of course you will."

"I love you," I said closing my eyes.

"I love you too. I'll see you soon."

I pecked him once on the lips before stepping back from him. I watched as he ran in the opposite direction. I didn't like watching him leave, but I knew he'd come back to me.

I turned and set off in the other direction. I knew the quicker this went, the quicker I would come back to Jasper.

As I set off, I hummed the song that Jasper so frequently hummed. It made me feel closer to him. I wasn't sure why I didn't like it so much. I knew he would always come back to me in the end. But the second he walked away from me, I missed him, and wish we hadn't separated.

About six hours into the hunt, as I went to tackle what I was sure was a mountain lion, I caught a brief glance of Jasper returning to the spot we had parted at. I decided I would finish this hunt, seeing as this one was for me, not for future me.

"There you are," Jasper said when I stopped in front of him. "I was beginning to worry you had lost your way."

I smiled.

"I was finishing a hunt."

"Here are the bags," Jasper said, handing me a bag. I dropped both bags on the ground, and studied Jasper's face.

"What is it?" he asked.

"I missed you," I said softly.

He laughed and pulled me into a tight hug.

"I missed you too, Darlin'."

"Is that wrong? We were apart for six hours, and it felt like years."

"Alice, sweetheart, we haven't been separated for long periods of time like that before. We've been together constantly for the past year and a half."

I laughed.

"I suppose you're right."

"Come on," he said, picking me up, and slinging me onto his back. "Let's head back."

He passed the bags back to me, which I hung over my shoulders.

He carried me the entire way back, which was helpful as my energy was starting to decline.

"What are we going to do if my energy is down when it's time for us to leave?"

"Well we'll be driving, so I don't think it will make a difference. When will the lowest point be?"

"Tomorrow."

"If we leave on the second, your energy will be almost completely back to normal."

"Okay," I murmured, before kissing the nape of his neck.

When we got back to the house, the lights were still out. Helen and Tobias weren't back yet, and wouldn't be for a while.

I began singing You Stole My Cauldron But You Can't Have My Heart by Celestina Warbeck quietly, as Jasper read a book. I laid with my head in his lap, and I was tracing his hand.

"Now what's that supposed to mean?" Jasper asked when the song was finished. I could detect a mock sadness in his voice, and he puffed his lip out at me.

I pulled his face down to mine, and kissed the puffed out lip.

"Molly sang a lot of Celestina Warbeck," I said, smiling. "I used to sing it to annoy Fred and George."

"How well did that work?"

"They liked hearing me sing, but they hated the song."

I laughed and shook my head.

"I think you sing very well," Jasper said, smiling.

"Thank you, Jazz."

A few minutes later, I could hear a warping noise that signaled Helen and Tobias were back.

I shot up from the couch, and looked to the spot where they had disappeared from earlier.

"You two are back already," Helen said, looking between Jasper and I.

I nodded.

"Her energy will be at its lowest today," Jasper said. "And we got a great deal of blood."

"Will this be enough?" Tobias asked, approaching me, and opening a bag.

It was filled a good amount with white boxes.

I nodded. "That's good."

I took the bag from him and the two bags on the floor in front of the couch, and moved to an area in the floor.

I moved everything out of the bag they were in, and took one of the bags.

"I have to put the charms on this now or I won't be able to do it before you leave."

"What charms are being put on it?" Jasper asked.

"The bag itself will have a warming charm on it to keep the blood warm, but a pocket will have a cooling charm on it to balance out the temperature."

The three of them watched me carefully as I worked. The more magic I used, the more my energy seemed to decrease. Once it was finished, I put everything in their respective spots, and zipped up the bag before climbing back onto the couch, laying my head in Jasper's lap.

"I'll go grab her blanket," Helen said, rising from the loveseat.

"Thank you," Jasper said, pulling me onto his lap.

Helen returned quickly, and draped the blanket over me. Jasper wrapped it around me and held me close to him.

We stayed in the living room with Helen and Tobias for the decline of my energy.

"Have you figured out where you're going?" Helen asked Jasper.  
"Ohio," I said weakly.

They all turned to me.

"I have a good feeling about Ohio," I rasped.

Helen smiled.

"Write down an address before you leave here," Helen said. "We'll send you a postcard like we promised."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome, Alice."

"Tobias?" I said, trying to call his attention.

"What's wrong, petite sorcière?"

"Act quickly when you find me."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll understand."

Jasper chuckled and Tobias muttered something under his breath that I didn't quite catch.

"Tobias!" Helen exclaimed, smacking his shoulder.

"Yes, Mon amour?"

"Be nice," she said.

"What?" I croaked, turning to find Jasper. "What did he say, Jazz?"

"It wasn't even mean," Tobias said patting my hand. "I simply said that if you spilled it to Jasper then I can get the answer I'm looking for."

"If you don't be nice, I'll turn you into a goblet," I murmured, closing my eyes.  
Helen and Jasper bursted into laughter.

"Try and catch me first," Tobias said.  
I opened my eyes in time to see Tobias move from his spot on the floor to the back wall.

I moved to stand before Jasper pulled me back into his lap.

"No, Alice," Jasper murmured in my ear.

"Helen smack him for me," I rasped.

I moved to roll onto my side.

"How about we move to the bedroom?" Helen said. "It gives her more space to move than the couch."

Jasper nodded, and tightened his hold on me. He moved quickly, and I could hear Helen and Tobias behind us. Jasper laid down and gently placed me beside of him.

"Jazz?" I murmured.

"What is it Darlin'?"

"Do you think by Friday I'll be able to get back to moving?"

"I don't know, Alice. You haven't rested like you usually do."

"We don't have much time left with them," I whined.

"Alice, this isn't the last time you'll ever see us," Helen said. "You have to take care of yourself too."

I waved her off.

"I have plenty of time to rest when we get to Ohio."

"At least rest for a couple hours, please?" Jasper pleaded.

I studied his face, and it was filled with concern.

"Okay," I murmured.

"Thank you," he said, kissing my temple.

I curled up against his side, and the cloud fell over me.

The cloud lifted a good time later. According to the clock, I had been under for about three hours, but I didn't feel at all better. This led us all to believe that it would make for a longer recovery.

"It's okay," I murmured when Jasper tried getting me to rest for a little bit longer. "I'll rest on the way to Ohio."

Jasper frowned at me.

"You need to take care of yourself."

"And I will once we have everything ready to go."

Jasper sighed.

"Alice—"

"Jazz, this isn't something as simple as a road trip. They're going to save my life! To bring me to you! To save my family—"

Jasper hugged me to him.

"Okay, okay. I know, and I'm sorry," he mumbled against my forehead.

"Everything is going to be okay, petite sorcière," Tobias said, patting my leg.

"What does that mean?" Jasper asked Tobias, resting his cheek on the top of my head.

"It means little witch in French. Although I think she's more of a petite sorcière vampire"

"Little vampire witch?" I asked closing my eyes.

"Yep," Tobias answered proudly.

"Tobias?" I murmured.  
"Hmm?"

"How did you learn English?"

"I started studying when I was young," he said. "I wanted to go to America when I grew up. So I studied and studied. It wasn't until I met Helen that I came to America."

"I learned English the same way," Helen said.

"I figured maybe it was in school."

"No, not quite."

By the next day, I was slightly better, but not by much. I decided I would take some energy supplements rather than rest, seeing as our time was almost up.

Jasper walked behind me with one hand around my waist, and the other holding my hand. Tobias walked in front of us, and the four of us descended into the bottom on my bag.

I made my way to the potions cabinet and pulled out various energy potions and a few droppers.

"This should get me by for some time."

"Do you swear you'll rest on the way to Ohio?" Jasper asked.

"I swear."

"Okay," he said, watching me as I took the various potions.

"There we go. That should do it for a while."

Helen and Tobias headed back up the stairs, and Jasper followed closely behind.

"Okay, so what all do we have left to do?"

"Tobias and I need to pack, you still have to tell us about where to find you."

I nodded, and grabbed my wand.

"Alice that'll knock your energy back down," said Jasper, disapprovingly.

I sighed.  
"Fine. I'll go get the maps myself."

I raised to my feet and made my way back over to the bag.

I headed down to the bag, going through my stuff trying to find the maps I had packed right before I left Britain.

Once I found them, I returned to the table.

"Okay," I murmured unfolding one of the maps. "This is a map of England from the view of the Wizarding World. Here's London, and here's Devon. Right here," I paused to circle a point on the map, "is Ottery St Catchpole. The Burrow is on the outskirts," I paused and pulled out another map. "This is a map of this area. Here's the Burrow. I'm going to Apparate to the middle of the city." I marked another spot. "Tobias you'll be in an ally that's right here."

"Where am I?"

"In the hotel. I'm pretty sure you guys were staying in London because if I'm not mistaking that's where James is. I know that's where he first caught my scent. I remember the hotel was a tall building, and Tobias and I jumped from the window so nobody would see me. Nobody saw me come or go. Keep these."

"What about the one of the Hogwarts grounds?"

"You'll get one from me before we head to the castle."

They nodded and then I passed them the maps.

"Now all that's left is packing."

"We'll get to that on New Year's."

On New Year's day, we spent time packing Helen and Tobias's bags. My energy was better. Not all the way back, but I could do magic with a wand again.

"You'll leave an address?"

I nodded.

"I promise. I'll probably go in under the name of Alice Brandon."

"Alice Brandon?"  
"You understand soon," I said. "I'm not sure whether or not I told you the cover up story before you left. So I'll just leave it to be explained to you when you go to get me. Once you go back to 1998 to change James's memory, make sure you go back to London. Hogwarts is in Scotland."

They nodded.

"And we leave you with Jasper?"

"In Philadelphia. Don't forget, I won't know much about the Muggle world. Be patient. I'm trying. If you hear me mention anything of an angel, it's Jasper."

I glanced over at Jasper and grinned.

"Do you have the fake skin makeup thing?" I asked. "We'll get it on the day. We're going to land a few days after the war ends to scout the place out."

"I won't be ready for you until the night of Remus's funeral."

"May 11, right?"  
I nodded.

"Do you meet us when Alice leaves with you?" Tobias asked Jasper.

Jasper shook his head.

"No, but I did see you guys. You were watching Alice and I."

He winked at me before turning back to them.

"I'll say it a million times then, but I want you to hear it from me. The me you've come to know in the last six months. I can never thank you enough times for giving me this life. You saved my family, and you saved me. You led me to my angel. To my Jasper, and I found love again," I said, turning to Jasper who swooped down to kiss my cheek. "I can never thank you enough. I will be grateful to you for the rest of eternity."

Jasper looked between the three of us.

"I'm going to give you guys a few minutes alone," he murmured in my ear. "I'll be back here in a little while."

I nodded, and kissed his cheek before he turned to leave.

"Alice?" Helen asked.

"Yes?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

I nodded. She hesitated, but then looked at me very closely.

"Well it's two questions really."

"Okay."  
"The first one….where you actually going to kill yourself?"

I nodded, and looked down to my lap.  
"I was. I couldn't live with myself. I had to do things that I couldn't come back from. I lost myself to save my family, and in the end I couldn't save them all."

I looked up at the two of them as a lump in my throat grew.  
"So what's your second question?"

"Did you honestly think you would never find love after Remus?"

I nodded again.

"Yes. I was in love with him. Far more than he was in love with me. When he left, I was heartbroken," I smiled weakly and shook my head. "When he married my cousin, I was enraged. I refused to go to the wedding, and when he came around to ask me about it, I told him that I could never forgive him. I thought I could never love anybody else. But then when you changed me, I saw Jasper's face. I fell in love instantly."

I looked over at the doorway and saw Jasper standing there.

"Although I think it took him a while to fall in love with me I think," I teased.

He glared at me, and returned to my side.

"You know that's not how it went," he grumbled.

"I know, Jazz," I said, laughing. I leaned in to kiss him, and he turned his face.

I pulled back, and puffed out my lip. With enough concentration, I was able to push out the feeling of sadness, which automatically caused Jasper to turn to face me.

He crushed me to him.

"Al, I'm sorry! It was supposed to be a joke!" he said quickly. My puffed out lip turned to a grin, and Helen, Tobias, and I began laughing.

"That's not nice," Jasper said, still hanging onto me tightly. "I thought I had upset you."

"Nope," I said proudly.

He leaned over and kissed me.

Tobias clapped and cheered loudly.

"Magnifique petite sorcière!"

I smiled and leaned my head on Jasper's shoulder.

"I loved her from the start," Jasper said, wrapping his arm around my waist. "I wanted to give her time. Time to recover from the war and Remus."

"Who made the first move?" Helen asked me.

"That would have been her," Jasper said pointing at me. "In Rochester we were in a motel reviewing the file for Rosalie Hale, and Alice kissed me."

"He pulled away from me though," I said, laughing. "I had convinced myself in a single second that he didn't want me."

"It's hard to picture him not loving you," Helen said.

"I couldn't live without her," Jasper said.

I grinned.

Helen hugged me.

"We are glad we met you."

"I'm glad I met you too," I said.

"You'll come around again, won't you?" Tobias asked. "After you find the Cullens?"

"Of course I will. We'll stay in touch."

They smiled.

"Good. If you stop talking to us, I'll come find you," Helen said.

"I'll see you coming," I beamed.

We laughed and I looked at the clock.

"We don't have much time left," I said, my smile fading.

"I suppose we don't. Less than two hours until we leave," Helen said.

They would be leaving at 11:00. Jasper and I would be leaving at 1:00 tomorrow afternoon to head for Ohio. It was 9:27 now.

We spent the last two hours talking. More so planning as we finished packing books for Helen and Tobias.

"It's time," I said quietly. It was almost 10:55. "It's time to say goodbye."

"It's only goodbye for now," Helen said pulling me into a hug. "We'll see you again."

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Tobias and Jasper shaking hand, both of them grinning widely.

"I know that," I told Helen.

Helen pulled away, and Tobias immediately pulled me into what would have been a bone crushing hug.

"I'm going to miss you, petite sorcière."

"I'm going to miss you too."

"You take care of her, you hear?" Tobias said to Jasper.

Jasper nodded, and grinned and he wrapped his arm around me, and pulled me to him.

"Until the end of time."

"Take care of yourself, Alice. Rest up on the way to Ohio."

I nodded.

"Right."

Helen and Tobias looked at the clock, and so did Jasper at I. It was 11:59.

"It's time to go," Helen said. The warping noise came back and like a broken projector, they faded from my view.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Keep in mind, this is not the last time we will hear from Helen and Tobias. They reappear a lot throughout the remainder of the story.**

 **Follow, favorite, and review!**


	39. Final Lead

_"The most important thing in the world is family and love." ~John Wooden_

* * *

Chapter 39- Final Lead

After the departure of Helen and Tobias, I turned in Jasper's arms and hugged him tightly.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I nodded.

"They're going to keep my family safe. While I keep the other half of my family safe."

I stretched up and kissed his jaw.

"Alice, can you rest for a little while longer before we start packing?"

I nodded, and we made our way to our little bedroom for the last time.

"Jasper?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you like them? Helen and Tobias I mean."

"Of course I like them."

"Do you think you'll like the Cullens?"

"They give you hope," he said, pulling me closer to him. "If you like them, then I will."

"Be your own person, Jazz. Don't like someone just because I do. If you're not happy there, tell me. We'll leave."

He nodded, but didn't say anything else on the matter.

"Ali?"

"Yes, Jasper?"

"I love you," he murmured.

I smiled and nuzzled against his shoulder.

"I love you more."

I began to think whether or not Jasper would be happy there. Would he actually tell me if he wanted to leave? Or would he just pretend to be happy for my sake? Maybe he would be happy. He didn't want to kill humans and Carlisle could help him. But would Carlisle accept two strangers from off the road into him home? Into his family?

I knew I would have to start planning for what would happen if he didn't let us stay. Jasper and I do well on our own, so maybe we could get a house somewhere and settle down. Or maybe we could come back and stay with Helen and Tobias. One day, I'd want to go back to Britain so maybe we could hunt down James and Victoria. If Jasper wouldn't let me, I could always go on my own.

But could I honestly hurt Jasper like that? If there was even the slightest possibility of me not coming home to him, it would definitely hurt him. So maybe I'd have to wait until my family was dead before I could go back. Or maybe, just maybe, I wouldn't be able to go back at all.

I rested until almost five in the morning. Jasper hummed quietly the entire time, and I thought of all the possibilities of our lives in the future.

As I rested, small flashes of the future tried to make their way in front of my eyes, but they faded away quickly, like a decision was made, but then decided against.

When I came back, my energy was almost completely back. It was enough for me to be able to change into my Animagus form and back.

"Okay, so we need to pack, and I usually clean if I stayed at someone else's house."

Jasper nodded, and I pulled my wand from my boot. I looked at the photo albums and made two different copies of them. One of the copies didn't move, and the moving ones were to go to Helen and Tobias. I laid them on top of the mantle of the fireplace. I put a small potion vial on top of it. With a note that read:

"If you want to make the pictures stop, one drop on each of the pictures should do the trick."

Jasper watched me as I began to move around the room. Out of thin air, I made a bouquet of white roses and Naomi Lilies with mint surrounding it.

"I think that will work nicely," I said to Jasper. It'll smell nice when they get home."

Jasper smiled and watched as I put a preservation spell, which Severus had helped me make for plants I kept, on the flowers. I wrote another note, this one said:

"The Preservation Spell will come of in six months time. From there, water them as you would a normal plant. There are more around the house."

I collected my stuff, and began packing them away on the plattform in my bag. Once everything was inside, I'd move down to the bottom and put everything in their respective places.

I moved my books and some clothes that I had out. I folded up the blanket, and set that on the floor.

"Do you need help?" Jasper asked.

"Can you start to take the stuff of the platform down to the bottom?"

He nodded, and moved to the bag, leaning inside to lift the door before disappearing.

I made another bouquet of flowers for this room. Instead of roses and lilies, it was French Marigolds and Baby's Breath.

I moved around the room, cleaning everything, and I took the bedding off the bed and pillows.

I piled them up at the back door with the rest of the linnen. I decided to do the entire house, so I ended up taking Helen and Tobias's bedding as well.

Once I had it all piled up, Jasper had made his way back from the bag.

"Al, what are you doing?"

"Laundry," I said, as I went searching for a bucket.

"Darlin', we've been living here for six months and you have yet to use the washer."

"That's because I don't know how to work the bloody thing," I muttered.

"Come here," he laughed, picking up the pile. "I'll show you. You forget that I grew up in the Muggle world."

I followed behind him as he carried the pile of clothes to a room that looked to be a closet. When he opened it, I saw a machine. He pulled it out of the closet and put the clothes into the machine as well as soap, which sat on a shelf in the closet.

"Al, can you use magic to fill this up with water?" Jasper asked.

I nodded, and stepped forward, my hands hovered over the machine. It filled up and the soap in the bottom began to bubble up.

"Thank you," Jasper said, stepping back up to the machine.

After stepping back up to the wall, he put something into the wall. I thought I saw a brief spark and as soon as the thing entered the wall, the machine began to make noise. I jumped back, almost slipping on the floor.

"What are you doing?" I exclaimed.

"Alice did you not have electricity?"

I shook my head, and continued to step back. Jasper stood up, and pulled me under his arm.

"Have you honestly never watched Helen or Tobias plug anything in or unplug it?"

I shook my head again, and watched the spot in the wall carefully.

"It's not going to hurt us?"

He laughed, shook his head, and kissed the top of mine.

"No, Darlin'."

I stepped closer to the machine, and peered inside.

I couldn't help but peer inside the washing machine from time to time again as I moved through the house. I was setting up bouquets, dusting, making sure all of mine and Jasper's stuff was picked up.

In Helen and Tobias's room, I put red roses with Brunnera macrophylla.

"How did you learn about flowers?" Jasper asked.

I shrugged.

"During Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, things were pretty relaxed. So Remus and I hung out in a cave with Dad some, and when we were home, I read about flowers."

"Why flowers though?"

I shrugged.

"I like flowers."

He laughed and shook his head.

"Okay, well the clothes are done."

He opened the machine.

"They're soaked," I said, looking through them.

"Yeah. You put them through here, then they dry."

"This would be so much quicker if I used magic," I said, shaking my head.

"Here, watch this," he said turning a knob on the top. He folded up a blanket so it was thinner before putting it into a tight space.

I watched as the blanket slid through and out the other side.

I frowned, and watched as Jasper went through a couple articles of bedding.

"I still don't understand it," I murmured.

"Al," Jasper said slowly wrapping his arms around my waist. "If you want to fit into this world, the Muggle world I mean, then you have to learn how to work the stuff."

I glowered at the floor, and huffed.

"I'm trying! I just don't understand how that's easier!"

Jasper laughed and hugged me tightly.

"I know you're trying, Darlin'. You'll understand someday. Here, give it a try."

He took my hand and helped me guide a sheet through the turing cylinders.

"You may have to use magic to finish the drying completely," Jasper murmured.

I looked down at the ground, and once the sheet was out of the machine, I stepped out of Jasper's arms.

"Alice, what's wrong?" Jasper asked, extending a hand out to me.

I stepped back.

"Jasper, does magic bother you?"

He looked confused.

"Does magic bother me? No of course it doesn't. Why would it?"

I shook my head.

"It's not normal."  
"It's your normal," Jasper said, grabbing my arm. "Alice, I don't care whether or not you have magic. I haven't cared for the last year and a half. Why would I care now?"

I looked at the ground.

"I don't know. It was just a passing thought."

Jasper sighed.

"You know I will always love you. Even if you didn't have magic. Stop worrying, Darlin'. Please."

I sighed, and pressed my forehead against his shoulder.

"I don't know what's wrong with me," I murmured.

"You're scared," Jasper said, quietly. "I think you're scared that the Cullens may reject us. But how could they not love you?"

"What about you?"  
"As long as they like you, I like them," he said, smiling.

"Jasper if you're not happy you're going to tell me, right?"

He nodded.

"Of course."

I smiled.

"Okay, now let's finish the laundry."

I dried the rest of the clothes by magic, and Jasper and I started returning them to their rooms. We went to Helen and Tobias's room first.

"We shouldn't be long once everything is cleaned," I said as we moved to put on the sheets.

"How long until we leave?"

I shrugged.

"A few hours maybe. We'll have to make sure your car has the gas and we have our money."

Jasper nodded, and when continued to put the bedding back into place. When we finished Helen and Tobias's bed, I looked at the room.

"I think maybe I should move those flowers," I said. "I think they'd look better over there."

I grabbed the vase, and went to move the flowers to the dresser. As I went to take a step forward, however, my surroundings slipped from my sight, and I could feel the vase slip through my fingers.

"Alice?" Jasper asked panicked. "Alice, what is it?"

But I couldn't answer him. A new scene was taking the place of Helen and Tobias's bedroom.

 _"Where have you decided to go?" Tanya asked._

 _"Helena, Montana," Carlisle said._

 _"So where is the new house? Maybe once you're settled, we can come visit you."_

 _"2134 Forestwood Drive," Esme said. "And we'd like for all of you to come see us, Carmen."_

 _"When do you leave?" a man asked. He stood close to the one called Carmen._

 _"Later tonight. The kids are packing now."_

 _"Surely they'll come say goodbye before you go?"_  
 _"Of course they will."_

 _"We really do want to thank you for letting us stay here."_

 _"It's no problem, Carlisle. You and your family are our family."_

The vision faded away, and my eyes refocused on the shattered vase that laid on the floor.

"Alice?" Jasper asked quietly again. "What did you see?"

"Carlisle," I said. "I found him."

Jasper guided me to the bed, and pressed on my shoulders.

"Where is he, Alice?"

"2134 Forestwood Drive, Helena Montana," I said, looking up to meet his eyes.

"You finally found him?"

I nodded.

"He's not ready for us though," I said, closing my eyes. I focused on Hoquiam. "It's snowing there, and it wasn't snowing in my vision."

"When will he be ready for us, Al?"

"I'd say the end of March," I murmured, as I looked through the future.

Jasper was quiet, and I refocused on his face. He was grinning.

"What?"

"You did it, Al. You found them."

I smiled and pulled him into a tight hug.

"We have to finish now."

I focused over his shoulder and waved a hand, then the vase repaired itself and set it on the dresser.

* * *

 **Hey guys! So I was reading through Eclipse the other day, and it says there that they were living in Hoquiam when they first met the wolves and that was before Alice and Jasper came. So today (Saturday April, 14) I started looking around, and I decided on Helena, Montana. There is only twenty more sunny days than there is in Forks. So I decided to place them there. So I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	40. Helena

_"I'm in love with Montana. For other states I have admiration, respect, recognition, even some affection. But with Montana it is love. And it's difficult to analyze love when you're in it." ~John Steinbeck_

* * *

Chapter 40- Helena

Jasper and I finished up cleaning quickly. I pulled out a piece of paper. I pulled out a piece of paper, and began writing.

 _Helen, Tobias, I found them! The Cullens! They aren't ready for us, but we'll be staying in Helena, Montana where they're moving to. From what I can see in the visions, Jasper and I will be staying at the Scarlet Circus Motel in room 23. At the end of March, we'll be going to the Cullens, and at that point, I will send you a postcard with an address._

 _Thank you, and we love you!_

 _Alice and Jasper._

I placed the note on the coffee table.

"It's going to take us a little over a day to get there," Jasper said. "You have plenty of time to rest."

I nodded and sat my bag down on the floor.

"We can stop for gas before we leave the city," I murmured.

Jasper nodded, and picked up my bag.

I looked around the room. I knew it was coming, but I wasn't ready to actually leave Helen and Tobias.

"It's going to be okay," Jasper murmured, putting an arm around my waist. "You'll see them sooner than you expect."

I smiled at him, and leaned my head on his shoulder.

The bag sat in the back seat, and Jasper and I sat in the front. I handed him money. It was nearing five o'clock in the morning now.

"I don't know how to do the gas thing. This should be enough to get us to Montana."

He flipped through the money before putting it in his back pocket.

Jasper stopped before exiting the state for gas. I got out to watch him, seeing as I had never seen it happen. It didn't seem complicated, and I was sure I could do it again if I had the opportunity.

"It's a very different world," I said, laying my head in Jasper's lap as he started to drive again. "The one you grew up in versus the one I did."  
"It's okay, Darlin'. You'll grow used to it."

"Will I? It's been nearly two years, and I don't know how to drive or anything."

"Do you want to drive?"

I sighed.

"I don't know, Jazz. I just want to be more a part of your world."

"I'll teach you," Jasper said, smiling.

I watched him. In a way, I still couldn't wrap my head around it. He wasn't going anywhere.

Affection filled the car, and I smiled up at him. I brought a hand up to his face and traced the scar on his jaw.

"I love you too," he said, glancing down at me.

I smiled up at him, before closing my eyes.

"Are you tired?" Jasper murmured.

I shook my head.

"I'm promised you and Helen I would rest. So I'm resting."

Jasper chuckled.

"I guess you did promise us."

I rested until we made it to the end of Indiana. By that point, I felt that I had all of my energy, and sat up.

"What time is it?" I asked, leaning my head on Jasper's shoulder.

"Almost five."

"Pm?"

Jasper laughed and nodded.

"Yeah. You've rested for a while."

"It doesn't feel like that long."

"Time flies when you're having fun."

"Are you having fun?"

Jasper shrugged.

"It's not so bad."

"Do you want to stop for a little while? You can get out and stretch."

"Well when we get to Chicago, we can stop."

We did stop in Chicago. In many ways, it reminded me of New York. It had tall buildings and things were close together. We didn't check into a motel. Since it was rather overcast, we pulled into a beach parking lot.

"Come on," Jasper said, taking my hand.

It wasn't very crowded. Maybe that had something to do with the overcast weather or maybe it was from it being so late in the day. Nevertheless, I loved it. It wasn't like I could come to a beach whenever I wanted anymore, not that I really had before.

I sat as close to the water as I could without actually being in the water. If I did get wet, I could easily dry myself before getting in the car.

"It's a shame we can't come back here when the weather is clear," I murmured.

"I know," Jasper said, taking my hand in both of his. "But on the days that aren't sunny, we can come to the beach."

I looked up at him. We would never be normal normal, but I enjoyed our normal. He tried everything in his power to keep me happy, and I did the same. We made things work in the end.

A few moments passed, and Jasper turned to face me, and it was at that moment I remembered that I had been staring at him.

He pulled me into his lap, and hugged me tightly to him.

"I know this isn't the same," he said, quietly.

I traced one of the scars on his jaw, and shook my head.

"It's okay. I'm happy. As long as I have you."

He smiled widely.

"You'll always have me."

We spent almost two hours at the beach before returning to the car.

Jasper and I made it to Helena in the early hours of the next morning.

"It's a fairly big city," Jasper had said when we entered Montana. I had questioned whether or not we should stay a few cities over to be safe. "We shouldn't run into them."

The motel I had seen us staying at, wasn't available just yet, but would be around noon, so Jasper and I parked in a large empty parking lot.

"So what are we going to do while we're here?" I asked Jasper. My head was laying on his shoulder, and I was tracing the scars that ran up his arms. "What does the great state of Montana have to offer?"

"Well there's the national monument for the Battle of Little Bighorn."

"What war is that from?"

"Civil," he said, taking my hand.

"Did you fight in that one?"

He shook his head.

"That was after I was changed. I was fighting a different war then."

I turned and looked up at him. His golden eyes were watching me.

"Do you want to go see it?"

"We have some time," he said, quietly. "Can we just spend some time together for a while?"

I smiled and nodded.

"That'd be okay."

So when it was noon, and we could check into our motel, we settled in.

Almost a week later, I heard a quiet knock on the door. Three quick raps, then nothing.

"One moment," I called, confused.

I hadn't seen anybody decide to drop by.

I opened the door to find the man from the front. He was young, maybe late twenties to early thirties.  
"Ms. Brandon," he greeted with a warm smile. "I'm sorry to intrude, but this was delivered for you."

He passed me a small card.

"Thank you," I said, as I glanced down at the card.

"Who is it, Al?" Jasper asked suddenly appearing at my side.

Jasper must have detected something in the man's emotions that I hadn't, because he wrapped his arm tightly around my waist.

The man's eyes wandered to Jasper's arms, then back to my face.

"I should go, but I figured I'd drop that off."

I nodded, and he turned back to the office.

"What's wrong," I asked, twisting in Jasper's arm, to look at him.

"I just didn't like how he looked at you," Jasper said shaking his head.

I laughed and kissed his cheek.

"Come on, let's go see what this is."

I curled up by Jasper's side on the bed, and he pulled me close to him.

The card I realized, was a postcard. It had Hello From London written across the front of it, with a picture of Big Ben on it.

"Dear Alice," I read out loud, after flipping the card over. "We just got back from London. James and Victoria doesn't remember anything, and you've been safely placed with Jasper. You and your family are safe. Thank you for the flowers around the house, we love them, and thank you for doing the laundry. Good luck in getting to the Cullens! They'll love you, believe us. You've gotten so many people to love you just by being around you. Before long you'll have them wrapped around your finger. When you get settled in with them, write to us. Can't wait to hear from you, Helen and Tobias."

Jasper smiled and took the card from me.

"They have such high hopes," I said, laughing. "They are so sure Carlisle is going to let us stay."

"Of course they're going to let us stay, Alice. Don't be pessimistic."

He leaned in to kiss me, and I pushed his face away laughing. He put his hand against his heart in mock hurt, causing me to laugh more.

As time went on, Jasper and I started to go out on the cloudy days, after I had checked and double checked all the decisions of all of the Cullens.

"I've seen Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett in a type of school I think," I said, as Jasper and I walked through a park.

"Why do you only think?"

"It doesn't look like my school," I said, "and I've never been to a Muggle school."

"Well not everyone gets to go to school in a castle," he teased.

I smiled, and leaned my head on his shoulder.

"Why would they go to school?" I asked. "They're well over the usual age of school, I'm sure."

"Well think about it, Al. We all look like teenagers. It would be less conspicuous if they went to school."

"I suppose you're right."

I paused, and brought my hand up to my face.

"I don't think I've looked like a teenager for a long time," I said.

I remembered the way my face looked in the last picture of my human life.

"Well you do now."

"I was twenty-one when I was changed," I said.

"But you didn't look a day over seventeen."

I smiled, and Jasper kissed my forehead.

"No matter what you say, you'll always be beautiful to me, Alice Black."

I smiled, and for now, any worry I had was gone.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the last four chapters. I know this is short, but the next chapter is going to be longer. By a lot. So it may take some time to get the next few chapters up. I want to quickly say thank you to everyone who has followed and favorited this story, and thank you to those who have reviewed! It means the world.**

 **Hope you enjoyed!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	41. The Cullens

**A/N: Hey guys! A couple things before I start. First thing, I was looking through Jacob's family to try and find some information about the wolves at this time, and I learned that there was a Joanna Black, and somewhere there was an Alice. So I would like to say that I had no idea of that before writing this story. The next thing is Alice's story will be told again, and Jasper's will be as well, but you also get the full conversations of the Cullens telling Alice their stories, so this chapter will be decently lengthed. I decided to put Alice's story in a second time, because while all reactions where similar, the Cullens had several questions. In this chapter, the Cullens will also tell Alice and Jasper their stories. The length of this chapter will decide how many chapters go up with it, but I know that it is going to be long. So enjoy!**

* * *

 _"Yeah, I can see that. This really is a family. As strong as the one I was born into." ~Jacob Black, Breaking Dawn Part 1 (Movie)_

* * *

Chapter 41- The Cullens Alice's POV

Time moved quickly again. The month that we had remaining, was gone in a blink of the eye.

"It's time," I said, as the sky brightened. I was standing in front of the window. It had snowed through the night, and I had been watching it. I couldn't say it was unnatural to snow this late in the year, but it had still taken me by surprise. "They'll be ready for us today."

Jasper wrapped his arms around me, and I had a heavy wave of calm wash over me.

"It's going to be okay, Al," he said, smiling against my ear. "They'll love you."

"So how are we going to do it?" I asked. "In my vision, we walk through a set of woods….but you have the car now, and it seems pointless to walk."

"We can park out of the woods that you saw, and walk. If they say we can stay, I can come down and get the car."

I nodded.

"That's not a bad plan."

"It's going to be okay," Jasper said soothingly in my ear. "We're going to be okay. We've got this."

I turned away from the snowy scene in front of me and looked up at Jasper.

"It's going to be okay," I said, closing my eyes and burying my head in his chest.

"You know that," he said, kissing my forehead.

At noon, we packed up our room, and made our way to the office.

"What's your next destination?" the woman in the front asked. It wasn't a secret to the people in the front that Jasper and I were travelers. They had heard Jasper and I speaking about the possibility of going to Ohio in the next couple months.

"Home," I said, smiling as I placed the money on the desk with the key.

"It'll be good to see your family," the woman said. "They miss you I'm sure."

"I'm sure they do."

But the family I thought of wasn't the angel that stood at my side, with his arm wrapped tightly around my waist, and it wasn't the five vampires who could possibly be my family. I thought of the people I had left behind.

My eyes dropped to the floor

"Well good luck," she said, handing my change to Jasper. "Have a nice day."

"You too," Jasper said, smiling at the woman before pulling me out the door.

As soon as entered, Jasper pulled the cloud of calm and love over me.

"It's okay, Al. Today is a happy day," he said, soothingly, pulling me into his lap.

I caught his eyes, and brought a hand to his face.

"I'm sorry, Jazz," I murmured, pulling his face to mine.

"Don't apologize for missing your family, Alice. Just remember that they are going to be okay without you."

I nodded, and kissed him.

"It's you who needs me now.

Jasper smiled, and I settled into his lap. He didn't lift the cloud, and eventually, I felt the excitement I had earlier return.

"Now then," I said, looking up at him. "Let's get this show on the road."

I pulled my wand out of my holster, and placed it in my hand.

"Point me to Forestwood Drive," I said, clearly, and my wand began spinning in my hand.

"Thank you, Al," he said, laughing.

As we drove, the snow started again.

"We're here," Jasper said, parking the car a little ways off the trail.

I put my wand away, and grabbed my bag from the back.

"Alice?" Jasper asked, taking my hand.

"Yes?"

"Before we go, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course."

"Not everyone reacts to me like you did. Do you remember their reactions to me?"

His other hand reached up and traced one of the scars on his face. I understood instantly that he didn't mean him as a person.

"They were surprised in general," I said. "I think they'll love you no matter what."

I moved his hand, and kissed the scar that he had covered.

"It's going to be okay," I said, smiling.

"Come on," he said, smiling at me.

We ran up the through the trees for a few minutes, and I noticed the snowy forest floor.

When we were almost there, and by this point the Cullens were bound to know we were coming Jasper spoke.

"Are you sure they're here, Al?"

"I'm positive. Don't you trust me, Jaz?"

"Of course I do. I just want don't want you to be disappointed."

He took my hand as we ran, keeping me close to him.

"I won't be. Just watch."

And just like my vision, we broke through the trees.

The three vampires stood in front of the great house. Each of them watched Jasper and I warily.

I squeezed Jasper's hand, and stepped forward.

"Carlisle," I greeted, extending my hand. "Esme, Rosalie. I'm Alice. This is Jasper. We'd like to join your family."

Esme and Rosalie looked at Carlisle.

"It's nice to meet you, Alice," Carlisle said, stepping closer to Esme.

"It's nice to meet you too," I said, smiling. "Jasper and I have been looking for you for almost two years now."

Esme's eyes widened.

"Please come inside, and we can discuss this."

"Should I go get the car?" Jasper asked me.

Before I had the chance to speak, Esme turned to Jasper.  
"There will be plenty of time for that later. If you would feel more comfortable, you can bring it up, and park it in the garage."

"I think parking in the front will be fine," Jasper said, turning to face me. I could see it in his eyes, that he was cautious of leaving me with the vampires he didn't know.

"We'll be back in," I paused to look ahead, "ten minutes."

"We'll be waiting—"

"In the living room," I finished. "Inside the door, at the end of the hallway."

The three vampires looked at me wide eyed, and I smiled as I fluttered to Jasper's side.

"It's not nice to do that to people," Jasper teased once we made it back down to the car.

"Do what?"

"You scared them," he said, starting the car.

"I didn't mean to," I said, frowning.

"I know you didn't," Jasper said. "But they don't. Don't worry, Ali. Soon they'll understand you."

I shook my head, and watched the scene in front of me.

Sure enough, Rosalie, Esme, and Carlisle were waiting in the living room.

Jasper followed close behind me, never letting go of my hand.

"Ten minutes exactly," Carlisle said amazed, looking away from the clock.

"Please," Esme said, rising to her feet, "sit down."

"Thank you, Esme."

I looked ahead in the future.

"Emmett and Edward will be home in three hours," I said to the three strangers.

"How are you sure?" Rosalie asked warily.

"I see the future," I said, focusing my vision on her.

Carlisle's eyes widened.

"How does it work?" he asked, suddenly amazed.

"Carlisle," Esme said, placing a hand on his knee. "We have plenty of time for that later. Let them settle in first."

"We can stay?" I asked, excitedly.

Esme nodded.

"You've looked for us for a long time," Esme said simply.

"Thank you!" I said, bouncing in my seat. Jasper held me close to him.

"What room is available?" Jasper asked, smiling warmly at Esme.

"Take whatever room you please," she said. "They'll understand."

"Is the rest of your bags in the car?" Rosalie asked.

I shook my head.

"No. All of our bags are in here."

They looked very doubtfully at my bag.

"All of your bags?"

"You will come to understand in time. You're welcome to help us if you'd like."

"Of course," Rosalie said.

Jasper, Rosalie, and I raised to our feet, and began moving up the stairway.

"Here's mine and Emmett's room," Rosalie said, opening the door slightly.

I shook my head.

"You can keep it."

She smiled, and Jasper chuckled.

"This is Edward's room," she said. She opened this door a touch more, and I stepped inside.

"I like this room," I said, looking out the window. "It has a nice few of the forest from here."

"Ali, this is already somebody else's room," Jasper said.

"Edward will live," Rosalie told Jasper. "You're more than welcome to have this room. I'll help you move his stuff to the garage."

"Thank you," I said, picking up the couch closest to me.

Between Rosalie, Jasper, and I, we were able to get the room cleared in five minutes.

"Ready for something you've never seen before?" I asked Rosalie as we moved to unpack mine and Jasper's stuff.

"Try me," Rosalie said, smiling.

I opened my bag and reached down to open the door.

"Follow me," I said, slipping inside.

Jasper followed me down immediately.

Rosalie stood at the top in disbelief.

"Come on," I called up. "It's safe."

She followed Jasper down slowly.

"I don't believe this," Rosalie said, as she stepped off the final step. "How did you do this?"

"Magic," I said. "When I tell you my story, you'll understand."

I moved towards the tent to get the bags of books.

"Feel free to start wherever," I told Rosalie. "Just leave the cabinets alone for now. It'll be easier after my story is told."

Rosalie took the bag of books while Jasper and I took all the clothes. Everything else we decided we would leave.

Esme popped into the room as Jasper and I were hanging up clothes.

"We'll go this weekend to get furniture," she said, looking around the room. "The kids have school tomorrow, so maybe we can go then."

"Do you really have to go?" Rosalie asked. "They just got here!"

"And you'll have plenty of time to get to know them, but we don't want to make them uncomfortable."

"It's no trouble," I said. "We came at a bad time in the week," I said, watching the two of them.

"I suppose I can call the school and said there was a family emergency," Esme said, glancing at Rosalie. "Besides, it will be helpful to have Emmett around to help carry everything."

I smiled.

"Edward and Emmett shouldn't be too much longer. Twenty minutes tops."

"How much longer will you guys be?"

"We're done. I just need my scrapbooks."

I went to turn, but Jasper already had them in hand.

"Here you go."

"Well then, let's go downstairs and wait for the boys."

Jasper's hand wound tightly around my waist as we made our way back to the living room. Carlisle gestured to the loveseat which Jasper and I had left a while ago.

"If you don't mind," I said, more to Carlisle, "I would rather wait until Emmett and Edward return before I tell my story. It'd be easier to tell it all at once. Despite me not having a long life, it is a long story."

"That's perfectly fine," Esme said.

We made small talk, about mine and Jasper's travels.

"It's nice having someone who knows the country so well," I said, smiling up at Jasper. "I know nothing about America, so I would have been lost."

Carlisle smiled, and I focused on the future.

"They're almost here," I murmured. "In a few minutes, they'll come into view."

"I'll go get them," Esme said raising to her feet.

"I'll go with you."

Rosalie and Esme vanished and we were left with Carlisle.

"Do you hold any special abilities?" Carlisle asked Jasper.  
Jasper nodded.

"I have Pathokinesis. I can feel other people emotions and change them too."

Then surrounding the room, was the heavy cloud filled with happiness. As he did that, I decided to pull up my Occlumency shield around my story. Whether it would work on Edward, I didn't know, but until I could make him understand, it was worth a try.

Esme and Rosalie returned. Emmett had his arm wrapped tightly around Rosalie's waist, and Edward followed behind.

"Emmett, Edward," I said, jumping to my feet. "It's so nice to finally meet you. I'm Alice, and this is Jasper."

"Pleasure," Edward said cautiously shaking my hand.

"Now, I believe I owe you guys a story."

The five vampires listened closely to what I had to say. Jasper, despite hearing the story more than once, listened, but also focused on the Cullens.

"Keep in mind," I said, looking at each of them. "My story can be hard to understand. But if you give me time, it will all be explained."

"You have our full attention," Esme said.

"I was born in England on June 20, 1976," I said, starting off my story, watching them. Edward and Emmett frowned.

"That's not possible," Edward said.

"But it is," I said, tilting my head to the side. "If you give me the time to tell my story, you will understand."

"I can't hear her," he said, not taking his eyes off me.

"And you won't until I decide I'm ready for you to hear me," I said, smiling.

Emmett's booming laugh rang through the room.

"You've finally met your match, Edward," he said.

"Please continue, Alice," Esme said.

"My parents names, were Sirius and Johanna Black. They had me when they were sixteen."

"They were so young," Esme said.

I nodded.

"They were. But they had help. They went to the headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, and they made arrangements so that I would be looked after while they were in classes."

"They went to a boarding school?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"In a way, I guess Hogwarts could be considered a boarding school."

"Hogwarts," Carlisle murmured. "I've never heard of it."

"I don't expect you would have," I said, smiling at him. "It's not heard of amongst most people."

I opened the scrapbook to show them my parents.

"That's my mother, and there's my father. That's my godfathers, James and Remus, and my godmother, Lily. Lily was my mother's best friend. James and Remus were Dad's. Even as a young child I had the ability to see the future. I knew when Remus was coming over to see me. I knew when James and Lily had gotten engaged, even though I myself, had no idea what marriage was. I went up to my mother, and told her Uncle James had given Aunt Lily a beautiful ring, and I wanted to know the occasion."

I chuckled, and watched each of them closely.

"Keep in mind, I am not your average vampire. In my human life, and in this one, I am and I was a witch."

Amazement flew through Carlisle's eyes. Disbelief flashed in Edward's. Rosalie, Esme, and Emmett, didn't seem to react.

"That's not possible," Edward said, just as he had when he heard my birthday.

"You say that so often," I said. "But most would say the same about you, wouldn't they? If vampires exist, then why would witches and wizards be fake?"

Before he had the chance to answer, I raised to my feet.

"Alice, please don't leave," Esme said. "You have to forgive Edward. He doesn't think before he speaks."

"I'm not leaving," I said, smiling at her. "I gathered it'd be easier if I gave proof."

I pulled my wand out of my holster.

"I can do magic with or without this. Which would you prefer?"

"Which ever you're more comfortable with, dear," Esme said.

I nodded.

"I have a few different demonstrations," I said.

I stepped back, and pointed my wand to an open spot next to Edward.

I thought of Jasper. I thought of the day we met, and our first kiss.

"Expecto Patronum!"

The silver tip bursted out of the end of my wand, and the giant dog appeared.

Edward, jumped back, and I step forward.

"It won't hurt you," I said.

The dog bowed his head, and I waved my wand again, this time to make him disappear.

"I may need a volunteer for this one."

Emmett bounded forward.

"I'll help."

I pointed my wand at him.

"It won't hurt him, will it?" Rosalie asked.

I shook my head.

"It's harmless. Unless your enemy uses it on you." I turned to Emmett. "Ready?"

He nodded.

"Legilimens!"

And suddenly, I could see inside Emmett's mind. I could see his human life, and I saw the attack. I dug through, and I found Rosalie finding him. Then, suddenly I felt the fire of the transformation. I moved quickly away from that into his current passing thoughts.

 _"Amazing!"_ Emmett thought. _"She truly is amazing. Rose seems to like her, so she can't be that bad."_

I pulled out of his head and smiled.

"Thank you, but I don't think I'm amazing."

Edward's eyes widened.

"You can hear his thoughts?"

"In a way. I can see memories, emotions, and thoughts."

Emmett smiled at me, and I passed my wand down to Jasper.

"Now for my final demonstration."

I focused on changing my form, and I felt myself grow closer to the floor.

"This is her Animagus form," Jasper explained to the five wide eyed vampire. "An Animagus is a witch or wizard who can change into an animal at will. Her father turned into a dog too."

"That's a big dog," Emmett said, stepping forward.

I bounded back to Jasper's side, and pressed my large snout under his hand.

He chuckled and ran his hand over my head.

"She likes being in this form. She keeps the speed and strength of a vampire, but magic makes her feel more at home. I know she misses her home."

I shifted back to my human form, and took my spot next to Jasper.

"Can you believe it now?" I asked Edward. He nodded, and I smiled.

"Fantastic. Now when I was born, my world was in a war. One of the biggest we had ever seen. There was a dark wizard, his name was Voldemort. He was one of the most powerful and dangerous wizards of my world. I feel you can understand my story more if I told you the story of two others."

"We have plenty of time," Carlisle said.

"Voldemort wasn't always his name. He was born as Tom Riddle in 1926. He was a half-blood wizard, who was conceived under a love potion."

"Half-blood?" Edward asked.

"His father was a Muggle."

They all looked at me confused.

"Muggles are people without magic," Jasper said. "Despite being vampires, the six of us are technically Muggles."

"I'm sorry," I said, looking down at the ground. "I forget that not everyone knows the little details of my world. Much like the blood of a human, we have blood-types. There is a Muggle-born, which means that you are a witch or wizard born to Muggles. Half-bloods, which is what Voldemort was, has Muggle blood in the last few generations, whether it be a parent or grandparent. Then there were Purebloods. Most claimed to have no Muggles in their family tree, but if you trace them all back far enough, you can find some degree of non-magical blood."

"Which are you?" Emmett asked.

"Pure-blood. But to me, blood purity doesn't matter. It's not your blood who makes you who you are. It's what you do."

"That's a nice way of looking at it," Esme said.

I smiled.

"Not everyone looked at it that way. Voldemort was one of those people. Hidden inside the castle was a chamber. It was built by the founder Salazar Slytherin, and hidden inside was a great monster. A basilisk. Only the true heir of Slytherin could open the chamber and control the monster. It was called the Chamber of Secrets. Voldemort opened the chamber while he was in school, and began killing Muggle-born students. He blamed it on a good friend of mine. Hagrid."

I flipped the pages to find a picture of Hagrid and I.

"Hagrid, he loved the creatures of our world. He happened to have an Acromantula, which Riddle pulled off as the monster of the Chamber."

"What happened to Hagrid?"

"He was expelled, but Dumbledore argued in his case, and he was able to stay at the school as the groundskeeper. Voldemort received a reward for Special Services to the School."

"Why did he change his name to Voldemort?" Rosalie asked.

"Because his father was a Muggle. That year, he created his first Horcrux."

Carlisle watched me closely. He wasn't threatened though, I could see that. He watched me with amazement.

"What's a Horcrux?" Carlisle asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a piece of your soul put into everyday objects, like a ring or a necklace, to help you gain immortality. It's dark magic, and you have to commit an equally dark act to split your soul."

"What did he do?"

"He made his first one while he was in school. He used his diary. So I would think that the first act was opening the Chamber of Secrets. When the basilisk was let loose, it killed a girl. She haunted the bathroom where she died. We called her Moaning Myrtle."

"Ghosts exist too?" Emmett asked.

I nodded.

"A lot of things you've chalked up to be fiction exists."

"So do dragons exist?" he asked, watching me with excitement.

I nodded.

"Actually, Charlie Weasley, he is a dragonologist. He moved to Romania to study them. And Hagrid, he had a dragon for a period of time. It was the one creature he wanted most in the world. I'm not sure where to find them around here though. If I can find them, I'll take you to see them."

His face lit up, and I smiled.

"Voldemort went on to create six more Horcruxes. He made one final Horcrux in 1981, but it wasn't meant to be made. In fact he didn't know it was made for a long time."

I paused and flipped the page to a picture of Harry and I.

"This is Harry. He's the other story in which I must tell for you to fully understand mine."

"You knew him well," Esme said. "I can see it in your eyes."

"He was my god-brother. Harry was James and Lily's only son. Now in 1980, a seer by the name of Sybill Trelawney made a prophecy. It told of a boy who would be born at the end of July in that year. This boy, and this boy alone would have the power to kill Voldemort. Voldemort heard of this prophecy and he thought it meant the only son of the Potters."

"Was he the only one born at the end of July?"

I shook my head.

"There was another boy, Neville Longbottom. He was born July 30 of the same year. Harry, he was born July 31. The true end of July."

"So how did he know it was Harry?"

"He chose him. Harry would later be known as the Chosen One."

I liked telling my story to the Cullens. Each of them listened intently. Each seemed amazed at my corner of the world.

"So what happened?"

"Well Voldemort decided he would kill Harry before Harry had the chance to learn how to defeat him. So he planned to kill him."

"But he was just a baby!" Rosalie said in disbelief.

"That didn't matter to Voldemort. Like I said, he was power hungry, and he craved immortality. So he had to eliminate anything that could take that away from him. So when Severus Snape learned Voldemort was going to kill Harry, he came back to Dumbledore, who was the head of the other side, which we called the Order of the Phoenix. He turned spy for Dumbledore, and the Potters were hidden."

"Why would he do that?" Edward said.

"Because of Lily. You see, in school, my mother, Severus, and Lily were best friends. But Severus started hanging out with Voldemort's followers, the Death Eaters. Lily was Muggle-born. All of my mother's family, and my father's for that matter, had been Death Eaters….or they at least agreed with Voldemort's views of blood purity. "

"Except for your parents?" Carlisle guessed.  
"Except for my parents. My uncle, Regulus, Dad's brother, had been a Death Eater, but he died betraying Voldemort. Severus was in love with Lily, so he had the Potters hidden to protect her. The Potters were sent to a cottage in a town called Godric's Hollow. There, they would be protected from a Fidelius Charm, which would hide them from everyone except for their Secret Keeper."

"Who was the Secret Keeper?"

"For some time, my father. Remember that group of Voldemort's followers I mentioned? The Death Eaters? Well they knew my father was James's best friend, so they assumed that he would be the Secret Keeper. So next, they would come for us."

Esme's eyes widened, as did Rosalie's.

"So I'll bring you back to my story now. Because this is where all the stories connect. The night my mother died."

Jasper took my hand. It was easier to tell the story of my mother when I knew he was right there next to me.

"It's one of the earliest memories I have," I said, looking down to the floor. "It's one of the only memories I have of my mother. It was May of 1981. I was four, about to turn five. Dad was going to see James and Lily that night. Right before he left, I had a vision. A group of people would come, and the would cast a spell that caused a green light to hit my father. I was too young at the time to understand that the green light I had seen was the Killing Curse, and to be hit with that meant that you never came back. I told my mother about it. She tried to beg my father to stay home with her that night, but he insisted it was nothing. He asked me to not tell my mother these stories as they caused her to worry, and she worried enough as it was."

I turned my eyes back to the Cullens, and Jasper pulled me close to his side.

"He left, and my mother waited. When they came, she hid me away under the bed. I learned that the people who killed my mother, was my cousin, Bellatrix Lestrange, her husband Rodolphus Lestrange, and the son of a Ministry worker, Barty Crouch Jr."

"Your own cousin killed your mother?"

I nodded.

"She was Voldemort's most loyal follower. My mother lied to them, and told them I had seen them coming, so Dad took me and ran, and she was going to follow them. But they killed her when she couldn't give them the information they wanted."

"The location of the Potters?"

I nodded.

"I think in a way, Dad blamed me. I hadn't seen the decision for them to kill my mother until it was too late. Originally the decision was to kill my father, so that's what I had told them."

"How could he blame you? It wasn't your fault. You were a child."

"I was. But if I had seen the right thing, I could have prevented my mother's death. But time went on. Remus started to come around more. A week before Halloween, my father went to the Potters, and they decided to change their Secret Keeper, to another friend. Peter Pettigrew."

"Is it because of what happened with your mother?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"I think so. He never told me why he decided to change it. I asked about it, but he didn't give a direct answer. He just said it felt right at the time. At that point he snapped out of whatever haze he had been in since Mum died. But changing the Secret Keeper was a mistake. Peter Pettigrew was a traitor. Remus used to say that I didn't have a liking for Pettigrew that much. I cried whenever he held me, and would scream until I was moved. It took all of a week for Pettigrew to tell Voldemort the location of the Potters. So on Halloween, Voldemort came for them."

I looked over at Jasper, who sat the same way he had before. His eyes were closed, and he looked to be asleep.

"That night," I continued, turning back to the Cullens, "would make history. When Voldemort came for them, I saw it. Only when it was too late. I saw a man coming to the house I had seen whenever my father decided to visit. Voldemort entered the house, and killed James. James was trying to protect his family. Severus asked Voldemort to spare Lily, and Voldemort agreed, only if she didn't stand in the way. But she did."

I paused.

"Before I continue," I said, glancing back to Jasper. "I want you to understand that there is some magic that even Muggles can do. It's the most powerful magic of all. Love. Voldemort wasn't capable of it, and he didn't know what powers it held. So when Lily refused to move out the way, her sacrifice protected Harry. After Lily died, and Voldemort turned his wand on Harry, the most peculiar thing happened. Voldemort casted the spell, but it rebounded and hit him instead. Because of his Horcruxes, he couldn't die, but he did split a piece of his soul, and that piece clung to the last thing living in that house."

"Harry," Rosalie breathed.

I nodded.

"Harry Potter, became the Horcrux Voldemort never intended to make. That night, Harry Potter became known as The Boy Who Lived, because he is the only one in the history of Wizardkind to have survived the Killing Curse." I pointed to the picture of Harry. "That scar, is all that was left. So Harry still had to be protected. Voldemort would return for him someday, so he had to be sent to someone who shared Lily's blood. He went to live with his Muggle aunt, Petunia. He grew up knowing nothing of the world he was born into."

"Why didn't she tell him?" Carlisle asked in wonder. "Shouldn't he have the right to know where he came from?"

"Petunia and her husband hated magic. But that is another story. We have to go back to the night James and Lily died, because aside from that night ending the war, it changed my life. My father, he was filled with rage, so he went after Pettigrew. When Dad found him, Pettigrew caused a scene. He then casted a Blasting Curse that killed twelve Muggles. He then off his finger, turned into a rat, and ran. Dad was blamed, and he was sent away to the Wizarding prison. Azkaban."

"What happened to you?"

"I went to go live with Remus. Everything of my mothers, was passed down to me. Her's and Dad's shared vault for example, or the house that I had lived in until Dad went to prison. Remus didn't have a lot of money, and he refused to touch mine. In my world, as a werewolf, finding a job was next to impossible."

"So what did you guys do for money?"

"I used my money for my school stuff. Well Remus didn't want to be a burden to his father, because he had me now and the overall shame he felt because of the lycanthropy, so he took on small jobs that would get us by."

"Lycanthropy," Carlisle repeated.

"Well it's not so much being a werewolf as a whole, it's more the state of mind they're in during the turn. We had a potion for it, Wolfsbane. At the time, Remus didn't take it, because he wasn't skilled at potions, we didn't have a lot of money, and I was too young. But I went to the Weasley family when Remus would turn at the full moon. There, I met my best friends."

I flipped the pages to the picture of Fred, George, and I on the day I graduated. The one where I was on Fred's back, and we chased George through the picture.

"This is Fred and George Weasley."

"Which one is which?"

"I'm on Fred's shoulders," I said, looking down at the picture. "The one we're chasing is George. We didn't technically become friends until I was nine. But they were still my best friends. They were two years younger than me though. Molly and Arthur Weasley had seven kids. In birth order, it's Bill, Charlie, Percy, who's the same age as me, Fred and George, Ron, and Ginny. I was close with the whole family. They were the closest things to siblings I ever had."

"Before your mother died, did she think of having more kids?"

I nodded.

"Remus told me that when the war was over she wanted to have one more. She was aiming for a boy. She already had a name picked out."

"What was it?"

"His name would have been Alec Orion Black." I looked down at the picture and smiled widely. "Fred and George made the best brothers anyone could ever ask for. When I turned eleven, I was accepted into Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Remus was so proud. I was able to go to the shared vault of my parents, which was now mine, and get money. I got new robes, a wand, and I even got an owl. I named his Regulus for my uncle."

I grinned and looked down at the castle behind Fred, George, and I.

"In Hogwarts, there are four houses, named after the founders of the school. Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin."

"Like Salazar Slytherin?" Rosalie asked.

"The one and only. Voldemort, and most of his followers, were from Slytherin house so naturally it had a bad reputation. Mum, Dad, Remus, James, and Lily, were in Gryffindor. So was Peter Pettigrew."

"Did you go into Gryffindor?"

I shook my head.

"No. I was in Slytherin."

"Why? You're not evil!" Emmett exclaimed.

I smiled.  
"You get sorted into houses based on the Sorting Hat. It picks up traits that you have and sends you to the hat. Ravenclaws are wise, creative, and accepting. Gryffindors were brave, and daring. Hufflepuffs were loyal and friendly. Slytherins, they are ambitious, determined, and cunning."

"To me it sounds like you could belong in any of the four," Carlisle said.

I smiled.

"I suppose I could. The hat was torn between Gryffindor and Slytherin, but you'll understand later. In the beginning, life at school was hard. But I had Bill, Charlie, and Percy. Two years later, Fred and George joined me. They were sorted into Gryffindor house, but I spent most of my time at the table of the Gryffindors. I was welcomed there. When I was in my fifth year, Harry came to Hogwarts."

I looked back at Jasper again. He opened his eyes, and looked at me.

"When Harry came to school, things went from normal to insane. It was normal in the sense that he made friends though, who was by his side for every adventure. Ron, Fred and George's brother, and a Muggle-born by the name of Hermione Granger. Despite being Muggle-born she was the brightest witch of her year. In their first year, the Philosopher's Stone was hidden away in the school. Our Defense Against the Dark Arts Teacher tried to steal it for Voldemort. Harry was able to save the stone, but in the process, he killed the teacher."  
"How?"

"Voldemort was attached to Quirrell, and because of Lily's sacrifice, Voldemort couldn't touch him. So when Harry touched Quirrell, it burned him. In Harry's second year, the Chamber of Secrets was reopened."

"A new heir came Hogwarts?" Carlisle guessed.

"No. Remember those Horcruxes I told you about?"

They nodded.

"Well the first one he made, Riddle's diary, reopened it."

"How can a diary open a Chamber?"

"The memory of Riddle was trapped inside. He used a first year, Ginny Weasley, to help him."

"Fred and George's sister?"

I nodded.

"She had no idea what she was doing. Luckily, nobody died. A good number were petrified though. At the end of the year, Harry destroyed that Horcrux."

"What happens when you destroy a Horcrux?"

"It destroys the piece of the soul. If you destroy all the pieces, you're no longer immortal."

I didn't continue right away. I turned the book to face me and found the picture of Remus and I when we first got together.

"I turned seventeen that summer. In my world, seventeen is the year you become of-age. You can do magic outside of Hogwarts, you can drink. I had registered myself as an Animagus."

I laughed and shook my head, as I slid the book back to him.

"Is that Remus?" Edward asked, moving the book closer to him.

"Yes. On my seventeenth birthday, Remus and I became a couple."

"Wait," Emmett said, leaning towards me. "Didn't you say Remus was a werewolf?"

I nodded.

"That couldn't have been safe."

"You'll see that later."

Edward looked at me disapprovingly.

"It could be worse," I said, glaring at him. "You know as a way to keep the blood 'pure' the Black family married cousins?"

His look of disapproval immediately turned to embarrassment, which caused Emmett's booming laugh to echo through the room again.

"Anyways," I said turning back to them. "Yes, Remus and I started dating. That same year, he became my Defence Against the Dark Arts Teacher, and my father made history, and had the first recorded escape from Azkaban prison."

"Nobody's ever escaped?"

"Well Barty Crouch Jr. did, but everyone thought that he died. He and his mother switched places, and his mother was dying. But Dad, he stopped eating, and after some time when he went into his Animagus form, he could slip through the bars. He was never registered, so they never thought to look for him."  
"How'd he get past the guards?" Emmett asked.

"The guards were creatures called Dementors. In a way, their like wraiths, but if they get to close, they take your soul. They feed on your happiest memories."  
I shuddered, remembering the dementors when they came to Hogwarts, and Jasper automatically wrapped his arm tightly around me, and held me to him.

"I was questioned by the Ministry, naturally, but when they could see I was telling the truth, they let me go."

"You mentioned Remus became one of your teachers," Carlisle said. "How did the other students and the staff react?"

"Well Severus was the only one with a problem with it. He tried talking me into breaking up with him. Otherwise, as long as we kept it professional, they didn't care. They even let him eat with me sometimes."

"Do you remember earlier, when I said Pettigrew ran?"

I paused and waited for them all to respond. When they all nodded, I looked down at my feet.

"As it would turn out, I was with him for the twelve years my father was in Azkaban. When he ran, he took cover as a garden rat, and he lived with the Weasley family. He first belonged to Percy, and then to Ron."

I shook my head.

"If I had been smart, I would have noticed something was wrong. Dad realized it though. See, they year I turned seventeen, the Weasleys went to Egypt to go see Bill. In the picture for the Daily Prophet, there was a picture of Scabbers. Dad saw it in his cell, and realized automatically who it was."

"Is that why he broke out?"

I nodded.

"Yes. He was going to come for Pettigrew. He contacted Remus and I after breaking into the castle. I remember the night he attacked the Fat Lady, the portrait that let you in and out of Gryffindor tower. I was Head Girl that year, with Percy, and we kept watch on the students. Dumbledore came to me to ensure that I had heard nothing from my father. When he did get a hold of Remus, he told me the story. Remus and I wouldn't believe the story until Pettigrew's name on the Marauder's Map."

I looked around trying to find the map. Jasper jumped to his feet, and was back within seconds.

"Here you go, Al," he said, handing me the map.

"Thank you," I murmured, as he returned to his seat. I placed the map on the table, and moved to get my wand.

"It's empty," Edward said, surprised.

I pointed my wand at the parchment.

"I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

The map formed, and Edward watched it with wide eyes.

"This," I said, unfolding the map, "is a map of the castle. These dots, are everyone that is in the castle right now."

Walking to Gryffindor Tower, was none other than Minerva McGonagall. I had forgotten that she would be in Hogwarts now.

"Jazz, look!" I said, pointing to the map. "It's Minerva!"  
"You know here?" Carlisle asked, looking at the map.

"She was my Transfiguration teacher while I was at school. And we were pretty good friends until I left."

I smiled down at the map.

"She was good to me," I said. "She's taking care of my family now."

It was quiet for a moment, before Jasper leaned up to look at the map.

"They're okay, Al," he murmured in my ear.

"I know," I said, smiling.

"So this is how you and Remus learned your father was telling the truth?"

I nodded.

"At the end of the school year, June sixth to be exact, Dad went after him. He dragged Ron and the rat to the Shrieking Shack. The place where Remus transforms."

"Why is it called the Shrieking Shack?"

"When Remus howled it sounded like ghosts. So everyone thought it was haunted. But Remus and I were watching the Marauder's Map. We knew Harry, Ron, and Hermione would be going to see Hagrid. His hippogriff was being executed that day. I had already went to go check on him. Remus and I were surprised to see them leave Hagrid's hut with Peter Pettigrew with them. So we went after them. Dad and Remus forced Pettigrew to change back. We were going to take him up to the castle, and prove my father's innocence, but things didn't go according to plan."

I looked at each of them to make sure they were keeping up. They appeared to be following along just fine.

"It was a full moon, and Remus forgot to take the Wolfsbane Potion. This is why you were right Emmett. Werewolves are dangerous."

I turned my back to them, and pulled on my shirt so they could see the large scar trailing down my spine.

"Remus turned that night, and yet again Pettigrew escaped. Dad and I were busy trying to get Remus under control. I got this trying to keep him from injuring Dad too badly. He didn't dig deep enough for me to get any real damage from it. When he regained his mind, and learned what he had done, Remus was angry with himself for hurting me, but he came around when he saw that I was fine. Harry and Hermione went back through time to ensure Dad's escape on the hippogriff that was meant to be executed."

"So your Dad was safe?"

I nodded.

"Don't get me wrong, he almost received the Dementor's Kiss, but Harry saved him."

"What exactly is the Dementor's Kiss?" Rosalie asked. "Do they actually kiss you?"

I shook my head.

"No. They simply suck out your soul. But without your soul, you're just a shell. It's worse than death itself. You're not dead, but you're as good as."

"So did everything return back to normal?"

"For a time, yes. I graduated Hogwarts, and I started training to be an Auror. I would never finish training though. In Harry's fourth year, the year after I graduated, he was entered in the Triwizard Tournament. By the end of that year, Voldemort would return to his body."

"How?"

"Barty Crouch Jr and Peter Pettigrew. Barty, he disguised himself as Alastor Moody, who was supposed to be the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher after Remus resigned."

"Did you guys get a new teacher every year?"

I nodded.

"Some believed the position was cursed. Voldemort applied for it years ago, and when he was denied, nobody was able to keep the position for more than a year. But Barty made sure Harry was entered in the TriWizard Tournament, even though three champions were already chosen and Harry was underaged. He ensured Harry would win, and he turned the TriWizard cup into a Portkey, which is a form of transportation that brings you to a specific location by touching the object. Using Harry's blood, Peter Pettigrew brought Voldemort back. Cedric Diggory, a student in the year below me, and a pretty good friend of mine, died. Pettigrew killed him because he wasn't supposed to be there."

Esme shook her head.

"There's so much death."

I nodded.

"There was."

"Why did they need Harry's blood?" Edward asked.

"So that way Voldemort would be able to touch him. Remember what happened with Quirrell?"

They nodded, and I continued with the story.

"Barty's identity was exposed and he was given the Dementor's Kiss and sent back to Azkaban. To most of the Order, the night Voldemort returned marked the beginning of the Second Wizarding War. To the rest of the world, that wouldn't be until a year later. The Order of the Phoenix started back up again. I joined it, much to Remus's protesting, and things went on as they should. Dad started staying at his childhood home, and Remus and I kept him company most days. He had our house-elf Kreacher, but Kreacher didn't care for Dad much. He did what I asked of him though."

"What is a house-elf?"

I flipped through the book, searching for a picture of Kreacher.

"This is Kreacher. House-elves, are elves who serve Wizardkind. They can be freed by being given an article of clothing. Kreacher was the Black family house-elf. In his youth, Dad was not kind to Kreacher. But my uncle, Regulus was. Kreacher was skeptical about me at first. He thought I'd be like my father, but was quite pleased when I treated him with respect."

"Were house-elves not usually treated with respect?"

I shook my head.

"The ones at Hogwarts typically were, but some families believed house-elves were below them."

"But you were different?"

"I was. I figure they do so much for us, that the most we can do is treat them with respect. Anyways, Remus was insisting I try to fix my relationship with my father. I was angry at him for leaving me. I understand why he did it, and I loved living with Remus….but I missed twelve years with him."

"It's understandable to be upset," Esme said, smiling warmly at me.

"But it's also understandable why he did it. He made an effort. You had to give him that. I just wish I had made more of an effort. You see, over the last year, that piece of Voldemort's soul allowed Harry to see into Voldemort's mind. After some time, Voldemort became aware of that connection. So he decided to trick Harry. Two days before I turned twenty, he showed Harry a false vision. One where my father was trapped in the Department of Mysteries, and was being tortured."

"I'm sorry, what is the Department of Mysteries?"

"It's a department inside the Ministry of Magic. It's where they study things that were considered to be mysteries to the world. Thought, time, death, space, love. But the one where I have to bring your attention to for now, is the Hall of Prophecies. That's where Voldemort led Harry to believe that he was holding my father. Harry came to Grimmauld Place using the Floo system, which is communication or transportation through fireplaces, to see if my father was there. He was. He, Remus, and I were in another room, but Kreacher got to Harry first, and told Harry Dad would never return from the Department of Mysteries. Harry didn't wait for the three of us to get there before he was gone. Then he and a few other students made their way to the Ministry. I got the vision the second the decision was made. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Neville Longbottom, and a student named Luna Lovegood. Remus, Dad and I gathered up the Order, and I later found up that Severus had tried to alert us as well, and made our way there."

Jasper sat up more, and pulled me close to him. I assumed he felt the shift in my emotion.

Edward took note of that, and he straightened up. I could see it in his eyes, he was trying to focus on my mind. Jasper knew what was coming, and he blocked that from Edward.

"We made it there after the Death Eaters, and a battle begun. We would latter call it the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. The battle had made its way to the Death Chamber before the order made it there. I was on a side furthest away from everyone else….I was under the Cruciatus Curse, a torture curse. Remus came for me, and I made it too late. Dad was battling Bellatrix. He was teasing her, because he was deflecting her spells. She fired what I assume was a Stunning Spell, and Dad fell. In the Death Chamber, there was a veil, and Dad fell through it. If a living being touches the veil, they die."

I looked up at the Cullens. Carlisle and Rosalie looked at me, with sad eyes, and Esme gave me the same look except with her mouth open. Edward, who before had looked very annoyed, looked very guilty, and any trace of humor Emmett had before now, was gone.

"I watched my father die," I said, my voice breaking. "But I couldn't come to terms with his death because he wasn't supposed to die! If he had fallen in a different direction, he would still be here."

"Maybe we should take a break," Jasper murmured in my ear.

I shook my head.

"No," I whispered, "because what happened next, crushed me. After the death of my father the Ministry had no choice but to believe Harry's story. After he died, Dad was listed as a free man. Remus took me home, and after everyone left, he broke up with me."

"What?" Rosalie gasped. "But you just lost your father!"

I nodded.

"I did," I whispered. In the back of my head, I could hear Remus saying, 'I don't love you anymore.'

"It's okay," Jasper whispered in my ear.

"Take your time, dear," Esme said, rising to her feet. She made her way to where Jasper and I sat.  
"He didn't love me anymore. I couldn't cry anymore after that. He left for a few days while I packed, and Fred and George came to help me."

I looked back to Jasper, who watched me, which scared eyes. Looking into his eyes made me feel calm.

"I became of great use to the Order then," I paused and rolled up my sleeve.

All five of them looked at it.

"How does a tattoo transfer?" Edward asked, stepping closer to Jasper and I.

"Because it's not so much a tattoo. I was branded. After Dad died, and Remus left, I went undercover for the Order as a Death Eater. Voldemort admired my many talents, but most of all, my ability to see the future. I moved quickly through the ranks and by the end of my first few weeks, I was in Voldemort's inner circle. As such, I was branded. Dumbledore didn't expect me to get that far. But it's why I was placed in Slytherin. I was cunning. Voldemort thought I was his spy on the Order, and as far as he knew, the Order believed I was their spy for him. Severus had teached me Occlumency while I was in school during a free block I had had in my sixth year."

"He's a good teacher then," Emmett said, glancing at Edward, who still struggled to cut around the corners.

"Patience, Edward," I chidded. "I'll lift the shield in a few moments. We're nearing the end of my story. There isn't much left now."

He snapped his attention back to me.

"Over a year after my father died, on June 30th of 1997, Albus Dumbledore was killed. He and Severus had arranged a plan. Voldemort ordered another one of my cousins, Draco Malfoy to kill Dumbledore. Both Severus and Dumbledore knew Draco wouldn't be able to do it, and they knew that Voldemort would question Severus's loyalty. So they arranged that Severus would kill Dumbledore, and lead the Order to believe that Severus had double-crossed them."

"Did it work?"

I nodded.

"Fred and George wanted me to come out of my post, so they knew I was safe. I told them Severus wouldn't hurt me. Severus and I, we were good friends. Sometime after Dumbledore died, a matter of a few days actually, Remus started dating my cousin Nymphadora Tonks. Technically she was my third cousin, but nevertheless, it was my cousin."

"How could he do that to you?" Rosalie asked.

I shrugged.

"They fought about it the night Dumbledore died. Not long after, they got married. After the death of Dumbledore, Voldemort took over Hogwarts. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went on the hunt for the rest of the Horcruxes, however only Severus and I knew that Harry was the final Horcrux. Not long before he died, Dumbledore told Severus and I that in order for that Horcrux to be destroyed, Harry would have to die at the hand of Voldemort."

I closed my eyes, and suddenly I remembered being in the Forbidden Forest. I remembered the green light, and then Harry on the forest floor.

"Alice, it's okay," Jasper said quickly in my ear. "It's okay, I'm here. He's okay."

My eyes were still tightly closed.

"What happened?" Edward asked quietly. "I got a flash of a green light."

"Alice remembers things differently than we do. She sees it like a movie. The green light was the Killing Curse. You'll understand the full thing in a few minutes. It will come in her story."

"Is she okay?" Esme asked.

"She will be," Jasper said. "She just needs help snapping back sometimes."

Jasper kissed my temple, and I covered my face with my hands.

"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I'm not making a very good first impression."

"You're doing fine, sweetheart," Esme said, and suddenly, she was back, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Esme."

"Continue whenever you're ready."

I nodded.

"When Voldemort took over the school, and the Ministry, we knew Harry wouldn't have much time. When he turned seventeen, Harry was relocated. Death Eaters crashed Bill's wedding to Fleur Delacour, the Beauxbatons Academy of Magic champion for the Triwizard tournament. They had met at Gringotts." I laughed and shook my head. "Anyhow, when the Death Eaters crashed their wedding, Harry, Ron, and Hermione started looking for Horcruxes. Meanwhile, Severus and I were positioned at the school. Severus was named Headmaster, and I stayed closeby. There came a time, after Easter, where Voldemort questioned my loyalty. So he took me to a place where I would prove my loyalty in the only way he thought I could. He picked a house, and whoever was inside, I would have to kill. If I failed, he would kill me and my family."

I opened my eyes, and looked down at the ground.

"It was a Muggle family. A mother, and father, and a boy, who couldn't be more than four years old. I had to do it. I had to keep my family safe."

"You killed a child," Rosalie said, in disbelief.

I nodded.

"And I've hated myself for it ever since," I said, not looking up to meet their eyes. "Voldemort would have killed him, but he would have made it more slow, and more painful. More lives would have been lost that way. As I said, that is why I was put in Slytherin. I was cunning enough to deceive one of the darkest, most dangerous wizards of my time, right up until the very end of the war, which would end only a few week later. So I bring you now to that end. May. Harry figured the last Horcrux he needed, aside from himself, was at the school. That would spark what we called the Battle of Hogwarts."

The green flashes returned, even with my eyes opened. I flinched, searched for Jasper's hand.

"It started in the early hours of May second," I said, my voice returning to a whisper. "Severus fled by flight, and I had no choice but to follow after him or else Voldemort would have came for me, and they wouldn't have time to prepare."

I could see the memory clearly in front of me.

 _"Prepare quickly," I said to Minerva. "He won't be long before he gets here. I have to go now."_

 _"Be safe," Minerva said, placing a hand on my shoulder._

 _"Of course."_

"When the Death Eaters swarmed the castle, the side of Hogwarts were as ready as they could be. I tried to fight alongside Hogwarts as inconspicuous as I could. Voldemort called the Death Eaters back after some time of fighting. He gave Hogwarts an hour to hand over Harry, or more would die. I asked if I could go check on my family."

I looked down at mine and Jasper's hands.

"I lost a few. A few important pieces of my life."

"I lost Nymphadora. Her and I had never been close, so it didn't really bother me, but she was still my family. I lost Severus. Voldemort killed him to gain power over a wand that he believed was aligned to Severus, but in all reality it was aligned to Harry already. I lost Fred. I learned from Percy that he was killed in an explosion outside a room of the castle called the Room of Requirement. I lost Remus. He was killed by Antonin Dolohov. Despite everything that happened, I still loved Remus."

"I'm sorry, Alice," Carlisle said.

"It's okay," I said, as I turned to Jasper. "I can let him go now. I finally understand why he could move on so easily."

Jasper smiled, and I leaned over and kissed his cheek.

I turned back to them.

"At the end of the hour, Harry came to Voldemort. I knew he would die there, and it wouldn't matter if my cover was exposed. Voldemort had been torturing me because he thought that I had been hiding about when Harry would come. I tried to get Harry to run, and blew my cover."

I laughed humorlessly, and shook my head.

"Harry didn't listen to me of course. He knew this was the only way. 'Stop fighting, Al.' Harry had told me. 'You've kept me safe until you couldn't anymore. I know that you know there is no other way'. I was binded to the ground, and was forced to watch as Voldemort killed Harry. What I hadn't realized, it that the spell didn't kill Harry. It killed the piece of Voldemort inside of him, although he did die, but only for a little while. Harry pretended to be dead, so of course I didn't know. But then, he jumped up and surprised us all and that began the second half of the battle. I didn't even bother pretending to fight on Voldemort's side anymore." I smiled up at them. "We won. Harry killed Voldemort once and for all. After this, there is only ten days left of my human life."

I flipped to the picture I took the day of Remus's funeral.

"You had a baby?" Rosalie asked.

I shook my head.

"Teddy isn't my child. But I'm sure you can figure out whose he is. Teddy's name is actually Edward Remus Lupin."

"That's Remus's and Nymphadora's kid," Emmett said, looking down at the picture.

"Yes. You know when Remus and I were together, he told me we would never have kids. That's how I know he loved her far more than he loved me. He gave her everything he would never give me."

I looked down at the picture of Teddy and I. Jasper brushed the back of his hand against my face. I smiled up at him and kissed the back of his hand.

"Teddy is living with Nymphadora's mother, Andromeda. Andromeda in many ways was like my father, although she looks like her sister, Bellatrix. The picture of Teddy and I was taken on the last night of my life. In the time between the last war, and the night I was changed I was attending funerals. Fred's, Nymphadora's. All the fallen side of the Order, because I felt that it was my fault. These two pictures were taken the night of Remus's funeral. I said goodbye to my family that night."

I paused and looked to the ground.

"Why would you say goodbye?" Emmett asked.

"When I killed Henry, the little boy, I knew I couldn't live with myself. When I lost Remus, my heart was shattered. I was going to kill myself."

I didn't meet their eyes. Jasper, who sat very close to me, ran the hand that wasn't held tightly in mine up and down my back soothingly.

"At the gathering, I told my family I was moving to Italy. It would give an explanation for me to disappear while I figured things out, and it gave me a reason to say goodbye. I came to the nearby village, and that's where I met Tobias."

I smiled and opened up the next scrapbook.

"This is Helen, and that is Tobias. They're my creators. You see, remember the family? With the little boy, who Voldemort had me kill? Well in that place a vampire by the name of James caught my scent. He would go to look for me, and to draw me out, he would kill Harry and George, and the rest of my family. So Tobias and Helen turned me. Much like Jasper, Edward, and myself, Helen and Tobias had gift of their own. Tobias, he could alter, erase, or create any memory he desired for himself or for another. Helen could move through time, taking others with her. So we would create a story, which would keep my family safe, and Helen would take me back in time. During my transformation, I saw the face of an angel. I thought maybe something had went wrong and I died. My angel was scared, but nevertheless beautiful. I could hear me calling for him. I knew his name was Jasper."

I smiled and turned back to Jasper, who was grinning widely.

"When I woke up, I saw a vision of your family, and I knew that you guys would be a part of my future. So I faked my death," I said turning back to the Cullens. "I wanted my family to have some sort of closure, and I was going to kill myself anyhow, so if I led them to believe I was dead, they could be safe. Because they believed the events of the war drove me to kill myself, I became known as a member of the Second Wizarding War fallen soldiers. Because of my undercover work as a Death Eater, I would become a hero to my world. I came back in time, and I found Jasper. I told him about you guys, and together we set off to find you. We searched for almost two years. On New Years, after Helen and Tobias left to go get me, I saw a vision of you deciding to move here, but I knew you weren't ready for us. So we made our way here, and we waited."

As I finished my story, I moved the shield off of my story, looking directly into Edward's eyes.

He blinked a few times as everything hit him, the thoughts of my story, and my memories. I nodded once at him before turning back to Carlisle.

"I thank you all for letting me tell you my story, and I thank you for welcoming us."

"Of course," Esme said.

"Something you should know however," I said, looking directly at Carlisle. "We're not sure what causes it, but once a month, I get bursts of energy. Once those end, my energy goes down drastically."

Carlisle nodded.

"We'll take that into account. How long does it usually last?"

"A week for the incline, and the decline time ranges. The more I rest, the quicker my energy returns."

"But you don't sleep?"

I shook my head.

"I have energy potions, and Jasper, he help me feel more tired, so it's easier to rest, but I don't sleep."

"What exactly is your gift?" Rosalie asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I can sense and influence emotions," he said.

I smiled up at him, and acceptance filled the room, that acceptance would turn to curiosity, and then to happiness.

"The stronger someone feels something, the more it affects me," he said, glancing down at me.

We went through the rest of the night with Jasper telling the Cullens his story. I listened to it, with as much interest as I had the first time.

"How did you meet?" Rosalie asked when Jasper finished.

Jasper and I both grinned.

"We met on June 26, 1948," I said, looking up at Jasper. "Helen and Tobias had brought me to Philadelphia, since I've never been to America. We were in a diner there."

"There was a storm," Jasper said. "I was trying to keep from attracting too much attention to myself, so I ducked inside the dinner. She jumped off a stool, and I thought she was going to attack me. It scared me more when she knew my name. We got a booth and she explained her history and her visions to me. We started traveling together trying to find you."

"We didn't start dating until a few months later though," I said. "We were in Rochester, because I had a good feeling about it. Sure enough, we learned about Rosalie there."

The next morning, Esme called the school and told them that Emmett, Rosalie, and Edward were staying home, but didn't give much context as to why.

Edward had been surprised to find his stuff in the garage, but didn't argue about it.

We left around noon to start getting furniture for the room.

"Maybe a bed would work better," Jasper said, as Esme questioned whether we wanted a bed or couch. "It'll help Alice during the energy burst."

We were looking through bedspreads, and Esme turned to me.

"You knew everything about us before you came, right?" Esme asked.

"I know a good deal, yes. Only what my visions show me, or what I learned while Jasper and I were looking for you guys. But I don't know everything."

"Do you know my story?"

"Only a little bit. But I'd like to hear it from you, not from a vision. The vision left out pieces."

Esme smiled.

"I was born in 1895. My name was Esme Anne Platt. I first met Carlisle when I was sixteen. I fell out of a tree."

"Where was this?"

"Columbus, Ohio," she said.

I whipped around to Jasper.

"I told you Ohio was a good idea!"

Jasper and Esme laughed as I continued my search for bedding.

"Please continue, Esme," I said.

"I never forgot him, even after he moved away. I married when I was twenty-two. I married a man named Charles Evenson. Charles was nothing like Carlisle or Jasper, or even Remus for that matter. He was abusive."

I shook my head.

"I never understood how you could hurt someone you love like that," I said, showing a black bedspread to Jasper, who nodded in approval. "If you love someone, you should never hurt them."

Esme nodded.  
"I agree. Charles was drafted in the first World War. I was so happy when he was away. But when he returned, the abuse did too. In 1920, I learned I would have a baby. I knew I couldn't raise my baby in a place like that, so I ran. Charles found me, and I ran again. My baby was born in 1921. He died two days later because of lung fever. I didn't get to name him."

"I'm so sorry," I said, as we moved down the aisle. "I can't imagine what it's like to lose a child."

"I couldn't cope," Esme said. Even when telling her sad tale, she sat with a smile on her face. "So I jumped off of a cliff. They didn't try to save me. They just took me to the morgue. Carlisle heard my heartbeat, and he came to me. He said he remembered me, and he changed me."

"From what I can remember of her, you remind me of my mother," I said, smiling.

Esme smiled back.

"Alice, what do you remember of her?" she asked, glancing at me as we started looking at bookshelves.

"I remember the night she died. I remember what Remus told me about her, and what little bit Dad told me about her. But you sound like her."

I looked at the bookshelves, embarrassed. I didn't want my mother to feel that she was being replaced, so how could I ever get close to Esme? But Esme already felt like she was my mother.

Rosalie and Emmett helped us set up our bedroom. We got the bed, and two nightstands, two dressers, two bookshelves, and a few small cupboards. We also had the closet, which Esme approved of me adding extension charms to.

"I think what you did was very heroic," Emmett said to me as started making the bed.

"You think so?" I asked, looking up at him.  
He nodded.

"You died so your family could live."

"It was my job to keep them safe. So I did what I could to ensure they are safe."

"Can you ever go back?"

"If James is dead, yes. But I swore to Jasper, and to Helen and Tobias that I wouldn't go looking for him."  
Emmett and I both turned to look at Rosalie and Jasper who were putting together the bookshelf.

"I thought the same thing you did, you know," Emmett said, turning back to the bed.

"What?"

"I thought I had died, and Rosalie was an angel. I thought Carlisle was God, and when the burning started, I thought maybe I was sent to Hell. But Rosalie stayed with me."

"You were attacked by a bear, right?"

He nodded.

"Yes, I was. It's why I like bears so much now. But unlike you, my scars healed."

I laughed.

"Well the ones on my face healed."

"What happened anyways?"

"Well when Voldemort was presenting Harry as dead, and my cover was blown, I was being restrained by the werewolf, Fenrir Greyback. He was the one who changed Remus, and he was a Death Eater. When we made it back to the castle, nobody could see me, so they didn't shout for me like they did for Harry. So to taunt me further, Greyback shoved me. Glass and wood cut into my face, and then this," I paused, and moved my ear back, "is from him. He scratched me."

"Why?"

"Just because."

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Sure."

"How does your memories work?"

"I had a good memory in my human life," I said. "But now they're like those movies. I see them when I think about them."

"So last night when you were telling us your story, what were you seeing?"

"Harry being killed."

Emmett and I talked a little more, and before too long, our furniture was set up.

"Now we have to add on the books, potions, everything else."

Rosalie helped me while Emmett moved on to help Edward. Jasper moved into the bag to start gathering my potions, and ingredients.

"Emmett likes you," Rosalie said, as I began going through the books. "We all do."

"I like you guys too," I said. "I really want to stay here."

"It'll be nice having another girl around here. Besides Esme of course."

"I think it'd be nice to have a sister. The closest thing I had was Ginny. But there were seven brothers."

I laughed, and glanced at the photo of my parents that I had in the picture frame. As we worked on organizing the books, Rosalie told me her story. It wasn't much different than when I had looked ahead, but I learned that the pauses where her flipping through books, or just trying to wrap her head around the story. I learned that most vampires, don't remember their human life as well as I do.

"It's like static on a T.V," Rosalie said to me. "I can see, but it's fuzzy."

"I don't know what that's like," I said, as Jasper returned to the room with bags from the room inside the bag. "Not being able to remember, nor do I know what static on a T.V is like."

Rosalie laughed, and I turned to Jasper.

"You know I can't picture you being with anyone else but Jasper," Rosalie said. "I see the pictures of you and Remus, but they just don't feel right."

I chuckled.

"I can understand that. I remember what it was like being with Remus, and I see the pictures, but it's different. This doesn't feel so forced."

Jasper smiled and kissed my cheek as he sat the bags down at my feet.

"You fit together," Rosalie said. "Like the two missing pieces of our puzzle."

Carlisle told us his story after we finished our room.

"I too was born in London," Carlisle said, smiling at me. "I was born in 1640. My mother died giving birth to me, but my father, he raised me to hunt werewolves, witches, and vampires. My father was growing old, so I began taking charge of his raids. When I was twenty-three, I found a real coven of vampires living in the sewers. I led the hunt, and a fight of sorts broke out. I was bitten. I knew that if my father found me, he would surely kill me, so I hid in a potato cellar for three days. When I woke to this new life, I was horrified at what I had become. I tried to kill myself. I hadn't drinken human blood, and one day, I was so thirsty I attacked a deer."

"That's what started this life?"

He nodded.

"Yes. I didn't want to kill humans. This was so much more humane, and I could still live alongside humans. I became able to resist the bloodlust that came with being a vampire, and I became a doctor. I lived with the Volturi for two decades. Then I moved to the New World."

"Do you wish you hadn't hunted the vampires that night?"  
He shook his head.

"In my three hundred and ten years, I have helped many people. I saved four people from dying horrible deaths, and I have a family."

"I can understand why would wouldn't change that," I said, looking up to Jasper. "It's nice to have a family."

Throughout the remainder of the day, I made my way to the one member of the Cullen family who I haven't talked to individually. Edward Cullen.

I found him in a room filled with musical instruments. A piano and a cello, as well as a violin. Edward sat at the piano, playing an unfamiliar melody.

 _Can I come in?_ I thought, from outside the doorway.

"Sure," Edward said, waving me forward.

"How are you?" I asked, sitting next to him on the piano stool.

"I'm okay. And you?"

"I'm great."

He stopped playing the piece, and turned to face me.

"Is there something I can help you with?"  
I shook my head.

"Nothing in particular. I just figured I'd come get to know you. You're the only one I haven't talked to."

"What do you want to know?"

"How long have you played piano?"

"As long as I can remember," he said. He started into a piece. This piece, I liked a lot more than the other.

"What is this?"

"Chopsticks."

"Can you teach me to play?"

Edward smiled. "Sure."

I liked the Cullens, and I could see Jasper and I having a life here.

"In time," Edward said, as we made our way to the living room where everybody else sat, "you'll see that it's not so bad."

* * *

 **Hey guys! So with this,I plan on their being two more chapters. In the end, this chapter ended up being twenty-six pages on Google Drive. I may only put up one, but I haven't really decided yet. The next chapter however, a surprise is in store. So I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	42. Carlisle's Advice

**A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter, but a quick note before we start. Prices mentioned in this chapter is around the price things would be in 1950, not in 2018. I used an inflation calculator to get an estimate of prices. So about 100 dollars, in 1950 would have the same amount as a little over 1,000 dollars today. Okay? Okay. I hope you enjoy the chapter.**

* * *

 _"The only thing to do with good advice is pass it on. It is never any use to oneself." ~Oscar Wilde_

* * *

Chapter 42- Carlisle's Advice Jasper's POV

Our first week with the Cullen family flew by. Carlisle started working at the hospital, Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett began school. Carlisle and Esme thought it'd be safer for Alice and I to sit out of the school time for a couple more years. People would be told that the two of us graduated early in our previous locations. Alice and I spent time exploring the surrounding area, and got to know the family more. Alice also went on a book run, and got a good number of books to add to our shelf. Alice enjoyed it here. If it made her happy, I was more than willing to stay.

One night, Edward was flipping through the sketches that Alice had drawn of them throughout the time we spent looking for them. Alice was outside with Rosalie, running in her Animagus form.

"She thinks about you a lot,you know," Edward said, glancing at me. He had been teaching her to play the piano, so I suppose he would hear her thoughts.

"I know that," I said, smiling as I watched the large black dog run through the trees.

"Even though she would like to see herself as a part of our family, she considers you to be her only family."

"I know that too. I know everything that she feels towards me. Whenever she's near me, she feels love, happiness, safe, but most importantly, she feels hope."

"Is it overwhelming?" Esme asked. She had sat with Edward, looking through the sketches. "Feeling everything that everyone is feeling, I mean."

"You get used to it after some time. But when you kill someone, and you feel what they feel….That's what's overwhelming."

"Is that why you chose this life?" Edward asked.

"That. But also for her. I'd do anything for her."

The large head of the black dog came to a stop in front of the window, and looked up to me. My smile widened and I waved to her.

She raised one large paw before running in another direction.

I turned back to Edward and Esme, who were both smiling to me.

"I think it's a good things she has you," Esme said. "She's had a hard life."

I nodded.

"She has. But she's strong, and she'll always have me."

Esme smiled, and the feeling of compassion radiated off her. I had noticed in the last week that that was a common feeling Esme had.

Edward passed Alice's sketches back up to me, and I darted from the living room to mine and Alice's bedroom. I set the sketches back onto the shelf and grabbed a book.

Time passed, and sometime later, I heard light footsteps approaching the room.

"There you are," Alice said, laying down next to me and resting her head on my back.

"Did you have fun?"

She nodded, and closed her eyes. Worry was radiating off of her. I closed my book, and pulled her close to me.

"What's the matter?"

"Carlisle wants to talk to you," she mumbled against my shoulder. "But he won't make a set decision on what he wants to talk to you about. He's smart, and he's figured out the loophole."

"Or someone told him," I suggested.  
Edward could easily read our thoughts and pass along the loophole.

Alice shook her head.

"I don't think so," she said, "but you could be right."

"I'm sure it's nothing," I said, running a hand through her hair.

She looked up at me, her eyes searching my face.

"If it's nothing, why would he want to talk to you away from me?"

Something in her emotion shifted. A small piece of that worry became sadness, and another became fear.

"I'm not going anywhere, Al," I murmured, pressing my forehead against hers. "I'll be back, I swear."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Alice's sadness and fear faded away, and the worry went down some.

It was because of this that I didn't like Remus. I wouldn't say that I hate him, because he did after all take care of her, but he also broke her. She was scared I would leave her, but in the end that's the last thing I would ever want to do.

"When will he come for me?"

"An hour. Once he gets back from the hospital."

"Then I'll be here with you when he comes."

She smiled, and kissed my cheek.

"What're you reading?" she asked, taking the book and rolling onto her back.

"Dracula," I said.  
"I don't know if I've ever read it. I know that I've heard of it, but as far as reading goes, I don't think I have."

"You have plenty of time to read it while you're here. We're going to be here for a long time."

"I know that."

She began reading while we waited for Carlisle to come. I read over her shoulder, but mostly I focused on her. Any worry that she had before, was gone now. She was back into that happy place.

Like Alice had said, an hour after she entered, Carlisle stood outside the door.

"Jasper, could I maybe borrow you for a few minutes?" he asked, watching the two of us.

"Of course," I said. I turned to Alice and kissed her temple. "I'll be back."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to talk away from the house."

I nodded, and followed him.

About halfway down the driveway, Carlisle came to a stop.

"This isn't anything bad, Jasper," he started, turning to face me. "I'm just curious about somethings."

"Okay," I said, watching him carefully.

"How long have you and Alice been together?"

"Almost two years," I said, frowning.

"Have you guys ever considered getting married?"

"We've talked about it," I said, slowly.

"This is my advice, and whether or not you take it is up to you. I think you and Alice should think about getting married. I can help put the wedding together, or take you to the courthouse if you'd like."

"I think she'd want a wedding," I said, looking at the ground. "I've wanted to marry Alice for a while now, but we've traveled so much that I've never had the time to look into it."

"Esme and I can help you," Carlisle said, smiling at me. "We can help with rings, and things like that."

"Carlisle, no offence, but you barely know me. Why do you care?"

"You and Alice are our family now. Please let Esme and I help you. It would mean a lot to Esme."

I nodded.

"Of course, thank you, Carlisle. But don't make any decisions. I want this to be a surprise to Alice."

He nodded.  
"Of course. So when would you like to propose?"

"As soon as I can."

"We can go today and get rings if you'd like."

I nodded.

"That would be great, thank you, Carlisle."

"Of course. Would you mind if Esme tagged along?"

"Not at all."

I grinned widely as we made our way to the house.

"I'll just go say bye to Alice real quick," I said as I bounded up the front stairs.

"Take your time, we'll meet you in the car."

I quickly moved up the stairs to mine and Alice's bedroom.

"You're back!" Alice said, looking up from the book.

"Not for long, Darlin'," I said, pulling her into my arms. "I have a few errands to run."

She turned to look at me.

"I'm not going, am I?"

I smiled.

"No, sweetheart, you're not. I'm going with Carlisle and Esme. But I shouldn't be gone long."

"Do I get to know what Carlisle wanted to talk to you about?"

"No, you don't."

She glared at me, and puffed out her lip. I smiled, never taking my eyes off her. Inside, I really wanted to tell her what Carlisle and I had talked about, but I knew I couldn't.

I leaned down and kissed her.

"You'll be fine," I murmured, when I pulled back to her. "You'll know sooner or later."

She kissed the scar on my jawbone before sitting up fully.

"It's time for you to go, isn't it?"

"Afraid so," I said. "Carlisle and Esme are waiting for me."

She sighed, and stood up.

"Okay, I'll see you later."

"I'll be back before you know it."

"Here, take this with you," she said, taking the necklace from around her neck. She placed it in my hand, and closed my hand around it. From looking at it, I knew it was one that Fred had given her a long time ago.

"Thank you, Alice," I said, pulling her into a tight hug. "I love you, and I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Bye, I love you," she said, kissing my cheek.

After one more tight squeeze, she darted from the room, going to find Edward to work on her piano lessons, and I smiled.

Looking around the room, I found a ring of Alice's laying on the dresser. I quickly swiped it and headed down the stairs.

Esme, stood, beaming when I made it to the car.

"We're so happy for you, Jasper," she said, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Esme, but don't be happy until she says yes."

"She'll say yes. Trust me."

I smiled, and ducked into the back seat.

As soon as we were out of the driveway, Esme turned to face me.  
"Have you thought about how you want to propose?"

"Alice likes the stars," I said, looking up to the sky. "If there is a clearing nearby, maybe I could take her there, and then propose under the stars."

Esme smiled.

"I think that's a good idea."

"There is a clearing not that far from the house. I'll show it to you when we get back to the house," Carlisle said.

"Maybe we should get you both a new outfit," Esme suggested.

"I don't want you to go through so much trouble," I said, looking quickly between the two.

"It's really no trouble at all, Jasper. We want to do whatever will make you and Alice happy."

Both Esme and Carlisle reminded me of my parents, or what I could remember of them anyways.

I wondered if Alice was focusing on our futures, trying to find out the surprise. But surely Edward would already know, and would help us by keeping her busy.

"If it's no trouble," I said, looking between the two of them, "then I'd really appreciate it."

"Of course," Esme said.

We went to the ring store first. It was a small little store of the end of a street corner. It shouldn't have surprised me that everyone, in some way or another, acknowledged Carlisle, whether it was a smile and a wave, or a, "Good afternoon, Dr. Cullen". Somehow, and some way, it still surprised me.

"You get used to it after some time," Esme whispered to me, too low for anyone other than Carlisle to hear.

"Good morning, Dr. and Mrs. Cullen," the woman behind the counter said as we walked in. I could instantly smell her, and I could hear the low sound of her heart beat. I stiffened, and immediately clutched Alice's necklace that was around my own neck.

"Good morning," Carlisle greeted.

"What can I help you with?"

"We'd like to help Jasper pick out an engagement ring for his girlfriend," Esme said, as we stepped closer to the counter.

"Tell me about her," the woman said to me. "What's she like?"

"She's extraordinarily kind," I said, smiling at the ground. "She has a huge heart, and she's optimistic."

I looked up, and the woman, Carlisle, and Esme, were all beaming.

"And you love the girl very much," the woman said. It wasn't a question.

"I do," I said.

"Right. Do you have a budget?"

Carlisle thought about it for a moment.

"Eight hundred."

The woman, whose name I still didn't know, nodded.

"Follow me," she said, waving us over to a case.

"From here down, are the rings that fit your price point," she said, waving to a case at the end of the line.

I moved down the line, looking at the rings, trying to find the one that I could see Alice wearing for the rest of our lives. Sure, we could update the ring, but Alice would appreciate the first one forever.

"What's her name?" the woman asked me.

"Mary Alice," I said, automatically.

"That's a beautiful name."

"Jasper?" Esme said, from a few cases down, "how about this one?"

I came to where she called from.

The ring was beautiful no doubt, but I wasn't sure if it'd fit Alice.

"What can you tell me about this ring?"

"It's a 1.01 carat marquise diamond, with a 14K white gold, round cut setting."

I shook my head.

"I don't think it's her."

"That's okay," the woman said. "We still have plenty of options."

"What can you tell me about this one?"

I asked pointing to another.

"It was carved with 18K rose and white gold with scrolls carved into the ring. It's a ½ carat round diamond, and on the sides, it alternates with black diamonds."

I shook my head.

"I don't think that's it, either."

"You'll know when you find the right one, Jasper," Carlisle said, patting my shoulder.

It would seem that we went through several rings, several diamond cuts.

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "None of these seem to be her."

"I do have one ring that you may like better," the woman said.

She turned around to a drawer, and pulled out a case.

"From what you've described of the rings that you've looked at, I think this one will fit Mary Alice perfectly."

She opened the case.

"It's a 14K white gold, with diamonds wrapping around the ring, and scrollwork on the inside. It's a 1.02 carat round cut diamond with a very good cut."

"That's it!" I said, as she handed me the ring. "This one fits her perfectly. How much is it?"

"$740.00, plus tax, which won't be that much."

I turned to Carlisle and Esme and nodded, and quickly started thinking about books, which book to "buy."

"What size?" the woman asked me.

I handed her the ring from my pocket.

"This is one of hers," I said. "I don't know the exact size."

She nodded.

"Well, from the looks of it, they're already the same size, but if you'd like, I can do some measurements to double check."

"Then we could come back for it in a few hours?" Esme asked.

The woman nodded.  
"That gives me time to make slight adjustments if I need to."

I nodded.

"Then we can go and get everything else we need," Esme said to me. "Flowers and outfits and anything else."

I nodded.

"Thank you," Carlisle said, as Esme and I headed to the door.

"Anytime, Dr. Cullen."

The second we got outside, I breathed in deeply.

"Alice would be so proud of you," Esme said lowly to me.

I turned to her and raised an eyebrow.

"You handled yourself very well in there," she said, smiling. She picked up the necklace, that now hung in view. "This is her's, isn't it?"

I nodded.

"Fred gave it to her, not long after Remus left I think."

"It's important to her," Esme said, dropping it.

I nodded.

"Anything Fred gave to her is. She has the chance to see George and Harry again someday. Remus, her mother, her father, Fred, she'll never see them again."

Sadness turned to Esme as we returned to the car.

"She's going to be okay," I said, quietly. "I just mean that she makes all things from them count."

"I know she'll be okay," Esme said, as we moved down the street. "She has you."

We ended up going to a more formal clothing store.

"You know her sizes and everything, right?" Esme asked me.

I nodded.

"If you find something you like for her, don't be afraid to speak up."

"Thank you again," I said, smiling at the ground.

"Of course."

We made our way into the store, and this one was more crowded than the last. I quickly took in a deep breath, and held onto Alice's necklace. It helped, but not as much as she would have if she were here with me.

We started with my clothes. That would be the easiest to get. I settled for black pants, a white shirt with a black tie, and dress shoes.

"Simple, but nevertheless, classy," Esme complimented.

"Thank you."

We moved to the dresses.  
"Okay, let's see here," Esme said, moving through the dresses. "We'll want something like yours. Nothing too flashy but nothing too simple either. Long or short?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"I guess it doesn't matter. She'd honestly look beautiful in anything."

Esme smiled and began flipping through the dresses. Different shades of pink, purple, green.

"Do you see anything you'd like on her?" Carlisle asked.

I looked around the area, flipping through dresses. After fifteen minutes, I became torn between two. An emerald green lace dress, and a black one with a cape like back.

"Esme?" I called. She had been looking at shoes. "Can you help me?"

She immediately rushed over.

"Is everything okay?"

"Which do you think would look better on her?"

She looked between the two.

"I like the black one more," she said after a moment. "They'll go great with these shoes."

She hung up the green dress, and pulled me over to the shoe rack, and pointed to a pair of shoes.

"It looks great," I said, smiling.

She pulled me into a hug.

"It's going to be amazing."

At check out, Esme added a necklace to go with the dress.

"It'll bring out her eyes."

As soon as we checked out, we made our way to a floral store. I got Alice red roses, and once we bought those, we headed back to the ring store.

While I was careful not to make any certain decision, I turned to Carlisle and Esme.

"I think I am going to do it tonight," I announced.

Esme grinned.

"Wonderful."

"Between Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett, we should be able to keep her distracted."

"I hope so. I'll have to go in through the window."

"Edward should be able to read our mind and keep her from the room," Esme said.

The ring was ready when we returned. She didn't need to alter it at all.  
"Good luck!" she said, as I made my way out the door.

"Thank you, very much!"

I could barely contain myself on the way home. It had finally occurred to me what I would be doing in a few short hours. Alice wanted to get married, I knew she did. I wanted to marry her more than anything.

When we got to the house, Carlisle held a finger up to me.

Edward appeared at the window, and nodded once, and I could hear him faintly through the house calling for Alice.

"Edward is going to get her out of the house for a little while," Carlisle said.

I cracked the car door, and I could hear Alice from the inside.

"But what if Jasper comes home?"

"He can wait," Rosalie said. "You won't be long I'm sure."

"I'll keep Jasper entertained until you come back," Emmett said.

I smiled at the effort the three of them put into keeping her out of the house until I could get to the field.

I could hear the door to garage door shut, and I ducked out of the car and into mine and Alice's bedroom window.

I quickly changed into the new outfit and placed Alice's on the bed.

I found a note pad and scribbled out a quick note.

 _Put this on. I promised you a date, and it's time that you get one. Carlisle will be waiting for you to guide you to where you need to go. Don't look ahead, and spoil it._

 _I love you,_  
 _Jazz._

I smiled, and laid the note on the bed.

I grabbed a blanket, the flowers, and both our Lunascopes. I double checked that the ring was in my pocket, and slid back out the window.

Carlisle was waiting for me. The car was gone, back in the garage I assumed.

"Edward told Alice they were going to look for sheet music for their next lesson. He said there was a few songs he thought she'd like."

I nodded.  
"That should keep her busy. I wrote her a note, and said you would guide her where to go."

He smiled, and looked up to the sky.

"The sun will be setting soon I'm sure."

I nodded.

"Just don't make any certain decisions. She'll see it."

"How did you find your way around her visions?" Carlisle asked, as we walked.

"She told me," I said, smiling. "We were going to Central Park, and I said that I got the feeling that I wouldn't be able to surprise her often. She said, as long as I don't make any certain decision, she won't see it."

"But she can't see werewolves?"

I shook my head.

"Nor half-werewolves."

Carlisle shook his head.

"Amazing."

It didn't take long until we made it to the clearing. The most that was green grass, although, I didn't doubt Alice could change that easily.

"Here you are," Carlisle said, smiling at me.

"Thank you."

"I'll head back to the house and wait for Alice," he said. "Good luck."

He turned and darted back in the direction of the house.

I laid out the blanket, and put down the Lunascopes. All that was left now, is to wait.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you guys enjoyed the chapter! The next chapter will be back into Alice's point of view, but I do plan to try and get another chapter with Jasper's point of view. I already have the rest of the story planned out, but I may add another chapter somewhere in the middle to get Jasper's point of view in. So I hope you enjoyed it!**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review :)(:**


	43. The Big Question

_"The best thing to hold onto in life is each other." ~Audrey Hepburn_

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Chapter 43- The Big Question Alice's POV

Edward and I wondered around the music store for some time. He was looking for a specific piece by a composer named Ludwig van Beethoven. The piece itself, was called Für Elise.

"Edward, come on!" I said, pulling on his hand.

"I'm almost done, Alice," Edward said, as he pulled out a piece of sheet music. "Be patient. Jasper can wait a little while longer."

I sighed, and wondered around the store.

There was a lot of music I never heard of before, and a lot that interested me.

"Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you get into music?"

"Well you have to have something to pass the time."

"I think it's soothing."

He laughed.

"I guess it is."

Edward got a few different pieces by the time we left the store. Für Elise was one of them. Even though I was eager to go back to Jasper, I had fun with Edward. In many ways, he reminded me of Harry.

"Do you really think so?" Edward asked me.

I nodded.

"I personally think you're both very stubborn. But you're also both very loyal. Most of all, I think of you both to be my brother."

Edward smiled, but never took his eyes off the road.

When we finally got home, I smiled.

"Thank you for coming with me," Edward said, offering a hug.

"Anytime."

I bolted from the car into the living room.

Carlisle and Esme were sitting in the living room on the couch.  
"Where's Jazz?" I asked, looking around the room.

"Try upstairs, dear," Esme said. "He's probably reading."

I nodded, and turned to the stairs.

When I got to the room, it was empty. But a piece of paper laid on top of a box on the bed.

 _I made my way to the bed, and picked up the paper._

 _Put this on. I promised you a date, and it's time that you get one. Carlisle will be waiting for you to guide you to where you need to go. Don't look ahead, and spoil it._

 _I love you,_

 _Jazz._

I smiled and put the note to the side, before opening to the box.

Inside, was a pair of shoes laid on top of a dress. Between the shoes and the dress however, was a beautiful necklace.

I quickly dressed in the outfit, and looked in the mirror. I smiled, before looking down at the Dark Mark. I quickly shook my head. It wouldn't matter to him, and I wanted to go without my wand. I'd be safe without it. I darted back down the stairs, to where Carlisle and Esme sat.  
Neither had moved, but they both looked up at me.

"You look beautiful, dear," Esme said, rising to her feet.

"Jasper said you will take me to where I need to go."

"That's right," Carlisle said, smiling as he stood.

"Have a good time, Alice," Emmett said, from the other side of the couch.

"Thank you."

"I want details when you get back," Rosalie said smiling.

I laughed and nodded.

"Of course."

"Come on," Carlisle said. "Jasper is waiting."

I smiled, and walked with him.

He guided me out of the house and to the woods. The sun was almost down behind the clouds.

"I'm not late, am I?" I asked, looking up to the sky.

"Not at all."

We both took off into a run, Carlisle, holding tightly onto my hand.

We came to the stop at the edge of a clearing.

"Here's your stop," Carlisle said, squeezing my hand. "Have fun."

He then turned on his heels, and darted in the opposite direction, and I turned back to the field.

Jasper stood with his back to me. On the ground, on top of a blanket, sat our Lunascopes.

"Jazz?" I asked, stepping forward.

He didn't turn, but I continued to draw closer.

It wasn't until I was in front of the blanket that he turned.

"Good evening, Alice. You look beautiful."

He handed me a bouquet of roses, before leaning down to kiss me.

"Thank you, Jazz. It's all so beautiful! The dress, the flowers, the necklace."

He smiled and took my hand.

"I know it's not much, but I thought you'd like to look at the stars."

I grinned.

"I think that's a wonderful idea."

We sat on the blanket, Jasper pulled me into his arms.

"So how was your day?" he murmured in my ear as I started to set up our Lunascopes.

"Edward taught me how to play one of the songs he wrote. Next he's going to teach me Für Elise."

"Have you ever heard it?"

I shook my head.

"Never."

"Have you thought anymore about me teaching you the stuff you learn in Muggle schools?"

I nodded.

"I think that'd be a great idea."

I turned my Lunascope to the sky. The stars were becoming more visible as the clouds started to fade away.

"Jazz?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I'll like school?"

"I think it'll be something new. But you have some time before you have to worry about that."

"And you'll be with me?"

"Of course."

I smiled, and leaned onto his shoulder.

"Do you know the story of Ursa Major, and Ursa Minor?"

"I think you've told it to me before, but I'd like to hear it again."

"Keep in mind, this is a Roman myth, so the names are different."

"I'll keep up."

I turned up to the sky.

"There was once a maiden named Callisto. She was very, very beautiful. One day, she was hunting in the woods, and she became very tired. The king of the gods, Jupiter, saw Callisto, and he was attracted to her. His wife, Juno, she realized how Jupiter felt about Callisto, and she grew to be jealous. When Juno learned Callisto had given birth to Jupiter's son, she decided she would punish Callisto. So to keep her from being beautiful, she turned her into a bear."

"What happened to their son?"

"He was brought into another family," I said. "He grew up to be a hunter, just like his mother. His name was Arcas. One day, Arcas was hunting in the woods, and that day, Callisto saw him. She had forgotten that she was a bear, and she came running up to see her son."

"Did he know she was a bear?"

I shook my head.

"Not at all. So he thought he was being attacked, and he shot an arrow at her. Jupiter had been watching Callisto, and he saw the arrow about to hit her, and he stopped it. To try and save Callisto, Jupiter turned Arcas into a bear. Jupiter knew Juno would see this and be angry, so he grabbed them both by their tails and threw them into the sky so they could live peacefully in the stars forever."

"What happened with Juno?"

"She saw Jupiter try to save them, and she became angry. So she went to Neptune, the god of the sea, and told him that the bears wouldn't be allowed to come to his waters while the traveled around the Pole star for the rest of eternity."

"You would think he would have learned to not cheat on his wife," Jasper said, smiling against my ear.

"Did you know Zeus could have over one hundred children?"

"I can't say I'm surprised by that fact."

I laughed, and twisted in his arms.

"You want to know something we never do?"

"What's that?"

"Dance."

"What prompted that thought?"

"The muses. They were Zeus's daughters. Terpsichore is the muse that brings dance."

Jasper chuckled, and picked me up. He walked out from the blanket before placing me down.  
"Then let's dance."

He held his hand out to me, and the second I took it, he immediately started to spin me.

I laughed and it echoed off the trees.

"So tell me another story," Jasper said, as we danced across the clearing.

"How about the one of Orpheus and Eurydice? It's a love story, but it doesn't have a happy ending."

"Tell it to me anyways."

I smiled, as we danced around the blanket.

"Orpheus was the son of Apollo and Calliope, one of the Muses. Orpheus was a very talented musician, and nothing could resist his music. Orpheus fell in love with Eurydice. They married, but it was short lived. One day, Eurydice was wondering through the forest, and she caught the eye of a shepherd. He saw her beauty, and he wanted her for himself. When she ran from him, he chased her and Eurydice got bit by a snake. She died instantly."

Jasper shook his head, as I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Orpheus played his lyre to show his grief, and then Apollo suggested he go to Hades, and find his wife. The gods protected him as he made his way to the underworld. When he presented himself to Hades, Hades decided to strike up a deal with him."

"Why would he do that?"  
"Orpheus played his lyre for Hades."

"So what was the deal, Darlin'?"

"Orpheus could take Eurydice from the Underworld if he didn't look at her until they returned to the World of the Living. If he did, he would lose her forever. So they set out. Orpheus grew concerned when he could no longer hear Eurydice's footsteps. They were only a few feet away from the exit, and Orpheus turned to see if she was still there. Her shadow was pulled back into the Underworld where she would remain forever."

Jasper sighed, and pulled me close to him as our dance came to an end.

"I don't know what I'd do if I ever lost you," he said, as we returned to the blanket. I returned to my spot in his lap.

"I'd want you to be happy," I said, closing my eyes. "But if I lost you….I don't know if I could live through losing someone else."

Jasper turned me to face him.

"Don't talk like that," he said, pulling me to him. "You won't never lose me. I'm not going anywhere, you hear?"

"I know that Jazz," I said, as I leaned in to kiss the tip of his nose. "I love you."

"I love you more."

I grinned.

"That's not possible."

He rolled me over to where I was on my back on the blanket and he hovered over me.

"I beg to differ."

He kissed me for what felt like an eternity, before he settled back at my side.

I picked up my Lunascope, and looked up to the sky.

I watched the Hydra constellation, and for a few moments, we were quiet.

"Alice?"

I moved the Lunascope, and turned to look at Jasper. He was holding out his hand, and I took it. He gently pulled me up to my feet, before he kneeled down.

My eyes widened.

"Jazz, what are you—"

He held up a hand as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a ring. My hand flew to my mouth.

"Mary Alice Black, the last two years with you have been unbelievable. I knew from the moment I met you I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you. We've made a thousand memories, and we have enough lifetimes to make a million more. Would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

"Yes," I whispered.

Jasper grinned, and slid the ring onto my finger before pulling me into a tight hug.

"Did I surprise you?"

"Yes," I said, my voice cracking. "I've been getting flickers all day, but nothing was decided long enough to see it clearly."

"Why are you crying, sweetheart?" Jasper asked, holding my face in his hands.

"Because I'm happy," I said, burying my face in his shirt.

"Good," he said, kissing the top of my head.

He held onto me tightly, and I hoped that he would never let go.

We stayed in the field until it was close to midnight. The entire time, I couldn't stop admiring the ring on my left finger.

"Is this what Carlisle wanted to talk to you about?" I asked.

"He gave the idea of it. He asked if I had given proposing any thought. I told him that I have been for some time now."

"Have you?"

He nodded.

"I've thought about it since we've gotten together, really. But I never knew when to propose. We're always traveling, and if I took that much money out then you were sure to notice."

I smiled.

"How did you do it now?"

"Carlisle and Esme helped me with it all. The dress, the shoes, the necklace, the flowers, my clothes, and the ring. Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie's job was to keep you distracted."

"That must have been a lot of money for them to spend," I said sitting up quickly. "I'll have to help them get it back, not that I don't enjoy it all, because I do."

"Let's not worry about that," he said, wrapping his arms around me, and pulling me close to him.

"I'm sorry," I said, shaking my head.

I couldn't help but think about the wedding. I loved my new family, but there were so many that were going to be missing. My mother and my father, Harry, Fred, George, Severus, and even Remus.

I could feel my eyes water with the tears that would never fall.

"Don't be sad," Jasper murmured against my ear. "Today is a happy day."

"I know."

"Tell me about it?"

"I wish my family was here to see me get married."

He sighed, and held me close to him.

"I know, and I'm sorry they're not. But maybe one day, you can go back."

I sighed, and shook my head.

"I can't hope to high on that one."

Jasper kissed my temple.

"Come on," he said, wrapping the blanket around me before picking me up. "Let's go home."

He carried me the entire way there, and I shrieked with laughter.

He didn't put me down until we made it to the door.

"You're back!" Rosalie said, jumping up as we entered the living room. "How was it?"

"She said yes," Jasper said, as I held out my hand.

"Oh that's wonderful!" Esme said, pulling the two of us into a tight hug. "Oh we're so happy for you."

"Thank you," I said, grinning.

"So we have a wedding to plan then," Rosalie said to me.

"We do," I said, grinning.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know the chapter is short, and for that I am sorry. There will be two chapters up with this, that will be much longer. So I hope you enjoyed this chapter, and the chapters to come!**  
 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	44. A Wedding to Plan

_"It always seems impossible, until it is done." ~Nelson Mandela_

* * *

Chapter 44- A Wedding to Plan

The date, was the first thing we decided. We debated between the day we first met, or on my birthday. We decided on the later. Jasper said he liked the idea of it being on my birthday because it gave me something to look forward to during the anniversary of my parents death, and the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts.

"But that's Edward's birthday too," I argued as the seven of us sat in the living room.

"It's okay, Alice," Edward said, patting my shoulder. "Have the wedding on our birthday. Jasper's right. It's easier to have something happier to take away all the badness that comes before it."

I looked between everybody, and sighed.

"Sorry, Darlin'," Jasper said smugly in my ear, "this is an argument that you can't win."

"So June twentieth, is our date," I said, looking back at Jasper.

"Yes, it is."

"And I can't argue it?"

"Not a chance."

I sighed.

"Okay."

"What about the dress?" Rosalie asked. "Have we figured out what we're going to do about that yet?"

"We can go look around a few stores tomorrow," I said. "It's Saturday, so you'll be out of school, so you, me, and Esme can go."

"That sounds like a good idea."

"I thought about making one homemade, but I'm not sure if we have enough time."

"I don't think we do," Esme said. "But stores hold great wedding dresses."

"So we'll go tomorrow and look around."

"And when we find the right dress, then I will hide it away in a place where only I can get to it," I said, turning to look at Jasper.

"And how do you plan to do that?"

"Well there is a certain charm, where you can only pass through a respective place if you hold the Dark Mark. I am the only vampire in the world with a Dark Mark."

Jasper's face fell, and turned into a pout.

We all laughed and I leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"I love you," I said, smiling.

"I know."

I began scribbling out names on a list. All of the Cullens, Helen and Tobias, and Peter and Charlotte.

"What is that?" Jasper asked me.

"Well it's the matter of the guest list," I said. "We have all the Cullens of course, Helen, Tobias, Peter, and Charlotte."

"Maybe, if you don't mind of course, we can invite the Denali coven. Tanya would love to meet you I'm sure."

"She's the one you stayed with before," I said. "I saw her in many visions. There was a man, and three other women."

"Yes," Carlisle said. "There is Tanya, Kate, Irina, Carmen, and Eleazer."

"We consider to the Denalis to be our cousins of sorts."

I smiled.

"Well, you're welcome to invite them. We're dropping off the order for invitations today."

I turned to Jasper.

"Have you talked to Peter lately?"

"Not since just after we got here."

"Are they still in Tallahassee?"

Jasper nodded.

"He said he'd call before they left, but that they'd be staying there for a while."

"Peter and Charlotte," Carlisle said slowly, gaining Jasper's attention. "Is there diet like ours?"

Jasper shook his head.

"No. They hunt humans."

Carlisle and Esme looked at each other.

"We can ask them to hunt outside of the area," Jasper said, his smile falling. "They wouldn't want to make things hard for Alice and I."

"We meant no offence," Esme said quickly.

"He knows that," I said, turning to Jasper.

"I'm sorry," Jasper said, looking at his lap.

"It's okay," Esme said. "We meant no offence. But if we draw attention to ourselves, we'll have to leave a lot quicker."

"We understand," I said. "We'll be sure to ask them to hunt away from the city if they need to hunt."

"Thank you."

I nodded.

"I think that's enough planning for one night," I said, raising to my feet. My energy was slowly starting to raise. "I think I am going to go walk around for a while."

Jasper and I made our way out of the room, and out the back door.

"Are you okay?" I asked once we stepped into the woods.

"Yes, of course I am."

He wrapped his arm around me, and I rested my head on his shoulder.

"Just making sure," I said.

As we walked, I thought about the people back home.

"I forgot Fred and George's birthday," I said, suddenly.  
"When was it?"

"April first."

"Well we were busy that day. Setting up the room, moving in."

"I know."

"They'll have many more birthdays," Jasper said, pulling me to a stop. "You'll remember those years. You still have a long time left on this earth. Don't be upset because you missed one birthday."

I smiled, and pulled him into a hug.

"What would I do without you?"

"I think you'd be okay. After all, you did it for twenty-one, nearly twenty-two, years."

"But now, I think I would have lost my head. Not that you didn't think I was half mad when we met."

"I did not!" he insisted.

"You thought I meant to attack you!" I exclaimed. "I was just glad you were finally there! I thought you'd never come."

"Yet look at us now. Almost two years later, we're engaged," he said, as I wrapped my arms around his neck.

"And you still think I'm mad."  
I grinned, and took off running towards the clearing.

Jasper was right behind me. I could hear him. I looked up, and jumped into one of the trees.

I laughed as he slowed to a stop.

He looked up immediately into the tree I was perched on. He jumped up, and joined me in the tree.

"Maybe you are a little crazy," he said, backing me against the tree before wrapping an arm around my waist.

"I guess I am," I said, smiling.

I looked into his near black eyes, and raised a hand to trace the dark circles underneath his eyes.

"Your's aren't much different from mine," Jasper said, leaning forward.

"I know," I said, shaking my head. "But I feel fine. How do you feel?"

"Can I be around humans you mean?" he asked loosening his hold around my waist.

"I only mean that I don't want to make you uncomfortable," I said, sinking down against the tree.

My words upset him. I could see it in his eyes, and I instantly wished I hadn't said anything at all.

Before he could catch me, I slipped out of the tree, and into the clearing.

"Alice," Jasper called from behind me.

He quickly caught up behind me, and I stopped in the field.

"I've upset you," I said, looking at the ground.

"So you walk away?"

"When Remus got upset with me, it was safer to be away from him."

Jasper hugged me tightly.

"I'm not Remus, Alice. And I know you didn't mean it that way."

I sighed, but I still didn't meet his eyes.

"Hey," he whispered, putting a hand under my chin and tilting my head back. "It's okay, Al. I'm not angry, and I'm not upset."

"Why do you want to marry me?" I asked, resting my forehead on his shoulder. "I'm a mess."

"I want to marry you because I love you," he said, kissing the top of my head.

I smiled, and looked up at him.

"You're not mad at me?"

"No," he said, smiling. "I'm not mad."

"And you're not upset?"

"Not at all."

I smiled, and took his hand.

"Then let's go home," I said, leaning against him.

When we made it back to the house, Edward turned to me.

"We can go tomorrow after you get back from dress shopping," he said. "Emmett and I are due for a hunt."

"Thank you, Edward," I said, smiling at him.

"It'll be good for you to hunt before your energy goes down," Jasper murmured to me.

"I know," I said, as I jumped back to my feet and started walking around the room.

"It's starting to go up," Carlisle noted.

Jasper nodded.

"The more it goes up, the less she's going to be able to sit still. Taking her hunting isn't that bad of an idea. She can run."

"It won't be much longer before we go get drop off the order," Esme said.

"How many are you ordering?" Jasper asked me.

"Well I assumed one for each person, so five to send up to Denali, two to send to New York, and two to send to Tallahassee. Then I want to put one in the scrapbook, or frame one."

"You could do both," Rosalie said.

I nodded.

"So at the least, I'd say ten."

He nodded.

"I think that sounds great."

I watched him carefully. I gathered the feeling that he wasn't as into the wedding planning as I had hoped he was.

We left close to one that afternoon to go drop off the order for wedding invitations. We had decided that we would do both the wedding and the reception at the Cullen's house. It would be all vampires, so I would use magic to switch from the ceremony to the reception.

In total, if you included Jasper and I, there would be sixteen people there.

Jasper had gotten ahold of Peter on the way home, and told him to expect something from the two of us in the next week. The person making the invitations said they'd be ready by Monday.

"So it will be me, you, and Rosalie tomorrow, right?" I asked Esme, when we returned to the house.

She nodded.

"Edward thought about joining us, but he figured he'd be better helping Emmett occupy Jasper."

Jasper frowned.

"I'm being babysat?"

I laughed and squeezed his hand.

"You had Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward do the same to me, when you were going to get the ring, and plan the proposal. Don't think of it as babysitting. Think of it more as getting a chance to get to know Emmett and Edward."

Jasper sighed before hugging me close to him.

"Fine, I'll stay here."

I smiled and kissed his cheek.

We showed Carlisle the sample for our invitations. They read:

 _Together with their family and closest friends_

 _Jasper Peirce Whitlock_

 _Mary Alice Black_

 _Request the honor of your presence at their marriage:_

 _Wednesday 6.20.50 at 5:00 PM_

 _2134 Forestwood Drive_

 _Helena, Montana_

 _Reception to follow at seven o'clock_

 _2134 Forestwood Drive_

 _Helena, Montana_

"I think they look great," Carlisle said. "They fit you both very well."

"I thought so too," I said. "They're not too flashy, but they're also not too simple."

Carlisle smiled.

"When will they be ready?"

"We go to pick them up Monday evening, and then I'll mail them out that night."

Carlisle nodded.

"Sounds good. So when should they get them?"

"I'd say Friday at the latest."

Esme smiled.

"Time is going to pass quickly," she said, smiling.

"I hope so," I said, glancing at Jasper who was nose deep into The Rise and Falls of the Dark Arts. I remembered buying that book when I first joined the Death Eaters. Most of the books I had, I had forgotten that I carried.

"Alice?" Jasper asked quietly, some time later. We had moved up to the bedroom, and Jasper was still reading. I had also began reading. I was reading A Vampire's Monologue.

"Yes?" I asked, turning to look at him.

"If there was a way to get the Dark Mark off your arm, would you do it?"

I looked down at the mark on my arm. It had been here for so long now, I couldn't imagine myself without it.

"I don't know," I said, not looking away from my arm. "I hate it being there, don't get me wrong, but I think of it as a reminder. Does it bother you?"

I looked up to him.

He shook his head.

"No, no, no. Not at all. It just says here that there is no way to remove the Dark Mark."

Memories flashed in my head of the night I got the mark.

 _"You've done a wonderful job," Voldemort said. "I'd like to think of you as my second-in-command."_

 _"Thank you, my Lord," I saw, bowing._

 _He took my hand and pushed up the sleeve of my sweater._

 _"All good deeds should be rewarded."_

 _"Rewarded?" I asked, my eyes flickering to Severus._

 _Suddenly I remembered the burn of the mark being branded onto my skin._

"Alice," Jasper said, pulling me back. "It's okay."

I blinked, focusing on him.

"What was it?" he asked quietly. "You were fine, but then you felt pain."

"I remembered him branding me," I whispered.

Jasper sighed.

"I should have never brought it up," he said, shaking his head.

"It's not that," I said, looking up at him. "It's only that it's a memory that I can never forget."

"You have so many sad memories," Jasper said, turning my head to look at him. "It's time we make some good ones."

"We already have," I said, smiling. "When you and I met, when you said you'd travel with me, the first time you told me you love me, when we started dating. There are so much more."

He smiled.

"And you have so many more to make," he said, leaning over me. "Starting with saying, 'I do."

I grinned, and placed a hand against his cheek.

"June seems so far away," I said.

"The time will go quickly," he said, leaning down to kiss my cheek. "Tomorrow you go get your dress, Monday we mail out invitations."

"But we still have sixty days to go," I said.

"Patience, Darlin'," he said, grinning.

I sighed, and rose to my feet.

"Let's go for a walk. I'm tired of sitting."

Jasper smiled, and rolled off the bed.

We had walked around until nearly four in the morning. We wandered through the woods, and then we returned to the house.

"Most bridal and formal stores don't open until noon," Esme said.

"What happens if I don't find a dress I like?" I asked.

"Well you can always find a bases of one you like," she said. "I can make alterations to it to where you do like it."

I smiled.  
"That's a good idea, but I don't want you to go through too much trouble."

"It won't be," Esme said. "Believe me when I say, we have money to spare."

"I want to help," I said. "I still have a lot of money left over from what Helen and Tobias gave me."

"Feel free to help as much as you'd like."

I nodded.

"I'll do my dress, and his tux. I can more than likely do decorations, and flowers."

"Alice, that's nearly everything," Esme said. "Please, let us help."

"But you have helped," I said. "You bought the ring, the invitations, you'll help with the dress if I can't find one that I like. And somethings, I can do by magic."

Esme sighed.

"I feel like we're not doing enough," she said.

I smiled, and hugged her.

"I could never thank you enough for all that you're doing for Jasper and I. You've welcomed us into your home, your family, you've given us the chance to get married."

Esme beamed up at me.

Edward appeared behind me.

"Hey, what time is the invitations supposed to be ready?" Edward asked me, jumping over the couch and taking a seat next to Jasper.

"Around four o'clock Monday evening."

"And what time should you be back tonight?"

"Around five. Why?"

"Well Emmett and I were discussing what time we should leave for hunting. If you're going with us, then I was trying to figure out what time we would need to be back."

"Where are we going?" Jasper asked. "Are we hunting in the area, or are we going somewhere else?"

"Well Emmett wants to go find a few bears, so we'll probably go up North a little bit."

I nodded.

"Sounds like a plan. We can leave once I come home and get changed."

Edward nodded.  
"I'll go tell Emmett."

He bounced back over the couch and through the back door.

When we made it to the dress store, not long after it opened. Just by stepping into the store, I could see rows of dresses in garment bags, and I could see maniquenes modeling dresses.

Suddenly a woman came flying to meet us. She was about the same height as Rosalie, and she didn't look to be much older.

"Good morning!" she said, shaking all of our hands. I noticed she shivered at each of our touch. "I assume your the bride?"  
She turned my hand over and looked at the engagement ring.

"Yes," I said, smiling.

"I'm Anna," she said, shaking my hand a second time. "I'll be your consultant today."

"Alice," I said, smiling at her.

"And you are?" she asked, turning to Esme and Rosalie.

"I'm Esme, her adopted mother, and this is Rosalie, her sister. ."

Anna smiled.

"It's nice to meet you. Follow me."

She led us to a small room in the back, and gestured for us to sit.

"First, tell me your budget," she said, looking between Esme and I.

"Four hundred," I said. Carlisle and Esme had insisted helped to buy the money, and their money combined with mine, ended up being four hundred dollars.

Anna's eyes flickered quickly between Esme and I.

"Tell me about your dream dress."

I thought about it for a moment. I thought of Fleur's dress, and of the dresses I saw in bridal magazines that Rosalie had given to me.

"I want something floor length," I said. "Maybe a ball gown style."

I noticed that she was writing what I said down.

"What about neckline?"

I thought about it again.

"I think as far as that goes I'm open to anything."

"Sleeves?"

"Long sleeves," I said automatically, my eyes flickering to my left arm.

"When is the wedding?"

"June 20th," I said.

She leaned back in her chair.

"That's close to summer. Depending on the material of the sleeves, it can get very hot in the dress. If you do lace sleeves, then it may be a touch cooler."

I nodded.

"That's fine."

"Well let's go see what we've got."

She turned to Esme and Rosalie.  
"There is a couch out there, or if you'd like, you can try and find something you think Alice would like. How open are you to other styles?"

"I wouldn't mind other silhouettes," I said. "I wouldn't mind other lengths either."

"And the sleeves?"

I thought about it.

"I would maybe go to straps," I said with a small smile.

"But not strapless?"

"I guess that depends on the style of the rest of the dress."

"Well then let's see what we have."

She led me to the rows of dresses, and we began looking through them.

"Now when do you plan to do the first fitting?"

"Well Esme and Rosalie both have a background in fashion. So they will be able to help me," I said, as I pulled out a dress to look at.

It was a bright white, floor length quarter sleeve dress. The sleeves were lace, but the rest of the dress appeared to be silk.

"That's one of our new arrivals," she said, looking at the dress. "I think it'd be good for a summer wedding. It's got the floor length that you want, and while it's not long sleeved, it still has the quarter sleeve."

"I guess sleeve length, or even the length of the dress for that matter, doesn't really matter to me. I just want to make sure it's not to much, but not to little."

Anna smiled warmly.

"I guess that's understandable. But it's your special day. Make the most of it!"

I smiled back at her.

"I think I'll try this."

"I have a few others I think you'd like," Anna said. "From the looks of it, so does your mother and sister."

At the same moment, Esme and Rosalie appeared. Each of them carried a few dresses.

"We tried to match them up to what you said you liked," Esme said, as Anna took the dresses from them.

"Jasper also gave me a few ideas that he thought you'd like," Rosalie said.

I smiled.  
"Thank you guys."

They both turned back, and Anna and I headed to the dressing room.

The first dress I tried on was the one I picked out.

It fit nicely, and I liked the way it looked overall, but I wasn't sure that it was me.

"How about we go show Esme and Rosalie and get their opinion?" Anna suggested. "Maybe you'll change your mind."

I nodded.

When I stepped out of the room, both Rosalie and Esme's faces lit up.

"Oh, Alice, you look beautiful!"

"It's a newer style dress," Anna said to Rosalie and Esme. "It is silk, and the sleeves are lace. It's a sweetheart neckline, however it's more of a mermaid silhouette than an A-line, or a ball gown."

"How do you feel in it, Alice?" Rosalie asked.

"I think the dress is very beautiful," I said, studying myself in the mirror. "However, I'm not quite sure that it fits me."

"Do you want to try another?"

I nodded.

The next dress I tried, one that Rosalie picked out was shorter than the first. It only came to a little bit past my knees. The back was a lot lower than the first, and the scar trailing down my spine showed.

I decided I would show it to Esme and Rosalie, although I was sure this wouldn't be one that I'd consider. I didn't like the low back, seeing as it showed the scars.

"I think it's pretty," Esme said, as I looked in the mirror. "I just don't think it looks like something you'd typically wear."

"Maybe not," I said, turning to face them.

I could understandable why Rosalie thought Jasper would like it. He didn't mind the scars, where as they embarrassed me because I could give no explanation.

We went through fifteen dresses over the course of an hour. None of them I could see me wearing.

"Don't fret, Alice," Anna said. "We still have options. I still have a few more dresses for you to try."

She guided me back to the room with dresses draped over her arm.

The next dress I put on, I could feel it was it.

"Let's go show Esme and Rosalie," Anna said proudly.

She guided me out, and I beamed as I saw Esme and Rosalie's eyes widened.

"This is it," I said, smiling.

"Can you tell us about it?" Rosalie asked Anna who smiled and nodded.

"It's a cross between a ball gown and a-line dress. It's a high neck, long sleeved dress, however both the back, neck, and sleeves are made from lace."

"What material is the dress?"

"It's satin."

I smiled in the mirror.

"This is it," I repeated.

Esme smiled.

"Do you want to see the veil that goes with it?" Anna asked.

I nodded eagerly.

Anna smiled and she disappeared for a moment.

"Is there any changes you want to make to it?" Esme asked me quickly.

I looked at the dress in the mirror.

"I don't like this bow very much," I said, looking down at it.

"We can take that off in a flash," Esme said.

I smiled, as Anna reappeared. She worked quickly, attaching the veil to my hair.

It was long, it flowed behind me on the floor.

"You look like a princess," Anna said, smiling at me.

"Kind of like Princess Elizabeth," Esme said with a wide smile.

I frowned. The name Elizabeth sounded vaguely familiar.

"She is a princess in Britain," Rosalie informed me too quietly for Anna to hear. "In your time, she might be known as Queen Elizabeth."

I nodded.

"You're from Britain, aren't you?" Anna asked, as I admired the veil. "Your accent is strong."

"I've been living in America for nearly two years now," I said, shaking my head. "It surprised me it hasn't faded."

"It will one day," Anna said, smiling, "but if I were you, I wouldn't get to excited about losing it. It sets you apart from everyone else."

I smiled.

"Is that a good thing?" I asked looking at her through the mirror.

"It's a spectacular thing."

I smiled.

"Thank you, Anna."

She smiled and nodded.

"Of course."

The dress was just below our budget. We were able to take it from the store.

When we made it back to the house, Esme and Rosalie went in first to find Jasper so I could get my dress into a hidden place with warding.

"He's playing chess with Emmett," Rosalie said, appearing next to me.

"I'll go in through the window," I said. "Tell him I'll be there in a few moments."

She nodded, and disappeared back into the house.

Once I put the dress behind warding that only I could get through, I returned to the living room.

"What's all left to do?" Edward asked me, as I came to sit next to Jasper.

"Jasper's tux, flower arrangements. There is still a good amount."

But no matter the amount of things we still had to do, it was only a matter of time before Jasper and I would be saying, "I do."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I am trying to write as much as I can, but I just got a puppy, so I am working on training her. We are coming closer and closer to the point where we were before I deleted the original story. Keep in mind, for this time (1948-1950s), money worked differently. So a thousand dollars today, would have the same buying power of about a hundred dollars back then. So Alice's dress, I got from a vintage wedding dress site. On there, it costs close to $700 without the sale it's on right now. I gathered during this time frame, it would be worth as much as a wedding dress is today. So I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and all the chapters to come!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	45. Something Borrowed, Something Blue

_"Once in awhile, right in the middle of an ordinary life, Love gives us a fairy tale." ~Anonymous_

* * *

Chapter 45- Some Borrowed, Something Blue Alice's POV

Time passed quickly, and we put everything in order. Jasper and I asked Carlisle to be the minister. We got Jasper fitted into a tux when Carlisle, Edward, and Emmett went to get theirs. Rosalie and Esme got their dresses not long after that, and three days before the wedding, guests started arriving.

Peter and Charlotte came first. They had been the closest. They had spent the last month in Portland, Oregon. On Carlisle's wishes, Jasper asked that if they needed to hunt, to leave the city. Luckily for us, they had hunted before coming here, to prevent any complications.

"We wouldn't want to make things hard for Alice and Jasper," Charlotte told Esme.

Helen and Tobias would arrive next. Right off the bat, Emmett and Tobias got along perfectly. It was Tobias who would walk me down the aisle.

"Of course!" he said excitedly when I asked. "It is my honor!"

Only a matter of hours after the arrival of Helen and Tobias, the Denali coven arrived. Jasper, Carlisle,Esme, and I waited to greet them. Jasper had his arm wound tightly around me. Meeting the Denalis wasn't like meeting the Cullens, or Peter and Charlotte. Something about them was more intimidating to me.

"It's okay, Al," Jasper said lowly in my ear. "I will never let anything happen to you."

"Tanya," Carlisle greated as they raised from their cars. "It's great to see you again."

"We couldn't wait to meet the newest members of your coven," Tanya said, turning to look at Jasper and I.

"Alice, Jasper, this is Tanya, Kate, Irina, Carmen, and Eleazer. You guys, this is Alice and Jasper."

"Congratulations," Carmen said, stepping forward to shake my hand.

"Thank you," Jasper said as she shook his.

I looked up to Eleazer, who watched me in wonder. I began to shrink behind Jasper.

"Forgive me," Eleazer said suddenly. "I don't mean to stare. It's only that you have more than one talent. One of which, I can't quite pick up. I've never met a vampire with more than one ability, let alone one I couldn't read."

I turned up to Jasper, who nodded encouragingly at me.

"You're okay," he murmured softly.

"What if they know James?"

"I don't think they do," Carlisle reassured me.

"I can explain it later," I said. "I want to get to know you first."

I only agreed to tell them my story because Carlisle saw them as family.

"She's cautious of people she doesn't see," Jasper explained, as I peered at the newcomers.

"Come inside," I said slowly. "I'll introduce you to everyone else."

Everyone seemed to get along great. Leading up to the wedding, we did the final fitting for the dress. The boys, all went out for what they called Jasper's bachelor party. We didn't have those in my world. But we kept to the tradition of the groom doesn't see the bride before the wedding.

"Rosalie?" I asked, as Esme worked on the back of the dress. Tanya, Carmen, Irina, Kate, Helen, and Charlotte all watched as Rosalie and Esme worked. "What is a bachelor party?"

"Depends on the human version versus the vampire version."

"What's the vampire version?"

"Well for us, they just go out to hunt."

"And for a human?"

"It involves a lot of drinking," she said, fluffing out the skirt of the dress.

"Did they not have them in your world?" Tanya asked. I had told them my story with the help of Jasper, Helen, and Tobias.

I shook my head.

"Not that I know of."

As time went on, I began to grow more restless. My energy was going up, and I didn't have Jasper here with me.

"He'll be here soon, Alice," Helen said. "Maybe we can get him down to see you before you start getting ready."

"We're going to start getting her ready at one," Rosalie said. "They'll be home in about half an hour."

Until I started getting ready, I was running around in a pair of leggings, and off the shoulder sweater, and a pair of boots.

"That's give us about eight hours," I said, smiling.

"Good, because Helen and I have a gift for the two of you, but we want to do it before the wedding. See it's more of a birthday gift rather than a wedding gift."

I nodded.

"I'm going to go wait for him."

"I'll come with you," Irina said, offering a small smile.

She followed me out to the stairs, and down into the grass where I stretched out.

"How are you adjusting?" she asked.

"Okay, I think," I said, turning to look at her. "I have Jasper, and he makes everything better."

She smiled.

"I think that's nice. I see the pictures, and I hear the story, but I don't think I could ever imagine you with somebody else."

I smiled.

"I remember everything. And even I can't picture me without Jasper."

She smiled.

"Do you miss Remus?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"In a way. I miss them all really. But at the same time, it doesn't really feel different. Remus and I hadn't talked in a long time when he died."

Irina and I talked some about my world. She, just like everyone else, held a great interest in my world.

The boys came back about five minutes earlier than Rosalie had thought. A wide grin spread across Jasper's face when he spotted me.

"Hey!" he exclaimed, pulling me into a tight hug. "I thought I wasn't supposed to see you before the wedding."

"You aren't supposed to see me when I'm ready before the wedding. But Rosalie said we had until one before I had to start."

"And Tobias and I," Helen said, appearing behind me, "have a gift for Alice before the wedding."

Jasper smiled and I peered around Jasper's side at Edward.

"Happy birthday," I said, with a large smile.

"Happy birthday to you too," Edward said, smiling back at me.

"How old would you be?" Tanya asked me.

"Twenty-four."

Helen, Tobias, Jasper, and I made our way to the clearing where Jasper proposed.

"We have a few things for you," Tobias said as I sat down.

"Most of them we got while we were in London. We exchanged a good deal of Muggle money."

The first gift they gave me, felt like a bunch of paper.

I opened it, and that's exactly what it was.

"I know this doesn't seem like much," Helen said,as I flipped through them, "but we got you one Daily Prophet for each day we were there.

I flipped through them, and one headline I saw, read: Remembering Mary Alice Black.

"It was published two days after we came here," Tobias said quietly.

I flipped through the pictures, and the final date of the stack was May 2, 1999.

"We went to the one year mark and stayed there for a few days," Helen said.

I smiled, and they handed me the next gift.

When I opened this one, it was a box filled with books. One was a thick book titled: _The Complete History of the First and Second Wizarding War._

Another was a biography about Harry, titled: _The Boy Who Lived: the Life of Harry Potter._

The final book, was called: _The Fallen of the Second Wizarding War: Their Stories._

"Each book in there," Tobias said, "has you mentioned. We had had to go through a few different time periods to get them."

I smiled, and placed all the books neatly back into the box.

"Thank you, you guys," I said with a smile.

"Don't thank us yet," Helen said with a small smile. "We have one more birthday present."

The final gift was another box. Everyone watched me as I opened it.

Inside, was a few different picture frames.

"We found these in your house," Tobias said, with a small smile. "We remembered you telling us about the house, and we found it."

There was a picture of Fred, George, and I that used to hand in my living room, another of my mother and my father, and one of me, Harry, and my father. The final picture was one of just George, who was standing in front of a section in his shop.

"We stopped by George's shop in Diagon Alley when we were getting the one year later copy of the Daily Prophet," Tobias said. "He has and exact copy of the photo of you, him, and Fred, hanging on the wall, and below it has a section of your's and Fred's favorite objects from the shop."

I smiled.

"Thank you guys!"

I pulled them into a tight hug.

"Is he okay?" I asked, as I settled back into Jasper's arms.

Helen nodded.

"He's started dating a girl," she said, with a small smile. "He said her name was Angelina Johnson."

I smiled.

"Angelina is a good match for him."

Helen and Tobias told us more about what they saw when they went back. Harry and Ron were Aurors now, and they were pretty good ones from what they had heard.

At seven, they left the two of us alone.

He pulled me to him before laying on his back in the grass.

"Are you okay?" Jasper asked me, and I ran my hands through his hair.

"Of course I am," I said, smiling down at him. "Why wouldn't I be?"

He shrugged.

"We were talking about your family."

"Yes, but they're happy. And so am I. I'm marrying the love of my life today."

He smiled and nipped at my jaw.

I grinned and rested my chin onto his mouth.

"Have you seen the decorations yet?" Jasper asked me.

I shook my head.

"Rosalie told me I had to stay out of the backyard. She wants it to be a surprise."

"And you haven't looked ahead?"

I shook my head.

"She changes her mind too quickly for me to see anything."

"I think you'll like it," he said, smiling.

"You've seen it?" I asked, sitting up.

He nodded.

"I helped her plan it."

"And you didn't tell me?" I asked surprised.

"Think about it, Al. I know you best, and she wanted it to be a surprise. So I could tell her whether or not you like it. Besides, that's why she's letting you see me. I can keep you occupied while she, Esme, and Helen put up decorations."

I sighed and shook my head.

"But will they go with the boquet?" I asked frantically.

Before answers, Jasper sent a large wave of calm towards me, and grinned as he ran a hand up my side.  
"Don't worry," he said. "Today is going to be perfect."

I smiled and leaned down to kiss him.

"I know it will."

Jasper returned me to the house a little before one. He guided me into the house, his hands covering my eyes.

"I'll see you in a couple of hours," he said, standing outside our bedroom door, cupping my face in his hands.

"Do you really have to go?" I asked, smiling up at him.

"I do. You asked to keep this traditional, so that's how we're going to do it. It's only for a little while."

I sighed, and kissed him.

"I know. I'll see you at six o'clock sharp," I said, smiling up at him.

He smiled back at me and kissed me once more.

"I love you," he said.

"I love you more."

Rosalie stepped outside the door then, and looked at Jasper.

"She didn't see anything did she?"

Jasper shook his head.

"Not a thing except for right here."

"Good," she said taking my hand. "Come on, Alice. It's time to get ready."

I smiled once more back at him before allowing Rosalie to pull me into the room.

Laid out over a table was a bunch of makeup. Esme was hanging up the dress and veil.

"Rose, do I really need all this makeup?" I asked looking at the table.

She smiled and nodded.

"I'm going to make you stunning. Not that you aren't already, but even more so."

I sighed and made my way to the chair sitting behind the table.

My feet didn't touch the ground, but I was eye level with Rosalie.

"Emmett and Edward are going to keep Jasper downstairs until the wedding."

"But isn't his tux in here?"

"I will take it to him," Tanya said slipping in the door. "I came to tell you that Irina has your bouquet downstairs and she's not sure where to put them.

"Have it brought up here," I said, hopping back out of the seat to grab his tux and shoes. "It'll be easier for me to get it without Jasper seeing me."

Tanya smiled.

"I'll have it up to you in a bit," she said.

"Thank you."

Rosalie gestured back to the seat.

"You, sit."

I grabbed one of the new books from Helen and Tobias and returned to the seat.

Rosalie pushed my hair back and began to work.

"What're you reading?" Esme asked, pulling up a chair next to me.

"The Fallen of the Second Wizarding War," I said, showing her the title. "After Helen and Tobias altered James's memory, they jumped through different times after my death. This was one of several books they found that mentioned me."

The book appeared to be listed in the order that they died. It started with Cedric Diggory, and it ended with me.

In the three hours it took for me to read the book, Rosalie finished my makeup.

"Okay," Rosalie said. "I'm going to switch off with Esme, and she'll do your hair."

I nodded, and right on cue, Esme stepped through the door.

She was wearing a beautiful long green dress, and her hair was piled on top of her head.

"Oh, Alice!" she breathed. "You looked beautiful."

"So do you," I said grinning at her.

"Nobody here will compare to you today," Rosalie said as she left the room.

As Esme went to get started, there was a knock on the door.

Esme quickly went to the door, cracking it so I couldn't see who was out there.

She opened the door wider, and behind me stood Emmett.

"Alice, you look amazing!" he said, with a big grin on his face.

"Thank you Emmett," I said, smiling back up at him.

"Jasper wants to know where that stuff you use in his hair is," he said, looking around the table.

I nodded, and made my way over to my potions cabinet.

"Tell him a little bit goes a long way," I said, tossing the container to him.

"Can do."

Emmett turned and went back out the door while I returned to the chair.

Esme set to work and I listened closely to the noises beyond this room. I could hear Jasper somewhere in the house.

"Does everyone get to see her before I do?" he grumbled to someone.

"You'll see her soon enough," Edward said. "It only two more hours."

I chuckled and looked down at my lap.

"Alice, can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Are you and Jasper happy here?"

I nodded.

"Of course we are," I said smiling. "You're the family I never had. I don't remember much about my mother, and my father was absent. I never had siblings."

"And Jasper?"

"He is happy. And neither one of us can thank you enough for what you've done for us."

Esme smiled.

"You never have to thank us."

She continued to work, and before long Rosalie came back followed by Carlisle.

"We have gifts," Rosalie announced as Esme rested half of a flower crown on the top of my head and then attached the veil.

"This one is from Esme," Carlisle said, handing it to me.

"It acts as your something old, something borrowed, and your something blue," Esme said with a smile.

Carlisle handed me a box and I opened it. Inside was a sapphire necklace.

"I wore that when Carlisle and I got married."

I smiled, as she took it and fastened it around my neck.  
"I'll be back in a moment," Esme said, taking Carlisle's hand and darting from the room.

Rosalie handed me her box.

"Here is your something new. I bought it last night."

I opened the box to a white rhinestone garter set.

"I don't think I've ever seen one of these," I told Rosalie.

"Haven't you ever been to a wedding?"

"The only one I technically went to was my mother and father's, but I was only a few months old. I skipped Remus and Tonks's, and I was on Death Eater duty."

"I'll help you put it on once you get dressed."

I turned the the dress and shoes laid out waiting for me.

"When do I need to get dressed?"  
"We only have an hour left," Rosalie said. "Despite your hair being short, it took a decent amount of time to do."

"Then I should go ahead and get dressed."

"I'll be back in five minutes," Rosalie said. "I myself have to get ready. Esme will be back in a moment to fix the back of your dress."

I nodded.

"Thank you, Rosalie."

She smiled before heading out of the room.

I would be able to get all but the back of the dress myself.

I shrugged out of my pants and pulled on the white shoes.

It took all of a second to pull off my shirt and step into the wedding dress.

As I adjusted the sleeves, Esme stepped back in.

"Oh, Alice!" she said, smiling widely as she came closer to me. "You look so beautiful!"

She moved behind me and quickly began fastening the back of the dress.

"Jasper's starting to get antsy," Esme said chuckling as she continued to fasten the dress.

"He's having second thoughts?"

"No. He just wants to see you. He's kind of mad that everyone else gets to see you before he does."

"I heard that earlier," I said with a smile.

"We're almost finished!" Rosalie said coming back into the room. She wore a baby blue dress with a deep blue belt. Her hair was put into a french braid.

She grabbed the box with the garter and ducked underneath my dress.

"The only single man here is Edward," Esme said frowning. Is that really necessary?"

"Emmett and I get remarried," Rosalie said, as she pulled my stockings and garter into place. "Helen and Tobias could always get remarried. I don't even know if Peter and Charlotte are married. I think it's more than necessary."

I chuckled as Rosalie ducked out from under the dress.

"It's almost time," I said, smiling.

"Are you ready to see?" Rosalie asked, smiling as she clapped her hands together.

I nodded, and Esme pulled my the full length mirror in front of me.

I looked in the mirror and grinned widely. I thought I looked beautiful.

I turned and pulled Esme and Rosalie into a hug.

"Thank you guys! I look amazing."

"You always look amazing," Esme said, smiling. "But you are welcome."

"How much time?" I asked Rosalie.

"Not much. I'm going to go find Tobias," she said, disappearing through the door.

Esme and I waited in my room while Rosalie sought out To

bias.

Before I knew it, it was time. Esme and Rosalie scattered from the room, and it was just Tobias and I.

"Are you ready?" he asked me, looping my arm in his.

I nodded, and from outside, I could hear the music start to play.

Tobias and I began to walk from the room to the back doors. Even in the house, lights hung everywhere. It looked like stars in the sky.

We paused when the door was in sight. I could see Jasper, but because of the way that Tobias had me positioned, nobody outside could see me. And just as soon as we paused, I could hear the sounds of 'Here Comes the Bride' being played on the piano.

Tobias smiled and me, and I grinned out the door. Together we made our way out the back door. Lights hung from the trees, and flowers hung from the lights and the empty spaces on the trees.

Jasper stood at the end of the aisle, under an archway of roses. He grinned at me, and I could see tears welling in his eyes. Tears that would never fall.

When we made it to Jasper, Jasper quickly took my hand, and grinned down at me.

"You look beautiful," he murmured, pressing a hand against my cheek.

I heard a click of the camera that I had given Rosalie. I knew that Esme was recording the wedding for us.

"Dearly beloved," Carlisle started, "we are gathered here on this beautiful day to witness the union of Alice and Jasper in holy matrimony. This is a day of great celebration and reverence, on which we come together before the Universe to recognize and commemorate the sacred love and dedication shared between these two people. It is wonderful to have family and friends here to join us today. Marriage is, truly, a magical gift. In the time that Alice and Jasper have spent together, they've built the sturdy foundation for a lifelong relationship. After a great deal of thoughtful consideration, they have decided to bind themselves to one another for the rest of their lives. May you all remember and cherish this sacred ceremony, for on this day, with love, we will forever bind Alice and Jasper together. Who gives this bride today?"

"I do," Tobias said, speaking up from next to Helen in the front row.

"If there is anyone in attendance who has cause to believe that this couple should not be

joined in marriage, you may speak now or forever hold your peace," Carlisle said looking around. When everyone remained quiet, he continued. "Marriage is a sacred ceremony. Today we observe the union of these two people with the respect the occasion warrants. What we honor with reverence, however, we also celebrate with great joy! For married life – a shared life – is a tremendous blessing. Now, as Alice and Jasper embark on this journey together, they will be able to nurture a love that makes each of them better versions of themselves. Marriage is, indeed, the perfect garden from which to sow and harvest personal growth."

Carlisle spoke to the guests some, and then to Jasper and I.

"Alice and Jasper, the sacred vows that you make to one another today present you with

the opportunity to express your love in your own words. I would at this time invite you to publicly declare these vows. Alice, you may begin."

I turned to Jasper, and grinned up at him.

"I, Alice, take you, Jasper, for my lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer. I promise to be true to you in good times and in bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life, until the end of time."

I smiled at Jasper and he squeezed my hand.

"Jasper, you may now make your promise."

"I, Jasper, take you, Alice, for my lawfully wedded wife, to have and to hold, from this day

forward, for better or worse, for richer or poorer. I promise to be true to you in good times and in

bad, in sickness and in health. I will love you and honor you all the days of my life, until the end of time."

Carlisle grinned, and started to speak again.  
"Alice and Jasper please face one another and join hands. Alice, do you take Jasper to

be your lawfully wedded husband? By making this commitment, you are joining in the sacred

covenant of marriage. Do you promise to honor him in love, to be sensitive to his needs, to comfort him in difficulty, and to put your full and complete trust in him, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do," I said, smiling up at him.

"Jasper, do you take Alice to be your lawfully wedded wife? By making this commitment,

you are joining in the covenant of marriage. Do you promise to honor her in love, to be sensitive to her needs, to comfort her in difficulty, and to put your full and complete trust in her, so long as you both shall live?"

"I do," he said.

"Very well," Carlisle said with a smile.

Jasper and I had decided to do a candle lighting for the wedding, so Helen stepped up to hand us the two lit candles. Throughout the ceremony this far, I would occasionally hear the clicking of my camera.

"Alice and Jasper, while the words you have spoken have sealed your union, it is the lighting of the unity candle that truly symbolizes the melding of your two souls. You hold in your hands a single flame. Allow this flame to represent your life: every thought that's ever crossed your mind, and every word that's ever crossed your lips; all of your victories, and all of your failures; all of your joys, and all of your sorrows. And now, tilt these candles forward to light the center candle."

We followed the directions, both of us grinning widely.

"Alice and Jasper should tilt their candles forward, lighting a larger candle centered between them. Watch as the two flames instantly form one. So too, today, have your two spirits come together to form one singular entity. Just as your combined flame illuminates the space around it, let your magnificent union radiate with love and light your path as you move forward through life."

We smiled, and before Carlisle continued, Helen stepped up to take mine and Jasper's individual candles. We placed the rings, and then Carlisle grinned very widely.

"By the power vested in me, by the state of Montana, I pronounce you, Alice and Jasper as wife and husband, lawfully wedded before the Universe. Jasper, you may now kiss the bride, forever sealing your union."

Jasper grinned before cupping my face, and kissing me gently.

I grinned when he pulled away, and I didn't look away from his eyes.

"Ladies and gentlemen, it is my pleasure to present to you Mr. and Mrs. Alice and Jasper Whitlock!"

Everyone clapped, and Rosalie snapped a few more pictures as Jasper and I headed back down the aisle to the house. We still had to sign the certificate, along with Carlisle. Esme would turn off the video long enough for us to sign the certificate, and for me to change the lay out.

Carlisle followed us in, and Helen, Tobias, and Esme stepped in.

Helen hugged me tightly.

"You're family would be so happy for you," she murmured in my ear.

Tobias hugged me next.

"Congratulations, petite sorcière."  
"Thank you."

Jasper and I stepped forward to sign the certificate, along with Carlisle. Once we finished, Carlisle moved to stand next to Esme.

"Now Helen and Tobias bought this," Esme said, smiling, "but they said that it was supposed to be a joint gift between the four of us."

Helen and Tobias handed me a thick yellow envelope, while Carlisle and Esme handed one to Jasper.

I looked to Jasper who shrugged as we started to open the envelopes. Starting at the back, I pulled out the thin sheet of paper. It was a birth certificate. Staring up at me, in bold letters, was Mary Alice Brandon.

I looked up at Helen and Tobias surprised.

"What is this?"

"We found a guy in New York who could forge a birth certificate. He forged one for Mary Alice Brandon. Tobias and I then went to Biloxi, Mississippi, and we changed memories. A worker to an asylum which burned down, a doctor, who now remembers delivering you. There was a family there, the Brandons. We changed their memory to include you."

I smiled and flipped to the next sheet. It was administration papers, to an asylum in Biloxi, Mississippi. The admission date was May 12, 1920.

"That just happens to be the day the asylum burnt down," Helen said with a small smile.

The next sheet of paper was a death certificate. It was the same day as the admission.

"We even had a headstone placed," Tobias said proudly.

I looked at them wide eyed.  
"That must have costed you a lot!"

"Not much," Helen said, smiling. "But in case James ever circles back, we have to be prepared."

I smiled and them.

Next, was a thicker set of papers.

"This is the thing in each of you have in your envelopes," Esme said, stepping forward.

"On behalf of Helen and Tobias, we have adoption papers. When we move, and we enroll you in school, we have to show guardianship," Carlisle said, "Alice, your papers will match Edward's this time. Having the same birthday can get us to have you guys go in as twins. Jasper, because of your's and Rosalie's physical similarities, we're going to try and pose you as brother and sister. However, if you would like to stay with Alice, the two of you do not have to be twins."

Jasper and I grinned and each other, and then to Carlisle and Esme.

"There is one more thing in your envelope," Jasper said, smiling at me.

I looked up at him questioningly, and he smiled against my ear.

"This one is a present from us all."

He wrapped his arm around my waist as I looked into the envelope. There was one more small card.

"Jasper will teach you," Carlisle said, with a grin.

"What is it?" I asked, turning to Jasper, not bothering to read the card.

"It's a driver's license."

I looked at him with wide eyes. We had talked about me learning to drive, but I could never picture myself driving.

"We got a car transferred to Isle Esme," Carlisle said.

Isle Esme was the island Carlisle had given to Esme as a gift only a year or so before mine and Jasper's arrival. She was letting us borrow it for our honeymoon. We would be away for five months. It was longer than the average honeymoon, that much we could say for ourselves. But everyone thought we could use the time alone. The town would be told that Jasper and I went to go find my family. That I had grown curious.

"We'll spend the last week learning, and well learn the week we get home," Jasper said.

I smiled and hugged him.

"Thank you, Jazz."

"Anything for you, Darlin'."

He kissed my temple.

We returned outside, where almost everything had been changed. The chairs that the guests had sat in where gone, and it was simply the backyard. I waved a hand, and a wooden floor appeared, Edward's piano on top. He would play some, and there was a turntable to give him a break.

Rosalie smiled as she approached us.

"Congratulations!" she said, pulling me into a tight hug. "I'm so happy for the two of you!"  
"Thank you, Rosalie," I said, grinning, and she hugged Jasper just as tight.

We were congratulated by everyone, and Edward seem to hug me just a little bit tighter than everyone else had.

"Congratulations, Alice and Jasper," he said, when he pulled away from me. "I am so happy for you."

Edward and I had grown closer during the time I had spent here. He understood me in a way that the others didn't, and vice versa.

"Thank you for agreeing to play for us," Jasper said, smiling, as he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"Of course," he said smiling. "As long as I get a dance with the bride."

I grinned, and Jasper chuckled.

"Of course."

He steered away, and returned to the piano, and started playing a soft song.

"And now," Rosalie said from under the arch, "it is time for the bride and groom to have their first dance!"

Jasper smiled and held his hand out to me, which I took. He guided me to the dance floor. We began gliding across the floor, and I felt weightless.

"I never got the chance to tell you how beautiful you look," Jasper said, grinning down at me.

My eyes never left his, but I too smiled. Somewhere on the right of the floor, I could hear the click of the camera.

"Do you think so?"

He nodded.

"Esme did great on the dress."

"She did, didn't she?"

I tore my eyes away from Jasper to smile at Esme.

"And then there's the makeup," he said brushing a hand across my cheek to get my attention.

I turned back to face him as he spun me.

"What about it?"

"You look stunning."

"Do I not always look stunning?" I teased grinning at him.

"You know what I mean," he said, throwing a playful glare.

I laughed.

"I know, I know."

From what I could tell, the entire time we had been up here, Jasper hadn't taken his eyes off me.

"Have I told you how handsome you look?" I asked, resting my head on his shoulder.

"No," he said, smiling against my forehead.

"Well you do, and you did well with the hair potion," I said, running a hand through his slicked back hair.

He nodded.

"Tobias helped me with it."

I chuckled, and reached up to kiss his cheek.

"Well you look great."

The song ended then, and the audience clapped.

For the mother-son dance, and the father-daughter dance, there would be two. The first, would go to Helen and Tobias, because in a small way, they saw me as their child. The second, to Carlisle and Esme, because Jasper and I would come to see them as our parents.

Once they were over, we decided to do speeches. Not everyone would go. Only those who wanted to.

Rosalie went first, and she seemed to be very, very excited.

"Hello everyone, I am Rosalie, and I think on behalf of the Cullen family, we are glad that you all could make it here tonight. I think Alice and Jasper are both some of the best people I know. In the short time I've known her, I can tell you that Alice has a heart of gold, and I can tell you that she loves Jasper very much. One thing I do know for a fact, and that's if Alice's family could be here, they would be so proud of who she's become, and all the great things she will do in the many years to come. So Alice, Jasper, congratulations, and I wish you an eternity of happiness."

Jasper and I glanced at each other before smiling widely at Rosalie, and applauding her.

Tobias stepped up next, and waved at everyone.

"Good evening," he said, turning to face Jasper and I. "My name is Tobias, and I am Alice's creator. I met Alice for the first time in May of 1998. She was human, and at the time, she was heartbroken. She had to save her family, so she took the word of two strangers, and she became a vampire. When she was changing, she saw the face of Jasper Whitlock. Alice thought something went wrong, and Jasper was an angel."

I smiled, and looked up at Jasper before turning back to Tobias.

"I can say better than anyone else, Jasper has changed Alice for the better. She's the happiest I've ever seen her, and I know they are going to be happy together. So Alice and Jasper, congratulations. I know that you'll take care of her forever."

Jasper smiled.

"Always," he said, kissing my temple.

Carlisle and Esme spoke, and so did Helen and Edward. But then Jasper raised to his feet, and made his way to the front where everyone had been doing their speeches.

"Good evening everyone, and thank you all for coming. It means so much to Alice and I that you were able to be here. I met Alice in 1948, at Delphi's Diner in Philadelphia. I was ducking out from a storm, and she was sitting at the bar, and almost immediately after I walked in the door, she came running at me. And I thought she was going to attack me. Once I learned that she wasn't, I realized that I felt something for this beautiful creature. It didn't take me long to fall in love with her. I knew from the moment we met, she was who I wanted to spend eternity with. Alice," he said, turning to me with a wide smile, "I love you more than you could ever know. I am so glad I can finally call you my wife. We've been talking about this day for a long time, and now that it's here, I'm so glad that everything has been perfect. I could go on for hours, but I fear that I will bore everyone. So I propose a toast to Alice, my beautiful, beautiful wife. I can't wait to spend the rest of our lives together."

He smiled, and I stood up.

I made my way to the front, and Jasper kissed me before returning to his seat. My speech would close the speech portion, and then we would return to dancing.

"Hello all, and thank you for coming," I said, smiling. "There are many people I would like to thank before I get started. First, thank you to Esme and Rosalie for helping us plan the wedding, and for helping me get ready today. Thank you to Carlisle and Esme for accepting Jasper and I into your family so easily. And thank you to Helen and Tobias. You saved me, and you saved my family. Without the two of you, I would have never found Jasper, and none of us would be here today. I also want to say that we miss those who couldn't be here with us today. My mother used to tell me that she could remember the exact second she fell in love with my father. I can remember the exact second I fell in love with Jasper. We hadn't even met. I was in my transformation, and I saw his face. I kept trying to hold on to his face. He kept slipping away from me though. When my heart stopped, I saw his face again. Helen and Tobias told me about Jasper. I can remember being so afraid that Jasper would not love me back. But he did."

I turned to Jasper.

"Jazz, I can't picture a world without you in it. You took a broken girl, and put her back together. You're patient, and you help me through the downs. I love you more than I'll ever be able to tell you. I can't ever thank you enough for everything you've done for me. I can't wait to see what our future holds for us."

Everyone clapped and I made my way back to Jasper.

"I couldn't put together all that I wanted to say," I mumbled against his shoulder.

"It was beautiful anyways," he said, smiling as he pulled me back to the dance floor.

I smiled and Edward stepped in.

"Do you mind if I cut in?"

Jasper shook his head.

"Not at all. You were promised a dance."

Jasper stepped back, and held a hand out to Irina.

"Congratulations," he said as we swayed across the dancefloor.

"Thank you, Edward."

"Are you ready for the honeymoon?"

I nodded.

"Jasper is going to teach me how to drive."

Edward smiled.

"The island is very beautiful. I hope you get to do some exploring too."

"Show me the island again?"

I focused on Edward's mind and he thought about the island.

"What about hunting?"

"You hunt on the mainland. Don't worry, Alice. There will be tips there."

I chuckled.

"Promise?"

He nodded.

"I'm going to miss having you around," Edward said with a smile.

"I'll be back before you know it."

"Don't worry about me. Have fun with your husband."

He grinned and I looked down at the ground.  
"That's not something I'm used to hearing," I said. "Three years ago, I wouldn't think this was possible for me."

"He loves you," Edward said looking behind me at Jasper.

"I know that."

"I don't think you know exactly how much."

I glanced over my shoulder and Jasper looked up and beamed at me.

I grinned at him and turned back to Edward.

"I think I have an idea."

"He would give up everything for you."

"Edward is Jasper happy here?"

"He loves that you're happy here."

I sighed.

"That's not what I asked."

"He needs time," Edward said. "Maybe the time away will help."

I shook my head.

"It's okay. He'll grow accustomed to it."

I danced with everyone there. As Edward returned to the piano, I was returned to Jasper.

"Hello, Mrs. Whitlock," I heard Jasper say in my ear.  
I beamed up at him.

On the adoption forms, my name had been changed to Mary Alice Cullen, while under the marriage certificate, my name had become Mary Alice Black Whitlock.

"Hi," I said smiling. I leaned against his chest. Yesterday had been the highest point of energy, and it was starting to go down.

"You're starting to get tired aren't you?"

I nodded.

"I'll rest on the plane."

"How was it?" he asked, watching me carefully. "The dancing?"

"Emmett made fun of my height," I said. "So he let me dance on his feet to even out the height a touch."

Emmett laughed from behind us, and Jasper laughed with him. Rosalie and Esme came rushing to me, Esme holding my bouquet.

"It's time!" Rosalie said as Esme handed me the bouquet. "Line up ladies!"

Rosalie decided to do all since she and Esme would more than likely get remarried, Helen and Tobias as well. Kate and Tanya were the only single ones there.

I turned away from them, and Jasper gave me a thumbs up when everyone was behind me. As I threw it, I turned to see that it landed in Kate's hands. She grinned up at me, and Rosalie approached me with a chair.

"Sit," she said, before moving.

Behind me, the guys all lined up, and Jasper ducked under my dress. He pulled the garter down with his teeth, and stood up quickly. Behind his, he threw in into Edward's hands.

The other garter remained in its spot.

 _Looks like you'll be next._ I thought to Edward.

He looked and me and shook his head.

 _Oh come on, Edward. It's a possibility. Everyone has a soul mate. You'll find yours._

He looked at me again, and a small smile crept onto his face.

"Keep dreaming Alice," he said as he stepped closer to us. He ruffled my hair before Jasper leaned down.

"We have to get ready to go," Jasper said in my ear.

I nodded, and we quickly moved to the bedroom. Jasper helped me get out of my dress and change into a flowy white maxi dress. He changed into dark blue pants and I white button up shirt.

We made our way back outside to say our goodbyes.

"Guess what?" Helen asked, as I hugged her tightly. She and Tobias were the last people I had to say goodbye to.

"What?"

"Tobias and I were offered spots in the Denali coven."

My eyes widened.

"Helen that's great! What are you going to do?"

"I think we're going to take it."

She smiled at me.

"Good for you! Once we come back, I'll have to come see you up there."

She hugged me again.

"I'm so proud of you, Alice."

"Really?"

She nodded.

"Really. And I know your family would be too. You've done great. You've made a great life for yourself."

"I couldn't do it without you."

She smiled.

"Have fun on your honeymoon. We want to hear all about it when you get back."

"Maybe not all about it," Tobias said, pulling me into a hug. "Congratulations, petite sorcière."

"Thanks, Tobias."

"Go now," he said, patting my back, and shaking Jasper's hand. "You will miss your flight."

"I'll talk to you soon!" I promised.

Jasper pulled me down the stairs of the house, and suddenly rice flew everywhere.

He shielded me with his jacket as we ran to the car and ducked inside.

The house faded from view, with the people waving at us fading with it. I turned back to Jasper.  
"Are you ready?" he asked me as I settled into his arms.

"Definitely."

And I dozed off as we drove into the dark.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know it has been a while since I uploaded anything, but a few things have gone on. Like I mentioned in the last chapter, I got a puppy. She's become more adjusted now, so I should be able to write more. The other issue is, I had major writer's block while writing this. Even when I wrote the story the first time, I had the same problem. The issue is that I've only ever been to one wedding in my life. I was so young, that I don't remember much about it. I remember there being dancing, and I can remember that they had a candy section for the kids. I hope this chapter was good. I do not plan to write a honeymoon chapter. I figured, like the last time, I will leave that to your imagination.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review! :)(:**


	46. 3 Years Later

_"Time moves slowly, but passes quickly." ~Alice Walker_

* * *

Chapter 46- 3 Years Past

It had been three years. Three years since Jasper and I got married. Three years since Jasper and I found the Cullen's. It had been five since I had last seen my family. I mourned them still. On each anniversary.

Life was different now. My accent faded. It seemed to appear when I was angry. It was different because I never had actual siblings. Now I had three. I had a mother an a father, which I hadn't had all at once for a very long time. I learned how to drive, and I was rather good at it too. They had even gotten me a car.

My life was the most different now because I had a husband. He loved me very much, and I loved him. It was with Jasper compared to what it had been with Remus. I never felt like there was a moment that Jasper and I were drifting apart. When we argued, we worked things out. Remus and I went without speaking for days.

Rosalie, Edward, and Emmett graduated school, and we only stuck around for a year. But by that year people started to get suspicious. None of us changed. Carlisle was supposed to be twenty-seven, but didn't look a day over twenty-two. So we decided we would relocate. This time, Jasper and I would attend school with the others. We were leaving America all together this time. We were going to Calgary, Canada.

While I packed, I stared at mine and Jasper's wedding picture. Jasper came up behind me, and hugged me to him.

"Are you okay, Darlin'?"

"I think you already know the answer to that."

It was the towards the end of June. My father's death anniversary had already passed. When we relocated, I would only have two months to prepare for school.

"You're happy. But you're worried."

"It's just like it was when I first came to America. Now we're going to Canada."

I twisted around in his arms, and rested my head on his chest.

"It's alright," he said, holding my face in his hands. "I'll be there with you."

"I know."

"I've never been to a Muggle school before," I continued. "What if I'm not smart enough?"

"Alice, sweetheart, you are smart enough. You have the summer on the stuff you need to know. As for school, I'll be there."

He smiled, and leaned down to give me a quick peck on this lips.

"We'll get through this like we always do," Jasper said, keeping an arm tightly wound around my waist. "Together."

He kissed my temple and I placed the picture into the box in front of me.

"I don't get why I can't use my bags," I grumbled as I closed off the box.

"Because it attracts too much attention," Jasper murmured against my ear.

My vision flashed, and I could see Carlisle knocking on the door.

"Come in, Carlisle," I said, peering around the Jasper as the door opened.

"Are the two of you almost ready?" he asked, glancing around the room.

Between the two of us, Jasper and I didn't have many boxes. My clothes were in one, his were in another. Our shoes were combined, as well as our books and photo albums. In the final box sat bags filled with various things from the wizarding world. I put on my wand holster, and turned back to Carlisle.

"All that's left is furniture I think," I said, looking around the room.

"The movers will take care of that. They'll be here at four-thirty, and we're leaving at five."

I looked at the watch on Jasper's wrist. It was four-fifteen now.

"We should start taking these boxes to the car," I said to Jasper. He nodded, and we each grabbed a stack of boxes. It didn't take us more than five minutes to get all of our boxes into the car. Edward, who would be riding with us helped out, and that helped things go by faster. Edward also added a few of his boxes into the car, seeing as he also didn't have much.

"Are you sure you're okay with me riding with you?" Edward asked as I watched the two movers move the furniture from the house. Jasper and I hadn't hunted in a while, so we thought it was best to keep our distance.

"Why wouldn't it be okay?" I asked.

"I don't know," Edward shrugged. "I thought maybe you and Jasper would rather ride alone."

"Edward, Alice and I are always together," Jasper said, looking over my head.

"Still," Edward said. "I could take my car, and then Esme could ride with Carlisle."

"Edward, you're fine, I swear," I said, patting his hand. "You'll ride with Jasper and I like we planned."

"I wouldn't go against her, Edward," Jasper said, smiling down at me. "Surely you've been around her long enough to know that she never gives up."

I glared up at him but he just kissed me before glancing at the movers who came back out of the house.

We left the house closer to five-thirty than we did to five. We would no doubt be stopping somewhere to "sleep" seeing as the movers were human, and they would need to sleep at some point. Before heading out, Carlisle came to the car, and handed something to me through the window.

"Hook this up that way we can reach you if we need you or the other way around," he told me. "All the numbers to each of the cars is listed."

"What exactly is it?" I asked, examining it.

"It's a car phone," Jasper said, chuckling as he took the box from my hand. I watched as he quickly set up the box and then placed it inside of a compartment.

I had never found time to actually learn more about Muggle appliances. I still needed help with the phone inside the house. Even then, I only talk to Helen and Tobias, and they typically call me, saving me from the struggle.

"Jasper can work it I'm sure," Carlisle said smiling at me. "If not, Edward definitely can."

I nodded.

"Thank you, Carlisle."

"Of course. We'll have to stop for gas a few times, and the movers are supposed to call when they want to stop for food."

I nodded.  
"I'll call if I see anything."

"Thank you."

Carlisle smiled and turned back to his car, and Jasper attracted my attention.

"This may be easier for you to use than a telephone," Jasper said. "It has buttons rather than the dial up."

I glared at him, and he smiled.

"I mean no offense, Al," he said, leaning over to kiss my cheek. "I only mean that you have more trouble with the dial phones."

I sighed as I waited for everyone started to move.

"You said that I would grow accustomed to it," I said, glancing at Jasper.

"It takes time Alice."

"It been five years," I said, frowning.

"You know how to work the T.V," Edward prompted.

"I never watch it," I said, glancing at him in the mirror. "I don't like much of what comes on."

"That's not true," Jasper said. "You like some of the movies they play. The Wizard of Oz, Snow White, Cinderella."

I glared at him, before turning my attention back to the road.

"They rarely come on anymore. Besides, I prefer reading."

Jasper chuckled,scooted closer to me, and wrapped an arm around my waist,.

I smiled and leaned my head on his shoulder.

In the rearview mirror, I saw Edward look away. I lifted my head, and Jasper looked at me questioningly. I shook my head, which caused Edward looked at me disapprovingly.

"You shouldn't do that Alice."

"It makes you uncomfortable," I said, as I pulled out of the wide driveway behind Carlisle.

"He's still your husband."

"Okay, but we'll be driving in the same car for almost nine hours. Why make it uncomfortable for you?" I said. "Anyways, if you're uncomfortable, Jasper will be uncomfortable, then I'll be uncomfortable, and it's just a saddening ride for all of us."

I looked at him in the rearview and he glared back at me.

"Give it up, Edward. She won't let it go," Jasper said, before kissing my cheek, and sliding a little bit away from me. "Anyways, you know she's right."

"I know she is," Edward grumbled before passing a cassette to Jasper. "Could you play this?" he asked.

Jasper looked to me, and I nodded, as I focused on Carlisle's car in front of me. A soft classical song filled the car. I swayed a little as I drove and Jasper watched with amusement.

After sometime Jasper and Edward seemed to be having a silent conversation.

"She really is," Edward said to something Jasper had though. I glanced over at Jasper who smiled.  
"What?" I asked.

"Nothing," he said. His grin was still wide.

"Tell me," I whined. He scooted closer again, and rested his chin on my shoulder.

"I just think that you're amazing," he said. I smiled.

"Hardly," I said.

We had this argument more than once. I couldn't see why he thought so.

We listened to the music for a while. We were nearing Cascade when Edward spoke again.

"Alice?" he asked.

"Yes?"

"Why is it you can't Apparate anymore?"

I thought about it for a moment. "I've wondered if it was because I move faster than the average vampire."

"But you've kept your animagus form."

I nodded. "I think because there was more in becoming an animagus. There was the spell, the potion. Even then, not everyone can do it."

"What was it like in your world?"

It wasn't something we talked about often. They had questions, I know they did. It was rare that they asked them though.

"At the time I was alive….It was very different then it is here. I just started writing with a pen, you know."

"Really?"

I smiled and nodded. "Until about five years ago, I used a quill and ink, we didn't have these phone things. I went to the movies, but I didn't know how to work the tvs."

Edward's eyes widened.

"So you're from the future, but you were in the past?" he asked.

I laughed. "I suppose you could put it like that."

"Tell me more about it," he said.

"What do you want to know?"

"Tell me about Hogwarts," he said, smiling.

"Well, it's a big castle," I said, remembering the place I called home for a long time. "It has large ground, and a lake with a giant squid inside."

I thought of each thing and smiled.

"I have….had been going to the school for a long time. My parents were still in school when I was born, so I bounced around the castle. I'd go with the teachers who were on their planning period, then my mother and my father would get out of their last class a few minutes early to come get me from Professor Dumbledore."

I smiled and glanced at Edward.

"Is there anything else about the castle?" Edward asked.

"Well the staircases moved, and some even sank in. I remember that growing up, my favorite thing was Fawkes the phoenix. After my mother died, and Dad went to jail, Dumbledore came to check up on Remus and I from time to time. He would always bring Fawkes with him. When I turned eleven, and I started going to school at Hogwarts, I continued to go see Fawkes."

I grinned.

"I would love to have a phoenix."

"Where can you get one?"

"They're not easy to domesticate," I said, shaking my head. "If I'm not mistaking, there has only been two. Dumbledore and the mascot of the Moutohora Macaws Quidditch team. However, wand makers, they use phoenix feather as a wand core. Some people also bottle phoenix tears seeing as they have healing qualities."

"You mentioned once that you had a phoenix feather wand core," Edward said, watching me through the mirror.

"Yes. It makes my wand unyielding. It responds better to me. My wand works better for me than say….my father, or George even."

He didn't say anything for a while.

We came closer to a city that I didn't know. We had been in the car for nearly two hours at this point. I could hear the shrill ring of a telephone, and flinched away from it. Jasper immediately reached for it and passed it to me.

"Hello?"

"Alice?" he said. It was so clear it was like he was sitting right next to me.

"Is everything okay?"

"The movers are stopping to get something to eat. We're going to stop with them. But we're going to stay in the car."

"Sounds like a plan," I said. I glanced over at Jasper, who was looking at Edward.

"Is the drive going okay so far?"

"I'd say so. We've made conversation, and Edward brought a few cassettes with him."

"He usually does," he said. "Well we're nearly there. We'll see you in a moment."

"Okay, thank you Carlisle," I said, before hanging up the phone.

Edward had already filled Jasper in.

"We don't have to go in?" Jasper asked me. I shook my head, took his hand.

"We don't even have to get out the car."

He scooted closer to me again as I pulled into the spot next to Carlisle. The movers were making their way into the diner.

"Well you two may be staying in here, but I'm getting out," Edward said, sliding out.

I grinned, as I turned laid in the seat. My head was in Jasper's lap.

"You're not getting out?" Emmett asked, leaning on the side of my car.

"It's easier for Jasper," I muttered.

Jasper looked down at me, and ran a hand through my hair. "If you want to get out, feel free."

I shook my head.

"I'm staying here with you."

"Thank you, Al," he said, kissing my temple.

I smiled.

Esme did too as she came to stand next to Carlisle.

"We've told Emmett and Rosalie, so now we'll tell Edward, and the two of you. When we get there, we have a few days to settle in, but then we have to go get supplies, clothes, and anything you need for school. Alice, that includes you learning everything you need to know for school."

I nodded, and I began to feel the worry radiating off of Jasper. "Don't worry. It's going to be alright."

He closed his eyes, and rested his forehead on mine.

"We've already set you and Alice in the same year," Carlisle said. His voice was comforting, and I felt Jasper relax.

I closed my eyes and focused. I could see us walking from class to class together.  
"We have classes together," I said, opening my eyes. I patted his cheek. "It's okay."

We talked more of school, and I was questioned of my school history so they'd have an idea of what I needed to know.

"Remus taught me from home," I said. I sat up and looked from Carlisle to Esme. "I've never been to a real school….outside of Hogwarts of course."

"Did you learn stuff like reading, math, history, and stuff like that?" Carlisle asked.

"With Remus, yes, in Hogwarts, no. In Hogwarts, we had classes like Potions, and Ancient Runes, and Defence Against the Dark Arts."

"I'll be able to help," Edward said. I had noticed after spending time with him, how much he reminded me of Cedric Diggory. Personality wise, and even distinctly in looks. Cedric's hair was a few shades darker and Cedric's eyes had been grey, rather than Edward's gold.

"Cedric Diggory?" Edward asked. His eyes snapped to mine. Then a smile crept on his face. "I suppose I do resemble him."

"Whose Cedric?" Emmett asked, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

"He was a boy in the year below me," I said. "When Voldemort body was restored, Cedric Diggory was killed. Technically speaking, he was killed by my father's old friend, Peter Pettigrew. There was a memorial held for him at Hogwarts. We were pretty good friends."

Esme's eyes turned sad, and I turned away from them, looking at the seet as I hugged myself.

"What's that sport?" Edward asked softly. "I see Cedric, and Harry. If I look further back, I see you playing."

"It's called Quidditch," I said, not looking at any of them. Jasper squeezed my hand. I looked over at him.

"Why are you sad?" he asked me. "Quidditch is a happy memory."

One of his hands cupped my cheek. The other held tightly to mine.

"The memories. So many funerals."

I still struggled. The memories still played like the T.V. So Jasper tried to distract me. The anniversary of my father's death, of my mother's death, and the anniversary of the Battle of Hogwarts, were the days where even Jasper couldn't help me.

He hugged me to him. Funerals flashed. I could remember my mother's funeral, and then James and Lily's. Cedric's memorial at Hogwarts and funeral at his grave to Dad's memorial, Colin Creevey, to Lavender Brown. Then to Fred, then Remus, then finally on my own. I couldn't snap myself from it, but I could feel Jasper hold me tightly against him.

"Alice, it's okay," he murmured in my ear. It wasn't until he began to quietly shush me that I realized I had began to cry. "Shhh, Darlin', it's okay. You're not there. You're here, with me. Come back to me, Ali, please."

He held me as tightly as he could, and I could feel the happiness start to return.

"Thank you," I murmured.

"Of course."

In the last few years, Carlisle studied my case. When my magic combined with the venom, the after affects of the war wasn't healed. Years ago, Jasper had called it Shellshock Syndrome. It still applied to my case today. Somedays, I would be okay, but in a single second, my mood could change. There was no idea of how long an episode would last. During the episodes, everyone steered clear. They'd let Jasper handle it. Usually, Jasper could pull me out of it. Carlisle would record these episodes. I had noticed that when I had calmed down, and I remembered where I was, nobody could look at me for a while. I was making their lives hard, and it had sparked an argument about me leaving once.

"What are you thinking about?" Jasper asked me quietly.

"Do you remember about a year ago, I planned to leave you guys?" I asked, watching him carefully.

"How could I forget?" Jasper asked, holding me tightly to him. "I was terrified. Because I knew you weren't going to take me with you, and I can't lose you."

"I was thinking about that," I said, quietly.

"Do you honestly think it would help anything?" Emmett asked, peeking through the window.

"Jasper would be depressed, we would all miss you."

There were moments when Emmett was serious. Those moments, ensured me that I was okay where I was. Here, with Jasper.

We were outside for an hour before the movers returned. We stopped at around 7:30, and we left again closer to 9:00, seeing as we all went to go make sure we had enough gas.

"Chances are, we aren't going to get there before morning, Dr. Cullen," one of the movers said. "We're nearing nine now."

"Just call when you're ready to stop," Carlisle said.

"Can do, Doctor."

So we set off again. Edward, Jasper, and I were quiet for a few minutes. Jasper stayed close to my side, and Edward watched the two of us.

"Alice?" Jasper said quietly, turning in the seat to look at me.

"Hmmm?"

"Are you thinking about leaving again?"

"No, Jasper," I said, taking one of his hands and kissed the back of it. "I don't want to leave you."

He smiled and kissed my cheek.

Edward smiled as Jasper settled back in the seat again.

"Hey, Edward?" I asked, glancing at him in the mirror.

"Yes?"

"What's school like?"

"Well the Cullen family always amazes the town. So be prepared for a lot of attention."

"Edward?"

"Hmm?"

"What happens if I have a vision during school?"

"Well for now, you'll have Jasper, Emmett, Rose, and I. In time, you'll have everything memorized. So it will be easier."

I nodded.

"It's all going to be okay," Jasper said. "You said we have classes together. I'll be there."

I smiled.

"Good."

We drove for another hour before my vision began to blur.

 _"We should stop soon," one of the movers said. The clock read 11:27._

 _"We'll call Dr. Cullen. I'm sure those kids of his are tired of being cooped up in those cars."_

 _The vision changed._

 _The seven of us stood in the parking lot of a truck stop. The time on the clock in the car read 12:17._

"Alice?" Jasper was saying. I pushed the vision away. The car was still going straight on the road "Alice what is it?"

I looked down at the clock. We had about half an hour before that conversation.

"We'll be stopping soon," I said turning my focus on the road. "Can you dial Carlisle's number for me?"

Jasper nodded, and then handed me the phone.

"Hello?" Carlisle said.

"Hey, Carlisle, it's Alice. I had a vision."

"Is everything okay?"

"Yes, yes, everything is fine. In about half an hour the movers are going to call you to stop."

"Okay, thanks for letting me know."

"No problem."

We waited for Carlisle to call again, so we would know where to stop.

It didn't take long, before the phone shrilled again.

"Hello?" Jasper said.

I couldn't make out Carlisle's muffled words.

"Okay, I'll let her know."

He hung up the phone and turned to me.

"Carlisle said the movers called. There is a 24-hour gas station, and a rest stop across from it. We may have to get some snacks so the movers won't get suspicious."

"Do we actually have to eat it?" I asked, wrinkling my nose as I remembered the last time I ate human food.

"Who knows, you might find something that you like," Edward said. "I find some foods more tolerable than others."

I chuckled.

"We'll see."

When we stopped, we followed the movers in to go find snacks.

"These aren't so bad," Jasper said pointing to a bag of crisps.

He picked those out, and I got a pack of oreos.

"I remember eating these on one journey out into the Muggle world," I said quietly. I then grabbed a tin of Altoid mints, and Jasper and I went to check out, Edward following behind with white cheddar popcorn and a box of Cheez-Its, and a large bottle of water.

"Okay," Edward said, as he reclined out seat back and he, Jasper, and I, laid out the snack we had all gotten. "You've rarely had human food, and even when you were human, you rarely had Muggle food. So we're going to see what you like best in this state."

He handed me the bottle of water, and Emmett and Rosalie, who had overheard, came to join us, sliding into the backseat with Edward.

"These were my favorite in my human life," Rosalie said, tapping the box of Cheez-Its.

I picked up a small square from the pile Edward had poured out. My nose immediately wrinkled. I quickly opened the car door and spit out the cracker, before swishing water around. This went of for the next half an hour. I didn't mind the mints as much.

Rosalie and Emmett left not long after we finished, and Jasper pulled me into his arms, his hand resting on my side. I closed my eyes, and felt, for a small moment, like I was sleeping.

When I opened my eyes again, a couple moments later, Jasper was smiling down at me. His golden eyes were the most beautiful things I had ever seen. I placed my free hand on his face, which caused his smile to widen.

"Alice?" Edward asked, drawing my attention from Jasper to him. He continued. "I've been thinking. About the boy Cedric. Can you tell me about him?"

"Sure," I said with a smile. "He was a Hufflepuff in school. But he had the brains of a Ravenclaw, and the bravery of a Gryffindor. In his heart though, he was a Hufflepuff."

"What does it take to be a Hufflepuff?" Edward asked.

"Usually you were kind, and dedicated. Most importantly, you were loyal."

"And Cedric was all of these things?" Jasper asked.

I nodded. "He and I talked off and on. He didn't care about the fact that I was a Slytherin."

"I still don't understand why it was such a bad thing to be in Slytherin," Edward said.

"Voldemort was in Slytherin. Most of his followers were Slytherin."

"What qualities are in that house?"

"Many things. Slytherins are most known for their cunningness. But it also had to do with being clever, resourcefulness, and ambition, as well as more. Have you ever heard of the wizard Merlin?"

Edward nodded. "Like from King Arthur?"

I nodded. "The very one. He was in Slytherin."

Edward and Jasper's eyes widened.

"He was real?" Jasper asked. His voice was filled with surprise and amazement.

I laughed. "Yep. So was King Arthur. Merlin was a part of his court."

"Your world truly is an amazing place," Edward said. I smiled.

"It was. Anyways, back to Cedric," I said. Edward and Jasper nodded and listened. "He was an amazing student. I spent my free blocks assisting McGonagall, and Severus."

"Which classes were those?" Edward asked.

"Transfiguration, and Potions. But Cedric was great. He played Quidditch. He was a Seeker. When my father broke out of prison, dementors surrounded the school in case he came for Harry."

"What about you?" Jasper asked. "Was nobody worried about him coming for his daughter."

I grimaced. "I told you Jazz, everyone seemed to forget I was his daughter. But during a match that year, Harry fell off of his broom because of the Dementors. He had seen so much, they were more attracted to him than to anyone. Cedric technically won, but he felt so bad about the situation, he wanted to replay the match." I smiled and continued. "He also came to me, and apologize. He said he would have helped Harry if he could. He knew what Harry was to me."

"He seems sweet."

"He was. When Harry was entered into the Triwizard tournament, Dumbledore owled me, and I came back as an assistant to Severus. Cedric came to me after class one day, and he told me that he didn't believe Harry when he said he didn't enter. But because I had been so kind, he'd do all that he can to keep him safe."

"And he kept his promise," Edward said. It wasn't a question.

"He did. In the graveyard, where he died, he tried protecting Harry. I saw it through Harry's memories. When he died, Dumbledore held a memorial. He said to us 'Remember, if the time should come, when you have to make a choice between what is right and what is easy, remember what happened to a boy who was good, and kind, and brave, because he strayed across the path of Lord Voldemort. Remember Cedric Diggory." I looked down at the Slytherin choker that I turned into a bracelet. "He was a good person. He was kind, and he had one of the purest hearts I've ever known. Which is why he reminds me of you." My eyes met his. "I know you think you're a monster. But you're not. You're good, and kind, and pure. Just like Cedric."

His eyes went soft. Jasper smiled at me, and squeezed my hand.

"How do you not think you're a monster?" Edward asked. "I'm not meaning it to be rude. I just want to know."

"Because," I said, looking over to Jasper, "for one, I have somebody who fights everyday to show me I'm not. For two, I know why I became this. I did it to save my family. In return, I gained a family."

Jasper's smile widened and his kissed my cheek. I turned back to Edward.

"You will find someone. Just give it some time."

His hands tightened into fists against the back of the seat, where he had leaned against. "I've given it time," he said through gritted teeth. "35 years."

"She'll come. Trust me."

Edward glared at me, and then slipped out of the car.

"I don't think he appreciated that," I said at my lap.

Jasper put a finger under my chin and kissed me softly. "He's not angry."

"I never said he was."

"I know," he said. I nuzzled my face into his neck.

"I'm not a monster, am I?"

"No Alice, of course not."

He placed his hand on the small of my back.

I moved my head to his shoulder. In the back window, I could see Rosalie and Emmett smiling at each other.

"Maybe we should go join the others," I said, softly.

Jasper nodded, and we slid out the car. He took my hand, and I pulled him to where Rosalie and Emmett stood.

"What'd the two of you do to Edward?" Emmett asked, looking down at me. "He seemed rather pissed when he got out of the car."

"He's not angry. But he didn't all together enjoy what Alice had to say."

"What'd she say?" Esme asked coming up behind us. I turned and faced her.

"He asked me about Cedric. I told him that despite him thinking he is, he's not a monster. He's good, and kind, and pure. Just like Cedric. He asked me how I didn't think of myself as a monster. I told him that Jasper helped, and I remembered why I became what I am. Then I told him that in time, he'd find his mate. Just because he hasn't found her now, doesn't mean he wouldn't. I'm sorry, Esme. I didn't mean any harm and I most certainly didn't try to start a fight, I just—"

"Alice, stop," Esme said, with a kind smile. "You've done nothing wrong."

"I think it's hard for him," I said. "He watches us. We all have someone," I looked over to where Edward and Carlisle stood. Edward glanced over at us. His eyes locked with mine before he turned back to Carlisle. "He doesn't. Not yet."

"You have a lot of hope," Rosalie said.

I smiled. "I know I do."

The other four laughed. I turned back to Edward. He stood alone as Carlisle made his way towards us.

"Alice," Carlisle said. "Edward want to talk to you." He looked up at Jasper. "Alone, if you don't mind."

I nodded, and let go of Jasper's hand. "I'll be back," I said, pecking him quickly on the lips before walking over to Edward.

"Carlisle said you wanted to talk to me," I said.

"I wanted to apologize."

"For what?"

"For the way I acted. It's not how I was raised."

"I know," I said. "You've done nothing wrong. Just trust me. It will happen."

He looked away from me. "You have so much hope for someone who has been through so much."

I thought about it. So many different scenes played in my head. My mother's death, my mother's funeral, my father being dragged away to Azkaban, seeing Cedric's body, my father's death, Remus leaving me, Dad's memorial service, being branded with the Dark Mark, Seeing Remus's wedding announcement, Remus's body, Fred's body, watching Harry be struck with the killing curse, saying goodbye to my family.

I looked up, and Edward looked like he was in pain.

"I'm sorry. I suppose you're right. But hope is what's kept me going. Remus said that my mother used to tell me that when you still have hope, there is always a possibility. I remember one day, not long before she died, my mother told me that I would one day get my happy ending." I looked over to Jasper, and smiled. "I found it. It took me seventeen years, and a time travel journey."

Edward smiled. "I'll let you hold onto that hope. At least it will be a possibility."

I smiled and pulled him to the rest of our family.

"All good?" Jasper asked. I nodded.

"She's a little ball of hope," Edward said.

"Trust me," Jasper said, wrapping his arms around my shoulders from behind me. "I know. She's what gives me mine."

I smiled, and the seven of us started walking through the parking lot.

The movers woke up at about 8:00 that morning. We had all went back to our respective cars about five minutes before the movers woke, and Jasper and I pretended to be asleep in the back seat, as they came around looking in the cars.

"It's kind of odd isn't it?" one of them asked.I was pretty sure this is the one they had called Adam. "Those two are brother and sister, yet they're dating."

"Well it's my understanding that they're not actually related."

This one, I was sure his name was William.

"Still," the first one said. "Could you imagine dating Annalise?"

"Good morning," Carlisle said. His voice was calm. I could imagine the movers jumping.

"Good morning Dr. and Mrs. Cullen."

So Esme was with him.

"Are you ready to get moving again?" Esme asked.

"We are. But if you want to wait until your children wake up, that's okay too."

"Rosalie and Emmett are already awake. We'll wake these three and we'll get going," Carlisle said. We had our windows down, so Carlisle reached through and shook Jasper. I could feel it from where I laid in his lap. I fought a smile as Carlisle shook him again.

"Jasper, Alice, time to wake up."

"Edward," Esme was saying. I could only imagine her shaking Edward as Carlisle had shaken Jasper. "Time to wake up."

Jasper shifted from under me, and my eyes fluttered open. I was still fighting a smile.

"How about you two go get something to eat before we go," Esme suggested, as Edward pretended to rub his eyes.

"Are you guys going to get anything?" Adam asked Carlisle.

"We have some stuff for the kids in my car," Carlisle said.

"They're on a special diet," Esme added.

Edward looked at me and he flashed a smile as he folded up the blanket. The two movers walked away, and once they were far enough away, I bursted out into laughing. Jasper and Edward joined me. Carlisle and Esme smiled at the three of us.

"What were they thinking?" I asked Edward. "When they thought that it was odd that Jasper and I are supposed to be brother and sister, yet we're dating."

Jasper and I looked at each other and cracked another smile.

"Well Adam caught sight of your ring. He was trying to figure out whether or not you two were married."

"What does he think now?" Carlisle asked.

"He thinks they're engaged. So he assumes that they're both at least 18."

Jasper chuckled. "Oh if he only knew."

At this time, Jasper was ninety. I on the other hand, would have just turned twenty-seven.

We left the stop at around 8:45. Edward drove, leaving me curled in the backseat with Jasper. I had gotten fidgety as my energy started to increase.

"So what's it like?" I asked. "Having to move all the time."

"It's not so bad," Edward said. "You get used to it. You've wanted to travel. Here's your opportunity."

I looked down at my arm where Jasper traced my Dark Mark.

"Does it bother you?" I asked him. He shook his head.

"It just looks darker. Then when we first met, I mean."

"That's because he's rising to power."

I thought about the time frame. In six years, my father would be born. So would my mother. They were only a month apart.

"Tell me more about your mother," Edward said as we drove.

"I've told you about her," I said. "Several times."

"Then tell me your friends."

"There was Fred and George. I've told you about them too." It seems we talked a lot about where I was from. "What about you? Tell me about your mother and father. Did you have any siblings?"

"My mother's name was Elizabeth. My father's name was also Edward. I was an only child. I had always dreamed of being a soldier. But I never made it to that point. When I was 17, the Spanish Influenza hit. My father was killed in the first wave. When my mother and I got sick, she begged Carlisle to change me. He honored her wishes."

"There you go!" I said,sitting up quickly, my voice full of excitement.

"What?" Jasper said, looking at me.

Even Edward glanced at me. I sat between him and Jasper in the front seat.

"There's your reason!"

"What are you talking about?" Edward asked. I'm sure he already knew the answer. But trying to keep Jasper in the loop probably had something to do with it.

"You haven't found your mate yet," I started. He interrupted me.

"Thanks for bringing that up again, Alice."

"Let me finish," I hissed. He held up a hand in defence, and I continued. "When you think of yourself as a monster, think of your mother. You were close to your mother, yes?"

"Yes, I was."

"Then think of her! You've joined this life on your mother's wish."

He rolled his eyes, and focused on the road.

"How're you feeling?" Jasper asked after a few hours.

I shook my head.

"I'm tired of being in the car," I said, shaking my head.

"It's okay," Edward said. "We've just crossed the border. We'll be there soon."

"How long is soon?" Jasper asked.

"About four hours," I grumbled, as I glanced ahead into the near future.

"It's okay," Jasper said rubbing my back. "We have to stop for gas soon."

"You guys can go stretch your legs," Edward offered. "I'll go pump the gas."

"Thank you," I said, smiling at him.

We stopped about an hour later for gas. Jasper and I made our way over to Carlisle.

"Is her energy starting to increase?" he asked Jasper quietly, as I began to pace. The movers watched me carefully, but when I made eye contact, they both looked away.

"Yes," Jasper said, as he too watched me.  
"It's late this month," Carlisle said, pulling a notebook out of the glovebox of his car.

This notebook held all of the days of the beginning of the energy bursts, the highest point, the lowest point, and when my energy was a normal state, or at least my normal.

"We'll definitly have your room set up before the low point," Esme said, patting my back as she went to stand next to Carlisle.

Jasper pulled me back into his arms, holding me close to his chest.

"Once we get back into the car, would you feel better to be in your animagus form?"

I shrugged.

"I still can't move around as much."

"Once the mover's leave tonight, you can go for a run," Esme said.

"How long will they be?"

"About two hours."

I groaned, and shook my head.

"Time will pass by quickly," Carlisle said with a kind smile. "Be patient, Alice."

I sighed, and turned back to the car.

"I think everyone is done pumping gas."

"Here, take these," Carlisle said, handing me and Jasper what looked to be yogurt, and then three bottles of water.

"The movers are getting sightly suspicious," Esme said as I looked down at the yogurt in my hands. "I heard one mention how he hadn't seen you guys eat anything."

"Do we actually have to eat it?" Jasper asked.

Carlisle nodded.

"I'm sorry but yes. Seeing the trash would make them less suspicious."

"You get used to it after some time," Edward said, coming up next to us. "Having water helps."

We all piled into our cars, and we set off again.

After what seemed like a long time later, we made it to Calgary.

Our house was towards the end of town, much like the one in Helena, up a long driveway.

"We're here," Edward said, as he pulled into the grass of the large house. "Welcome to your new home."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I would like to thank you for all of your support this far into the story. I planned out the entire story before I restarted it, and now I am happy with the way it is going. I hope that all of you are too. I haven't felt this happy with my writing in a long time. So thank you for all of your support, and I hope you enjoy the next few chapters to come!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	47. Don't Take Him

_"How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye to hard." ~Winnie the Pooh_

* * *

Chapter 47- Don't Take Him Alice's POV

We had been in Canada a year now, and I loved it just as much as I had loved Montana. Not far from our house, there was a clearing, just like the one Jasper and I had in Montana. In the first year, I was afraid. I was afraid of the school, of the subjects I had to learn, and of the people in the school.

I had never been around so many humans at once for long periods of time before. I had Jasper though. He was in all my classes, both this year and last. All five of us were in the same year, so I even had some classes with Rosalie, Edward, and Emmett. This school, however, was unlike Hogwarts, and I was excited to learn new things.

Jasper and Edward helped me through out the summer. Edward let me read the notes from the last few years he had been in school. I enjoyed history, and I enjoyed science. In science, I got to learn about astronomy from the perspective of a Muggle. I got to take Chemistry this year, and that was like potions. I enjoyed reading classes too. I read a book called the Odyssey, and one called Pride and Prejudice. During my energy bursts, when my energy was at its lowest point, I would stay home, and Jasper would read to me when he came home. The public was told that I had a health condition, and a few days out of every month I would be taken out of school. Jasper would bring me my work, and I would work on it while my energy was coming back to me. Carlisle of course provided the doctor's note at the beginning of both school years. And this would be my story whenever we relocated.

I enjoyed the new environment. However, it was a struggle to keep my dark mark covered, so usually, I would wear long sleeves, or jackets. We did have to eat a little bit of food so nobody would get too suspicious.

One thing I noticed, was that Edward was right. The Cullen kids would always attract attention.

"I don't understand how they're not related," a girl said, when we first came to the school. "They all look so much alike."

"I know that Rosalie and Jasper Hale are twins, and so are Edward and Alice Cullen," one of her friends told her.

"I think it's weird that they're all dating," a boy murmured to the two girls. "Whether they are related or not, I think it's wrong."

Even a year later, at the beginning of the year at least, we were the subject of conversation. The older students would explain us to the new students.

"Has anyone figured out what is wrong with Alice Cullen?" a boy asked the people at his table.

Each child shook their head.

"No, but she's really weird."

I turned to Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett.

"Are they always this judgemental?" I asked, frowning.

"They're always going to talk," Rosalie said. "After a time, you get used to it."

I watched the group of students who seemed to be the main focus of the gossip. The boy who first spoke made eye contact with me, then his face flushed with embarrassment as he met my icy glare.

Jasper squeezed my hand, and leaned over.

"You scared that boy," Jasper whispered in my ear.

"He was rude," I said, turning to look at Jasper. "He deserved it. I could have done worse. I could have turned him into a toad."

"But you won't," Jasper said, kissing my cheek.

I sighed.

"You're right. I won't."

As time went on, people lost their interest, and we faded into the background. We were in the middle of the year now, and I was the happiest I had been in a while. I was doing well in school, I had just seen Helen and Tobias, who in the last four years adapted well into the Denali coven. They had no plans to leave, and I couldn't be more happy for them.

I looked into my family back in London for the first time in a while. I learned that Harry and George finally stopped looking for me. Harry had married Ginny, and George married Angelina Johnson. I left quickly however. I didn't want to risk them hearing me.

In the end, I got what I wanted. They had moved on, and they were now living their best lives. And I knew they would go on to do great things. A little piece of me wondered whether I would ever see them again, but I didn't dwell on that. Helen and Tobias hadn't caught any sight of James. While James was out there, they would never be truly safe, and I could not be the one to put them in any degree of danger.

So it would seem, my happiness wouldn't last. It was mid-October, the year after we came to Calgary. The five of us were sitting at lunch. Jasper and Edward were discussing something that I hadn't been able to keep up with. All day, my vision had been getting hazy. None of us knew why.

"Alice?" Jasper said, shaking my shoulder.

I turned to face him.

"Hmm? I'm sorry, Jazz. What did you say?"

"I asked if a vision had come through."

I shook my head.  
"No, not yet."

"Are you sure it's even a vision?" Emmett asked.

"It feels like a vision," I said, shaking my head. "I just can't bring the picture up in my head."

"Why wouldn't a vision come through?" Rosalie asked.

"Maybe somebody hasn't made the decision yet."

"What's keeping them from making a decision?"

"They may not have found the trigger. But the trigger could lead them to us."

"You don't think it's James, do you?" Jasper murmured in my ear.

"No," I said, shaking my head again. "When James was hunting me, I keep seeing me dead. I thought it was because I planned to kill myself. Now, I don't see anything. My vision….it's like my sight is slowly disappearing."

The bell rang then, and the five of us stood. Jasper took my hand, and helped me weave through the people.

When I got home that evening, there was no change in my vision. It was still blurry. If anything, it felt like it was getting slightly worse.  
Carlisle decided to check my eyes, because even he could not figure out an explanation for my sight problems.

"Would you like to stay in tomorrow?"

I shook my head.

"I'm already going to miss enough when my energy goes down. I'd rather not have to miss anymore."

"I think that's smart," Esme said from behind me. Just like everyone else, Esme was worried. In history, there had never been record of a vampire losing his or her sight. Alec, one of the guards of the Volturi, could of course take all your senses. But as far as we could tell, no vampire could take just one.

"She says it feels like a vision," Jasper told Carlisle. "She said at lunch it's like the vision is there, but they haven't found the trigger to set the vision in motion."

"I still don't understand that," Emmett said. "I thought your visions respond to things like yes or no."

I shook my head as I turned to face Emmett.

"The future isn't narrowed down to black and white. There are many paths you can take, and each and every decision can change that path. One little decision, and the entire future changes. I would have thought you would have been with me long enough to realize that."

"I don't get it," Carlisle said. I could faintly see him shake his head out of the corner of my eye as I turned back to him. "Her eyes look completely fine."

"I don't understand how this can happen," Edward said.

"I've never seen anything like it."

"If it is a vision, that means it could concern us. Somebody just hasn't made the decision yet."

Jasper sighed.

"Hopefully it will pass by morning," Jasper said, before kissing my temple.

It didn't pass. The next day my sight was still the same. Jasper had to help me make out some words on the paper in front of me, but otherwise I was able to go about my day normally.

"Is it any better at all?" Emmett asked, as he took his spot at mine, his, and Jasper's table in English class.

"No," I said, as I pulled out my English stuff. "It's starting to worry me."

"It's starting to worry all of us," Emmett said.

"We have lunch next and then two periods after. I think I'll be okay for today. But hopefully whatever is blocking my vision comes through. I don't enjoy not having my sight."

During lunch, Emmett carried mine and his tray, while Jasper carried his, and guided me.

"No improvements?" Rosalie asked as Jasper helped me sit.

"It's worse."

"I really think you should take some time off," Jasper said, as I felt around on my tray for a small food item.

"Maybe I should," I said, shaking my head. "I won't be able to get anything done at this rate. Besides, my energy has been going up for some time. Tomorrow should be the highest point. I'll be out again in a few days anyways. Just let me get through today."

"Of course, Darlin'," Jasper said, and his fingers brushed across my cheek.

We talked more of school, and what was going on in other classes. Before I knew it, the bell rang.

As soon as I stood up, my vision was gone. Replaced with something else.

 _There was a female vampire running through the trees somewhere nearby. Then suddenly, she was right in front of us._

 _The women had brown hair, she had a slight olive tone against her pale skin. Her blood red eyes looked murderous. She came to a stop in front of the house. I remembered this vampire from Jasper's memories. It was his creator. Maria._

 _Jasper stood in the front, Emmett and Carlisle stood a little bit further back. Esme and Rosalie stood on the steps of the house. I saw now that I was being restrained by Edward. He held me tightly to him, and for some reason or another, I didn't use magic against him. I was weak. I knew that. I could feel that._

 _I struggled against his hold. Maria walked up to Jasper._

 _"Jasper!" I screamed from Edward's hold._

 _Jasper didn't even flinch. As she stepped closer Emmett and Carlisle stepped closer to Jasper, who held up a hand._

 _"Maria," Jasper said quietly. "Please don't do this."_

 _"I'm sorry, Jasper. I have to do this."_

 _"No," Jasper said. "You don't."_

 _When she said nothing, Jasper turned back to me._

 _"I love you, Alice. I will always love you. I need you to remember that." He turned to Carlisle and Emmett. "Take care of her for me. Keep her happy, and keep her alive."_

 _They nodded, but didn't try to stop him. This part confused me. Why wouldn't they help him?_

 _I struggled harder against Edward's hold, and he held me tighter._

 _"Jasper!" I screamed again._

 _Maria glanced at me, and her eyes flashed._

 _"Alice," Jasper said. I looked at him, with wide, afraid eyes. "Tell me you love me, please. I want that to be the last thing I hear."_

 _"I love you, Jasper," I choked out. "I love you so, so, much."_

 _She stepped closer to him, and Jasper didn't fight her. He watched me the entire time. Her lips swept across his neck, almost as if she was kissing him. I tensed in Edward's arms and Jasper's head fell from his shoulders._

 _I screamed and fell from Edward's hold and sunk to the ground where I sobbed._

 _Maria grinned evilly. She pulled a small lighter from her pocket, and flicked it onto Jasper's body. Suddenly my husband, my angel, was being burned in the flames, and I knew that I couldn't help him._

 _"Come back to me," I choked out watching the fire. "Please."_

Without giving me the chance to say anything else, the vision changed.

 _The set up was the same. Jasper stood in the front, Carlisle and Emmett close behind, Edward restraining me further away. I struggled against him, but I still didn't use magic. Maria stopped in front of Jasper. She turned to me, and then back to Jasper._

 _"I'm not going to hurt you, Jasper." she said. "I just want to talk."_

 _I wasn't sure whether the last part was directed to Jasper or to me._

 _"If you don't plan on hurting any of us, excuse me for a moment," he said. Jasper walked back to me. He took my face in his hands and kissed me. "Please calm down, Alice. It's going to be okay. I'm going to be alright."_

The vision faded away, but my vision didn't return right away.

"Alice!" Jasper was calling. "Alice?"

"Jasper?" I called softly. My vision began to fade back, and as the reality of what just happened hit me, I searched frantically for Jasper.

"Shh," Jasper said, holding me tightly to him. I realized now that we were on the floor. People were crowded around. "It's okay, Al. I'm right here."

"We should take her home," Edward said. I knew he had saw it. But he hadn't said anything to Jasper. I wasn't bothered by this. I had to be the one to tell him.

Jasper scooped me up in his arms, and I clung to his shirt.

It didn't take us long to push past the crowd of people, and get to the front office. Edward held the door open for Jasper, and the secretary, Mrs. Kegley immediately stood.

"Mr. Hale, Mr. Cullen? What happened?"

"When the bell rang, Alice stood up, and she passed out," Edward explained.

Emmett and Rosalie came through the office doors then.

"We think it may be her condition, and we want to get her home to Carlisle to make sure nothing has gotten to bad."

Mrs. Kegley looked at Edward and Jasper, then to Rosalie and Emmett.

"Will any of you be returning?"

Edward shook his head.

"No. Please, we're worried about our sister. Let us go with her."

She nodded.

"Of course. I think your father could do better for her than we could. I'll write you four passes. You can come pick up all of your work in the morning, and tell your father to keep us posted."

Edward nodded, and we all quickly left the office heading to Edward's car.

Edward, Rosalie, and Emmett sat up front. Jasper and I sat in the back. I was still in Jasper's arms. I couldn't take my eyes off of my angel the entire way home. Whichever path Maria decided to take, I had still seen Jasper die.

When we got there, Carlisle and Esme were there waiting for us. The school had called ahead, and told them about me, 'passing out', in the lunchroom.

"What happened?" Carlisle asked, as Jasper carried me into the house. He darted to our room and sent me gently on the bed before climbing on next to me.

"Alice, sweetheart, can you tell us what happened?" Jasper asked me quietly, running a hand up and down my back. .

I turned to face him. I wanted to give the angel what he wanted. So I did.

"I was right. It was a vision that was blocking my sight. It came through today when we were about to leave lunch."

"What did you see, Darlin'?" Jasper asked me. It didn't feel like I was talking to the whole family. It felt like I was only talking to him.

"I saw Maria," I whispered as my throat began to tighten. "She came here to kill you. She's coming for you, Jazz, and I don't know how to stop her. Edward was holding me back," my voice broke, "You told me to tell you I loved you, because it was the last thing you wanted to hear. You never took your eyes off me, and she killed you right in front of me."

I turned back to Carlisle.

"Nobody tried to help him," I said, glaring at Carlisle and Emmett. "Why didn't you try to help him?"

I nearly lunged at the pair who stood side by side, and stood so close, but the second I moved, Jasper pulled me back down.

"I'm sure they had good reason," he murmured in my ear.

"Tell us about the second vision," Esme asked placing a hand on mine.

"It was set up the same way as the first. Edward was restraining me. Jasper came over, kissed me, and told me everything was going to be okay. Maria said she didn't want to kill him."

"When will this happen?" Jasper asked. "When will Maria come?"

"A few days after my energy is at its lowest."

"She's changed her mind though, hasn't she?"

I shook my head.

"She's flickering between the two. It's too fast. I can't keep up."

"Jasper, Edward, Emmett, can I talk to the three of you?" Carlisle asked.

Jasper nodded, and my eyes widened with panic.

"I'll be right back," Jasper said, kissing my forehead. "I swear, I will come back to you."

The four men slipped out of the room, and I curled into a ball on the bed.

"Alice," Esme said, laying on the bed where Jasper had just been. "It's going to be okay. Nothing will happen to Jasper. We'll make sure of that."  
"Carlisle and Emmett were standing next to him, and neither one did anything. They wouldn't help him Esme."

Her eyes widened a little bit, as did Rosalie's.

"That's why you lunged at them," Esme said, with sad eyes.

I nodded.

I listened quietly, but I couldn't hear the boys.

"I can't hear them," I said, panicky. "Where did they go, Esme? Why can't I hear them?"

Esme shushed me, and helped me relax on the bed.

"They've just gone away from the house a little bit. Jasper's safe. I promise."

"I can't lose him, Esme."

"You won't, dear."

"How can you be sure?"

"Remember what you told Edward last year, when we were moving here?"

"What part?" I said looking back down at the picture.

"About what your mother told you."

"Of course. If you have hope, there is always a possibility."

"I have hope. Jasper isn't going anywhere."

"I hope you're right."

Jasper and I would be staying home for the next two weeks. The public story was that I had caught an infection, and my body was struggling to fight it off. High blood pressure had caused me to pass out, and Jasper couldn't leave my side.  
Edward brought us our work. On the day my energy was the highest, Jasper and I hunted. After that, Carlisle would bring us blood like Helen and Tobias had when I was first changed.

Carlisle kept Jasper and I home for the next week. Edward brought us our work. He called the school, and told him that I was sick with a severe virus, and Jasper had caught it.

"What were you and Carlisle talking about the other day?" I asked, as Jasper and I hunted.

I couldn't see it when they left. All of them were careful to not to make any decisions. So I couldn't see.

"Nothing important," Jasper said. This is what he always said. This time, I began to grow angry. But the anger left as soon as it came. "Don't be angry, Al. Smile. Please? For me?"

Now more than any other time, I fought to make him happy. I looked at him and smiled. He pulled me into a hug. "Please, please be happy. It's all going to be okay."

"You don't know that," I said. I could feel my throat start to tighten.

"I do know that," he said. It sounded more like a croon. "Don't lose hope, Al. That's what makes you, you."

"You help make me, me."

"No, Ali. I'm just a small piece of that."

I shook my head. "You're wrong. You have everything to do with making me who I am."

I tilted my head up. His bright golden eyes were staring back down at me. "Alice?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do," I said putting a hand up to his cheek. "With my life."

"Then believe me. Maria won't hurt me."

"Are you sure?"

Jasper nodded. "Absolutely positive."

I knew Jasper wasn't positive about this. I could see it in his eyes. Pain flashed through them as he said that to me.

Flickers still flashed in my vision as Maria changed her decisions. And pain flashed through Jasper's eyes as he made me promises he couldn't keep.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **So I made the decision to tell you why I added this part in particular to the story. When Alice found Jasper, she felt like it was the two of them against the world. Like nothing could ever come between them. It was stated that Maria came for Jasper while they were living in Calgary, and this encounter prompted them to move again. This encounter became the first real threat Alice has ever had to Jasper being taken from her. I thought it would be interesting to show you guys how she'd react to that. So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	48. Maria

_"But I was her puppet. She pulled the strings. I didn't know there was another way... 'till I found Alice." ~Jasper Hale, Eclipse_

* * *

Chapter 48- Maria

It was safe to say in the days after my vision, and the days leading up to Maria's arrival, I was a mess. Maria didn't make up her mind, and I didn't let Jasper out of my sight for too long.

During the lowest point in my energy, Jasper carried me out to the living room to sit with everybody.

"Don't leave me," I whispered into his chest.

"I'm not going anywhere."

Everyone in the room watched us. Everyone had sad eyes. Especially Edward.

 _Do you think he's going to be okay?_ I asked Edward.

Edward nodded, but even Edward, who could see into Jasper's mind, didn't look at all convincing.

"Tell me the story again?" I whispered to Jasper.

Earlier today, he told me the story of how we fell in love.

"This is a story you already know by heart," Jasper said smiling at me.

"I know. But I like it when you tell it to me."

"Of course," Jasper said.

So Jasper told me the story of two broken vampires who were destined to be with each other. Who fought to find each other, and the rebuilt each other. The two traveled across the U.S, trying to find their home to live happily ever after.

I smiled weakly as Jasper kissed my forehead.

"Rest now, Alice."

But when I closed my eyes, I kept seeing the flickers of Maria's choices, and I couldn't fight them. The only part that was completely clear, was seeing Jasper die, because that was the only certain thing.

I couldn't rest. Not when everytime I close my eyes, I saw my husband dying over and over again. Nobody forced me too either. Jasper rocked me, humming the song Edward played at our wedding.

"It's going to be okay," Jasper murmured against my temple.

"You can't know that."

"Ali, be positive," Jasper said.

"I can't," I said, as my voice broke. "I keep seeing you die over and over again."

"Shhh," he said, holding me as close to him as he possibly could. 'It's all going to be okay."

"When all of this is over," Esme said, sitting on the floor next to the couch, "how about you and Jasper go back to Isle Esme for a little while?"

"I think that'd be nice," Jasper said. "You loved it when we went on our honeymoon."

I smiled weakly again.

"It's a beautiful island."

"So how about it?" Esme asked. "Go away for a little while, and then come back when you're ready."

"What will you tell everybody?"

"We can say that you hadn't gotten better, so we sent you to a medical center, and Jasper went with you."

I smiled.

"I think that'd be nice."

"Okay."  
That seemed to help me take my mind of Maria. We talked about what we would do when we went to the island.

But even that, faded from my mind as the day went on. I was scared. I had never had to come to a point where I had to think about what I would do if I ever lost Jasper. But now I did. I couldn't figure out what I did that caused my happy ending to end so soon. Was six years all I was meant to have? I suppose that was longer than some people got, but even then, I thought I was supposed to have eternity with him.

What was it I had done? Was it the people I had killed in my human life that damned me to losing my angel? Or was it the few people I killed in this one? No matter how much I thought about it, I wasn't sure why this was happening.

"Stop," Jasper murmured in my ear. "You're causing yourself to panic."  
"Can you blame me?"

"It's all going to be okay," Jasper said, running a hand through my hair. "And when it is, I'm going to tell you I told you so, then we are going to go on vacation."

By looking into his eyes, I knew that he thought that that wasn't entirely true. Pain flashed through them, which is what confirmed to me that this was a lie. Jasper didn't truly believe that everything was going to be okay.

In the days leading up to Maria's arrival, from the point when my energy was at its lowest point, to the day after Maria came, everyone would be excused from school. The night before she came, we all sat together in the living room. I sat on Jasper's lap, not letting him go. He held me in his arms.

He kept talking about Isle Esme. The things he wanted to do while we were there. I couldn't help but smile some as he began to talk about some of our honeymoon. Night swimming, and discovering the different marine life. Hiking in the woods. It would be nice to do it all again when this was over.

But would would happen if Jasper didn't survive? And we didn't get to take our vacation? I would more than likely leave the Cullens. Say goodbye to Helen and Tobias, and then go after Maria. While I was at it, I could go after James and Victoria, but I would have to wait awhile to make sure I didn't throw off the timeline. But what would I do after they were dead? Would I go back to my family in London? Would I come back here? I wasn't sure, but I had time to think about it.

"Alice?" Jasper asked as we watched the sun begin to rise outside of the wide open window. Hearing his voice, pulled me from my thoughts, and I looked at him carefully.

"Yes?"

"Can you promise me something?"

"Anything," I said. At this time, I wasn't to give the angel whatever he wanted.

"I know nothing will happen, but I just have to be sure. If things don't go well today, can you promise me that you will be happy."

I looked at him in disbelief. The disbelief faded quickly, and it turned to anger.

"You told me nothing would happen," I growled. "For the past week, you wasted your breath saying that nothing will happen."

"And nothing will. I just want to make sure that you're happy if I'm gone."

I felt the lump in my throat start to grow. As I looked into his eyes, I couldn't be mad at him. Not when I knew today would possibly be the last I ever spent with him.

"I can't be happy without you," I said, fighting to keep my voice steady.

"Yes, you can." Jasper said. His voice broke, and tears that would never fall pooled in hsi eyes. "You did it before. You can again."

"No, I can't," I said, shaking my head. "You are my life."

"Alice, promise me, please. I know you can be happy without me."

"I promise," I said, my voice finally breaking, hugging him tighter to me.

"Good. Don't worry. Nothing will happen to me. Just remember that. I swear to you, I am going to get out of this. You and I are going to take our vacation, and then we're going to spend the rest of eternity together."

I smiled as I nuzzled my face into his neck. Even if Jasper wasn't sure if he'd make it through the day, I believed him.

As the time pass, I began to think about the vision. During this time, I blocked Edward from my thoughts. In the event that Maria was going to kill Jasper, all I had to do was get past Edward. If I got past Edward, then I could get to Maria before she killed Jasper.

"How much time?" Carlisle asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

I closed my eyes, trying to remember the vision. When I got a picture of Maria's arival, I focused on the position of the sun.

"She comes at noon," I said, opening my eyes.

I looked around for a clock.

"Relax, Darlin'. It's only 8:00."

He moved me off his lap, and wrapped an arm around my shoulders. With his free hand, he took mine

"It's all going to be okay, Alice," Esme said, sitting on my other side. "Jasper will make it through the day."

I loved the hope everyone seemed to have. Whether it was real or not, I didn't know, but I loved how much they tried to keep the hope in me alive.

The time ticked away. At around 11:55, we moved outside. Esme and Rosalie stood in the back.

Emmett stood several yard in front of them. I stood near the driveway with Jasper, and Carlisle and Edward stood on either side of us, both a yard or two away.

I could hear running feet coming up the drive. I ducked out from Edward's hold, and backed into Jasper's arms.

Jasper turned to Emmett and nodded. Emmett was beside me in a flash.

"Jasper?" I asked, grabbing his hand. "What's going on?"

He stepped forward and kissed me.

"I'm sorry Alice," he said, when he pulled away. "I have to do this. I have to keep you safe."

"What are you—"

I was interrupted by Emmett's big arms enclosing me into what felt like a cage. Jasper kissed me again before Emmett began pulling me back to where he originally stood.

"Jasper!" I screamed. As I spoke, Maria appeared from the trees. I screamed his name again, and I saw pain flash in his eyes as he turned away from me.

"I'm so sorry, Alice," Emmett said in my ear.

"This wasn't how it was supposed to go," I growled.

"Jasper knew you would avoid Edward."

I tried to fight against Emmett, but I was too weak.

"Jasper!" Maria said, as she took a step closer to him. Her voice was sharp when she spoke. But it also sounded very childlike. She took a step closer to Jasper and I growled.

"Let me go," I snarled. Maria turned her head to me, then back to Jasper.

"Oh this must be Mary Alice. I saw your marriage certificate when I looked you up."

She took a step towards me, and Jasper snarled, blocking her way, his straight position morphing into a protective crouch.

"You will not touch her."

"I'm not here to harm either one of you," Maria said. "I just want to talk."

Jasper's protective stance, didn't change.

"Is she lying Edward?"

Edward focused on her for a moment, picking through her mind.

"She's not going to hurt either of you," Edward finally said.

This didn't cause me to relax. Jasper turned to me, then back to Maria. "If you have no means to hurt me, excuse me for a moment."

He darted to where Emmett and I stood. He took my face in his hands, before kissing me.

"Please calm down, Al. It's going to be okay. I'm going to be alright. Calm down." I relaxed in Emmett's arms, and he kissed my forehead again. "Thank you, Darlin'."

He turned back to Maria. "If you're not here to kill me, can you tell me what it is you want?"

"I want you to come back to me," she said simply. Jasper walked back to her.

"Come again?" he asked. She stepped closer to him. She brushed his hair from his eye. I hissed, the calmness suddenly gone.

Jasper stepped away from her.

"Look at your eyes," she said before looking around at all of us. "Oh you've gone to animal blood." She wrinkled her nose in disgust. "Your wife has influenced you greatly." She turned to me again. "I would never do it personally. But I can't say that I'm surprised you would, Jasper."

"You don't know a thing about him," I growled.

She laughed. It was harsh.

"Oh really?" she said. "I know that he loved me. I know that he loves the taste of human blood more than animal blood, because with this diet, he can never be truly satisfied. If you love him, then you'll let him leave you, and come back where he truly belongs. With me."

All the rage was lost, replaced with sadness and remorse. It felt like my still heart had shattered into a million little pieces that fell to my feet.

"I would let him go," I whispered. My voice was brittle.

Jasper whipped around and looked at me.

"You would do what?"

"I'd let you go. If you really wanted to go. I wouldn't keep you here."

His eyes softened as he took a step closer to me. "But why?"

I smiled weakly. "Because. You make sacrifices for the people you love. And you, Jasper Pierce Whitlock, are the thing I love most."

"So what do you say Jasper?" Maria asked, pulling his face back to hers, putting her arms around his neck. "Come back with me. We can start where we ended."

I sank in Emmett's arms. Whether or not Jasper would actually join her, I didn't know. But the possibility was still there. I didn't think he would, but I've been wrong before.

Jasper pushed her away from him and stepped towards me.

"I have no interest in rejoining you, Maria. I thought I loved you once, but that wasn't love. What I have with Alice, that is love. I love her more than I thought was ever possible. I enjoy this diet. I don't have to feel the emotions of my victims. Alice make a climate that I enjoy. I will not leave her now, or ever. She is the thing I love the most."

I smiled, and relaxed in Emmett's arms.

"Well…." Maria said, trailing off. She looked from me to Jasper, and then back again. "I can see that you are happier here. With Mary Alice."

"I am," Jasper said. "I truly am."

"And you don't have any intentions on joining me?"

"No," he said simply.

"Well. The offer will always be open. If you ever change your mind."

"I don't think that will happen. But thank you, Maria. However, I do ask that you please keep your distance, and never try to find me again."

She turned. "Of course. Goodbye Jasper."

"Goodbye Maria."

She ran from the clearing, down the drive, and away from the house. Nobody moved. We all stood listening. Waiting to see if she would turn back.

When she didn't, Emmett dropped his arms and I ran to Jasper. He was turning around as I crashed into him, knocking him to the ground.

As our bodies collided, it sounded as if thunder was cracking through the clouded sky.

He flipped onto his back and I pulled his face to mine in a long kiss.

When I finally pulled away, Jasper smiled widely.

"What did I tell you? I was going to be okay. I told you so!"

"I should have never doubted you," I said, before he pulled me into another kiss.

Everyone around us, grinned just as widely as the smile Jasper and I shared.

"I love you," Jasper said. "And you never have to worry about me leaving. I can't live without you."

I grinned, and hugged him tightly to me.

"I love you too."

I could feel happiness and love spread all throughout my body.

* * *

 **Hey guys! The next chapter is going to have a bigger time jump. Instead of a few months to a few years it's going to be 50 years. It takes place on October of 2004, a few months before the first Twilight book. So I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the Pre-Twilight section!**

 **Follow, Favorite, and review! :)(:**


	49. Isabella Swan

_"I can't live in a world where you don't exist." ~Edward Cullen, New Moon_

* * *

Chapter 49- Isabella Swan

Time went on. The times changed, and our lives. After Maria visited us in Calgary, while Jasper and I were on Isle Esme, we moved again. Then as time went on, more and more of my family was born. I counted them off as the years went by. I even counted the day I was born. Just as quickly, I counted the days they died.

On May 1 and May 2 of 1998, I stayed in mine and Jasper's room. The memories flashed, and I began to dry sob. Jasper stayed with me. Soothing me through the burning of my mark. Because of my lack of ability to Apparate, I couldn't meet the call.

"It's okay," Jasper said, when the memories finally stopped flashing. "They're in better places now."

"I know," I said, shaking my head. "I miss them. I can't get them out of my head."

"I know, my love. But it's going to get better. It'll get easier."

"It's been fifty-six years," I said. "I don't think it will."

"Trust me," Jasper said, smiling as he held me tightly.

I couldn't look into my families lives anymore, and I hadn't done it since we moved to Calgary. Now all I had left of them was memories.

In December of 2003, we moved from Denali, Alaska, where we had lived with Tanya's family, to Forks Washington. This is where they had lived before Jasper and I had come along.

In this school, Edward and I posed as sophomores upon our arrival. Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett posed as juniors. However now, it now almost a year later. October of 2004. "Can you believe it?" I asked Jasper, as I repacked my school bag. "Nearly 57 years together."

"I know," he agreed. "Each day amazes me. You never fail to surprise me."

I smiled, and I looked at the wedding photo that still sat on the bookshelf.

"55 years since that."

"Not quite," he said, putting his chin on the top of my head. "55 years in June."

I turned and smiled. "Will we ever do that again?"

"If you wanted to, we could."

"I don't know," I said.

"You have forever to think about it."

"Are you okay?" I asked, looking into his eyes.

"I'm fine," he said.

I couldn't deny the fact that in the last near 55 years that Jasper and I spent with the Cullens, he hadn't quite adapted to our lifestyle. He slipped up from time to time. I looked over at him, and tried to hide my worry. I didn't like pressing him.

He looked back and me and smiled as he settled onto the bed with his history homework. I leaped onto the bed, and laid at his side.

"Still doing homework?" I asked, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"Saving the best for last," he said. I laughed, and moved off his shoulder. He leaned down and kissed me. I smiled and pulled away.

I looked down at my left arm, and traced the red scar the took up most of my forearm.

"You miss it there don't you."

"Of course I do," I said, looking up to him.

"I'm sorry you can't go back. But James is still out there, and it's too dangerous."

"If the opportunity ever came up, would you want to go with me? Back to Britain?"

"If the opportunity came up, I would go with you. You know I'd go to the ends of the Earth for you."

He kissed my cheek, and turned back to his work.

When he finished, he pulled me into his arms.

"See?" he said. "I told you. Save the best for last."

I chuckled as I pulled his face down to mine. I noticed that in public, Jasper and I weren't like Rosalie and Emmett. We preferred a more private setting.

I paused, and Jasper took notice of this. Flashes began to cloud my vision. They were gone as quickly as they came. I didn't say anything to Jasper. My visions worried him, especially when they show me a stranger. These flashes show me nobody. Just a place I didn't recognize.

"Are you okay?" Jasper asked, his hand moved from around my waist, flipping me onto my side. Once I was laying in his arms, he drew small rings into my back. He did this whenever I was upset, angry, or anxious. It's how he calmed me down.

I nodded. "All good."

He didn't press into it. Just continued to rub circles into my back.

"Jasper?"

"Hmm?"

He paused and looked down at me.

"Are you happy here?"

He looked surprised, but his tone sounded sharp. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"I was thinking about that day that Maria came to find you, when we were in Calgary."

"You think I made the wrong decision staying with you," he guessed. I shook my head.

"I just wonder whether you'd be happier drinking human blood."

"Alice," he said, taking my face into his hands. "I'm happy here with you. I know I'm struggling with this. But I prefer this diet. I can't feel what the animals feel."

"I know. I just don't want you to suffer."

He didn't let go of my face. "I'm not suffering. I'm okay!"

"We'll hunt this weekend," I said. "Just to be sure."

"So we go on the fourth?" Jasper asked. I nodded.

He hugged me again. I pulled his face to mine and kissed him. Each time we kissed, it felt like my dead heart was fluttering.

He pulled away from me.

"I love you," he said. "I always will love you."

"I love you too," I said, patting his cheek. "I loved you from the moment I first saw you. I'll love you until the world ends. And for eons after that."

He smiled.

I pushed his hair out of his eyes. "Still so beautiful," I whispered. He closed his eyes as I traced his face.

When I moved my hand, he opened his eyes and looked at me.

"Did you think that I wouldn't be?" he teased. His face was pulled into a wide grin.

"No," I said. "It just never fails to amaze me how beautiful you are. You're more beautiful then when we first met."

"What about the scars?" he asked. I sat up and kissed the ones trailing up his jawline, and the ones going down his neck.

"They don't change anything. They make you even more beautiful than you'd be without them."

"Really?" he asked. His amusement was written clear on his face.

I nodded. "My little soldier," I said, running my hand through his hair.

He grinned. "How is that? You're shorter and younger."

I laughed. It was true. In all technicality, I was 84. If you counted the years from where I had traveled through time. If you're judging from my actual date of birth however, I was only 28. Jasper, he was 160. But time didn't touch him. He was still beautiful.

"You're happy again," he said with a smile.

"Of course I am," I said, pulling his face down to mine again.

Jasper and I stayed that way for a while. I was suddenly glad that everyone else had gone hunting. What I hadn't figured out was whether it was his joy or my own.

As Jasper moved to kiss me, I felt my vision blur out. I was being pulled from my reality.

"Alice?" Jasper called. His face was being pulled away from me, as the vision took his spot.

 _The Chief of Police, Charlie Swan stood at an airplane terminal. He looked anxious, looking over the heads of people filling the airport._

 _A girl, with long, straight brown hair, with a widow's peak, stumbled off the plane to Charlie. She had chocolate brown eyes, just like his. Her face was heart shaped, and she was very pretty._

 _"It's good to see you, Bells," he said, smiling as he caught the girl. "You haven't changed much. How's Renée?"_

 _"Mom's fine. It's good to see you, too, Dad."_

The scene changed. This time, Bella was in the school cafeteria.

 _"That's Edward and Emmett Cullen, and Rosalie and Jasper Hale. The one who left was Alice Cullen;they all live together with Dr. Cullen and his wife," said the voice of Jessica Stanley._

 _They continued talking, and then I heard:_

 _"Which one is the boy with the reddish brown hair?" Bella asked, peeking at Edward._

 _"That's Edward. He's gorgeous, of course, but don't waste your time. He doesn't date. Apparently none of the girls here are good-looking enough for him," Jessica said sourly._

The scene changed again.

 _Edward and Bella were running through the woods. As they crossed into a patch of sunlight Bella's skin lit up. And then I saw her red eyes, as Edward took her hand._

As the vision began to fade, Jasper's face began to refocus. He held me tightly in his arms.

"Alice? Alice, what is it? What did you see?"

"Chief Swan," I said simply.

"Chief Swan?" His worry was replaced with confusion as he searched my face.

"More specifically his daughter."

"Darlin', you're going to have to stop speaking in riddles. What's going on? Why are you seeing Chief Swan's daughter?"

"Because," I said, a grin spreading on my face. "Isabella Swan is coming to Forks."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know this is a short chapter, but I could only draw it out so much. This is the end of the Pre-Twilight section. And as I've said before, I'm very happy with how the story has come out so far. From this point, I will be using scenes from the Twilight books and movies, from Midnight Sun, The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner, and from outtakes that Stephenie Meyer posted to her website. I have also been using the original story as a structure, but soon we will be back to where I had left off. So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)**


	50. First Sight

_"Jessica Stanley is giving the new Swan girl all the dirt laundry on the Cullen clan." ~Edward Cullen, Midnight Sun_

* * *

Chapter 50-First Sight Alice's POV

When we pulled into the school on the morning of January 18, the atmosphere there was different. I was filled with excitement, which bounced onto Jasper, which bounced to everyone else in the car. We sat in the backseat of Edward's Volvo. Rosalie sat on my other side, and Emmett and Edward sat up front.

"Is today the day?" Jasper asked me, suddenly very uncomfortable, taking my hand. I smiled and nodded.

"Bella will be here today. She should be pulling up any moment now."

Sure enough, as I spoke the loud rumble of a old rusted Chevy came into the lot. It parked in front of the office. The girl from my vision hopped out of the cab of the truck, and walked into the office.

"Come on," Edward said. "We're going to be late."

I looked at Jasper.

"It's going to be okay," I said, patting his cheek before we slid out of the car.

"I know," he said, taking my hand. "I know it'll be okay."

Jasper walked me to class. I have Government first, and he had psychology, which the school counted as a history course. He pulled my hand up to his mouth, and kissed the ring that he gave me on our one year anniversary all those years ago.

"Don't worry, Darlin'. I'm going to be alright."

"If you won't, text me, and I'll come find you."

"Of course,"

He started walking towards his class a couple doors down.

"Jaz, wait!" I called, hurrying to his side. He stopped and turned.

I took off the necklace that held my engagement ring and wedding band, and put it around his neck.

"Take this. You'll have a small piece of me."

It was an idea I had come up with some time ago.

"Thanks Al," he said, putting it around his neck. He kissed my cheek before turning to walk to his class.

"I love you," I murmured. He turned, smiled, and waved, before adjusting his bag on his shoulder.

I walked into the classroom, and took my seat in the back of the class.

"I have to give them credit," Jessica Stanley said to Lauren Mallory. They sat a good deal away from me, so I stayed quiet as I listened to the talk around me. "Weird as Alice Cullen may be, she and Jasper make a cute couple."

"I can't figure out what he sees in her though," Lauren said. She and Jessica both peaked over at me then turned back to each other. "I mean, I'm not saying that she's not pretty, because she is to a certain degree, but still. He could be with anyone else. Besides, they all say Alice is sick. I'm surprised that he hasn't left her for somebody else. Somebody healthy."

"I just think it's weird. They're brother and sister for crying out loud."

"Give it a rest," Jennifer Ford said to them. "Just leave them alone. I am so tired of hearing about the Cullens all the time. And even if Alice is sick, Jasper loves her. Because she's sick doesn't mean he should leave her."

Jessica and Lauren scoffed and then they both glanced at me one more time, and my eyes flickered up at them. They quickly dropped their eyes and turned back around.

When Jennifer turned to glance at me, I gave her a friendly smile.

I smiled to myself, and settling into my seat, pulling my notebook out of my bag and onto my desk.

When Government ended, I met up with Jasper outside of his psychology room.

"Did you have a good class?" I asked, tilting my head back as he pecked me on the lips.

"It wasn't so bad."

He put an arm around my shoulders as we started walking.

I started humming the song Edward played for mine and Jasper's first dance at our wedding.

He smiled down at me, and shook his head.

"What happened in Government?" he asked, as he walked me to Trigonometry.

"Jessica Stanley thinks that despite me being weird, we make a good couple. Lauren Mallory says that because I'm sick, you probably don't want me anymore. That you would probably be happier with someone healthier."

Jasper shook his head.

"Never. I only have eyes for you, Darlin'."

He pulled out the rings around his neck, and then kissed my set.

We made it to my class, and he placed his wedding band around my neck.

"Don't listen to what they say, Alice. You know I'll never love anyone else."

"I don't believe a single word," I said, smiling. "If you didn't love me, you wouldn't have married me."

He chuckled, and then kissed my cheek.

"I'll see you at lunch."

"Bye."

My other two classes passed by in a blur. My fourth period, was gym with Edward. This was one of the classes I didn't particularly enjoy. I didn't like having to be slow, and pretending to be weak. I did however enjoy the competitiveness between Edward and I. Coach Clapp had told us yesterday, that today, we'd have an opening lecture today, so we didn't have to dress out.

"Do you have any classes with Bella?"

He shook his head. "No."

"Well the day isn't out. I won't have any classes with her."

We didn't linger on the topic of Bella Swan.

"I noticed Jasper had your rings," he said, as we neared the spot in the corner of the gym where the class sat.

"I thought they'd help keep him calm."

"They do," Edward assured me. "It helps him remember who he's fighting for."

When gym ended, Edward and I walked together go the cafeteria. I already knew Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie were already there waiting.

When I stepped in the door, I automatically looked over to our table, where Jasper sat looking more tense than usual. He looked over to me, then relaxed. I smiled at him as Edward and I went through the line, not paying attention to what we grabbed.

The second I sat down, Jasper automatically reached for my hand.

I squeezed his hand.

"Hey!" I said. "How is your day going?"

"It's been okay so far," he said. His voice sounded far away.

I knew he was struggling. I knew there was no way I could help him. Nothing other than assuring his that I was here.

"That's good," I said quietly. Jasper didn't respond. He didn't look over at me either.

 _Edward?_ I thought loudly. I hoped my voice would overpower the others. His eyes snapped to mine, before he looked away. I knew I had his attention. _How is he holding up?_

The corners of his mouth pulled into a frown, and I suddenly because very very anxious.

 _Is there any danger?_ I asked, urgently. I tried focusing on Jasper. Skimming through the immediate future. Jasper's hand squeezed mine, and I refocused. Jasper still didn't look at me.

Edward looked from one wall, sighed then turned back. I relaxed into my chair.

I glanced into Edwards mind.

 _Stop worrying, Alice. He is going to be okay._

 _Let me know if it gets to bad._ I paused for a moment. _Thank you for doing this._

Edward didn't answer, and his thoughts quickly changed.

We sat in silence for a few moments. Suddenly the heaters blew the scent of a girl named Whitney in our direction. I had only noticed it because Jasper had become more tense then he already was.

Jasper squeezed my hand, and then suddenly I felt Edward kick Jasper's chair.

Edward replayed the scene for me in his thoughts as Jasper quietly apologized.

"You weren't going to do anything," I said to Jasper quietly, rubbing circles into the back of his hand. "I could see that."

This was a lie. Jasper had made the decision subconsciously. When Edward brought his attention back to reality, he changed his mind. I looked between him and the girl.

"It helps if you see them as people," I continued as I looked at the girl. "Her name is Whitney. She has a baby sister she adores. Her mother invited Esme to that garden party, do you remember?"

"I know who she is," Jasper snapped, he turned to look out of the window. I flinched away from him.

I knew he was getting tired of my encouragement. I pushed him a lot. I couldn't deny that. But I worried about him. My mind suddenly wondered to Maria. When she came to visit us in Calgary. I thought about what she said. He would never truly be satisfied with this diet. But I couldn't lose hope. Not just yet. I had promised myself, that if I thought Jasper couldn't do it, I'd give him the option to leave. But Edward told me that he'd never leave me.

I sighed and stood, shaking off his hand. It stayed in the air, as if he had just started to reach out to something. I grabbed my tray filled with uneaten food, leaving my husband and siblings sitting alone at the table. I could hear Jasper groan behind me.

"Al," he called after me. I didn't turn around.

I dumped my tray and walked straight out of the doors without looking back to Jasper.

I was annoyed with Jasper. I understood he was struggling, but I didn't enjoy him snapping at me because I was trying to help. I never stayed mad at Jasper long. Although this wasn't anger. It was annoyance.

I hung out outside my English class while I waited for the bell to ring. I spent the entire next class period looking into Jasper's immediate and distant future. I saw him sitting in his current class class, clutching my rings, then I saw him lying on the bed with his eyes closed, as I curled up at his side. But he never made any decisions to harm any of the humans.

I had my last class of the day with him. I wasn't sure whether or not he'd still be upset with me. I felt that he had perfectly good reasoning. I left my class, and immediately headed to the French room.

While I was walking, I wondered what happened after I had left lunch. Did Jasper's anger fade? What happened with Bella Swan? The conversation between Jessica Stanley and Bella Swan was one I kind of wanted to hear.

Ms. When I walked into the French room, it was completely empty. With the exception of Mrs. Molina, of course.

"Good afternoon, Miss. Cullen," Mrs. Molina said, as I sat down at mine and Jasper's table. "Where is Mr. Hale?"

"On the way here, I suppose," I said.

"Don't you usually walk together?"

Even without Jasper there, I could tell that she was uncomfortable. The teachers were full aware of mine and Jasper's relationships, as well as Emmett and Rosalie's. Much like in Calgary, they were told that I had a health condition, and they knew that most of the time when I was gone, Jasper would be too.

"Usually. However, today we had an argument at lunch, so I decided to walk on my own today. It gives us both time to cool off."

"I hope you work things out," she said, with a small smile.

"Thank you."

She didn't continue the discussion any further, and I was okay with the silence.

A few people filled in, and there was still no sign of Jasper. Maybe he had decided to skip. Maybe he was still upset with me, and didn't want to talk to me.

As my thoughts began to wonder, I saw Jasper in the doorway out of the corner of my eye. He scanned the almost empty room until he laid eyes of me, and he sighed in what I hoped was relief.

"Alice," he breathed as he took his seat next to me.

"Hey," I said, as he sat down.

He smiled weakly.

"Good, you're still talking to me."

"Of course I'm talking to you."

"You're annoyed with me," he said. It wasn't a question. Of course Jasper would know. I could never hide my feelings from Jasper.

"I am," I said, tilting my head up to face him.

"I'm sorry," he said, taking my left hand in both of his. "I shouldn't have snapped."

"It's okay," I said, smiling at him. "I was being pushy."

"But that's just it," he said, shaking his head. "You weren't being pushy! You were trying to help me. And if you were being pushy it was for all the right reasons."

He flashed the rings that were around his neck.

"You only did it because you love me."

"I do. More than anything. I want to help you, Jazz, but I can't when you snap at me like that."

He smiled again and he kissed the back of my hand.

"I'm sorry for snapping, Al."

"Don't apologize. It's okay."

He smiled.

"I love you," he murmured.

"I love you too."

"I promise, I'm going to make this up to you."

The class was filled then, and we couldn't continue, but quicker than the human eye could see, Jasper leaned over to give me a quick kiss.

His mood didn't seem to change too much.

"You're still not happy," I murmured, glancing at our hands.

"It's not you," he said, squeezing my hand. "I'm just disappointed in myself."

"Is there anything I can do to help you?"

He shook his head.

"I'm afraid not, Al. Just be patient with me."

"Always," I said, squeezing my hand.

Mrs. Molina never called on me or Jasper, so I figured I'd return to searching for Jasper's future. I didn't see anything that seemed to raise any red flags. I saw the two of us doing homework, and the two of us hunting tonight. It then switched to a scene of the two of us laying on the bed. Jasper was reading and I was curled up by his side with my eyes closed. I noticed that Jasper kept leaning over to kiss my forehead, or my cheek. Each time he did so, a small smile would creep onto my face.

I checked every single possibility. I couldn't see Jasper going after this girl, or any human for that matter. So should I still be worried? I expected that he would be better if I took him hunting tonight. We'd leave after we got done with homework, which wouldn't take more then ten minutes to do. So if we got back at around three, we'd have more than enough time to clean up and get ready for school. It'd give us about eleven hours to feed. I also wondered if doing for Jasper what Helen and Tobias did for me would help. He only had a few more months left of school here. Was it worth it to try it now?

Edward said that Jasper did better with my rings. It helped him to remember what he was fighting for. So maybe for the last few months I would leave my rings with Jasper, putting them on when I got home, and then giving them to him before our first class. Sitting on my chest, I could still feel Jasper's ring, so as I continued to search through the different paths, I held tightly onto Jasper's hand.

"Alice?" Jasper said softly in my ear. "Come on, Darlin'. Class is over."

He placed a hand under my elbow, and pushed up to get my attention. I snapped back from the visions, and turned to look at him.  
Everyone around us were still gathering their stuff, but Jasper had mine and his stuff in his hand.  
I looked back to the table, where my notebook still sat. Comparing my notes to the board, everything was there. A sheet labeled as homework sat on top of it. I looked back up at Jasper.

"Come on, sweetheart," he said, pushing on my elbow again, helping me to stand. "It's time to go home."

I grabbed my notebook and the paper, and put them in my bag. I attempted to take the bag from Jasper, but he shook his head.

"I'll carry it."

He kept an hand on my elbow.

"Are you okay, Alice?" Mrs. Molina asked, eying Jasper's hand.

"She's just feeling light headed," Jasper said, as I leaned back onto him.

"Feel better," she said, with a smile.

Jasper guided me to Edward's Volvo. Rosalie and Emmett were already inside. He opened the door to the front seat, and kissed my cheek.  
"I'll take the back," he said, helping me sit before sliding into the back.

We waited for Edward to come.

"Rematch after school?" Emmett asked Jasper.

Jasper shook his head. "Don't feel like it today."

I reached behind me and patted his leg.

"Did the two of you make up from lunch?" Rosalie asked me.

I nodded.

"Yes."

I turned and looked at Rosalie, flipping through her head.

 _He was upset when you left,_ she thought, looking me in the eye. _I don't blame you, of course, but Jasper...he looked heartbroken._

I turned to look at Jasper, who was looking out the window.

I gave her an apologetic look, but before we could continue any further, Edward slid into the car, gasping for air.

"What the hell happened to you?" Emmett demanded.

Edward didn't respond. He threw the car in reverse, and sped out of the lot.

Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper all looked at me for an answer. I had been so busy focusing on Jasper, I hadn't seen anything in Edward's future.

I focused away from Jasper to Edward. I could see him speeding away from Forks. Nobody was with him, and nobody followed.

"You're leaving?" I whispered.

"Am I?" His tone wasn't friendly.

"Oh," I said, as a new vision took the old one's spot. Edward's course changed.

Bella Swan laid dead in the middle of her kitchen. Edward stood over her, his eyes blazing crimson. I saw the search for Bella's murder, and Carlisle and I working out times when we could leave and start over again.

The scene changed to Charlie Swan's kitchen. Bella stood with her back to the door, where Edward stood. He slowly made his way to her. I could feel the appeal as her scent drove him forward.

"Stop," Edward groaned.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. The vision shifted again. It looked like Edward was heading to Denali. "I'll miss you," I said. "No matter how short a time you're gone. But should you go to Denali, send mine and Jasper's love to Helen and Tobias."

Edward didn't say anything. He just drove. When we got closer to the driveway, I spoke again.

"Drop us off here," I said. "You should go explain it to Carlisle yourself."

Edward nodded, and the car skidded to a stop. Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper got out. Jasper looked at me, his eyes full of concern.

"You will do the right thing," I ordered him. "She's Charlie Swan's only family. It would kill him too. I'll be watching."

I slid out of the car, anxiety filling me completely. As Edward drove away, Jasper pulled me into his arms, trying to calm me back down.

We didn't run at first.

"What the hell was that all about?" Rosalie demanded.

"Bella Swan. I saw Edward killing her."

"So he left?" Jasper asked.

I nodded. "To keep him from harming the girl."

"Where is he going?" Emmett asked.

"It looks like he's going to Denali."

We started running now. Up the path where we'd have to face Esme.

When we approached the big house everyone turned to me.

"Perhaps you should talk to her Alice," Rosalie said.

I nodded. I after all did know more than anyone.

Jasper put an arm around my waist as we walked into the house. Sending nothing but calmness my way.

"Thank you," I said softly.

Esme darted from upstairs to greet us all. She glanced at each face, and her own fell when she realized one of us were missing.

"Where's Edward?" she asked, looking immediately at me.

"He's going to say goodbye to Carlisle," I said softly. "Then he's going to Denali."

Her eyes grew sad as I spoke. I started to shrink behind Jasper.

"But why?" she asked.

"He had thoughts of killing Isabella Swan. He left to protect her until he could control himself."

"How long will he be gone?"

"He hasn't decided," I whispered. Jasper began rubbing circles into my back.

"It's okay, Al," he whispered in my ear. "He's going to be okay. You know that. More than anyone."

Jasper was right. I knew he was. I knew perfectly well that Edward would be okay, and do the right thing. But I still worried. I worried for Edward, just like I worry for Jasper.

We headed upstairs to work through the small amount of homework we both had.

"How about we go hunting, later," I asked Jasper. "It's been a good couple of weeks. I think it could do you some good."

"Sounds good to me," his voice still sounded so far away.

"You're still upset," I said, squatting in front of the desk chair that he sat in.

"How could I not be Alice?" he asked, putting his face in his hands.

I sat on his lap, and his arms immediately went around my waist.

"Because. I know you can do it," I said, resting my forehead on his neck. "You won't hurt anybody."

"Except you," he said quietly.

I pulled away. He wasn't looking at me. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

"I got angry with you today. You were upset with me."

"You had good reason to be angry with me, Jasper. I was putting a lot of pressure on you. We went over this."

"But I shouldn't have snapped," he said.

"Couples fight, Jasper. It's natural."

"Always so optimistic," he said, smiling weakly.

I kissed his cheek, before he pulled me into a long kiss.

"Of course I am," I said when he pulled away. "Because we never stay mad at each other for more than a few hours."

When Jasper and I went back downstairs, Carlisle had come home.

"Alice," he greeted. "Jasper."

"Did he come to you?" I asked.

He nodded. "He told me to tell you that he'll tell Helen and Tobias to call you."

I smiled. "Jasper and I are going hunting. We'll be back in time to get ready for school in the morning."

Carlisle nodded, and we immediately started from the house, and through the woods.

"Where to?" I asked Jasper.

We ran all the way to Canada. Pausing along the way for a couple of doe.

"How're you feeling?" I asked, when we were on the way back.

"Better," he said, leaning on a large rock. He picked up the rings around his neck. "They helped," he said.

"Keep them for as long as you need them," I said, patting his cheek.

He smiled and wrapped his arms around my waist. I looked into his liquid gold eyes. I ran my finger over the two scars over his left eye.

"Shall we start heading back?" he asked.

"Race you there!" I said, twisting out of his hold.

Jasper laughed, but he still chased after me. All the way home.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I gather that if I want to bring Alice and Jasper to life, they have to have an argument from time to time. No couple is perfect. No couple is fight-free. Because the main idea of Twilight focuses around Edward and Bella, we don't get to see much into the private lives of the other characters. So this, I hoped would be more of an insight. I hope you enjoyed the chapter though!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review!**


	51. Edward Returns

_It's great. He's coming home." ~Glenn Howard_

* * *

Chapter 51- Edward Returns Alice's POV

Jasper and I made it back to the house at around 4:00 the next morning. Rosalie, Emmett and Esme all sat in the living room.

"Where's Carlisle?" Jasper asked.

"He was called in while you two were gone," Esme said. She had her eyes closed, almost as if she was asleep, but she looked more peaceful than any sleeping person I knew.

Jasper and I took the open loveseat, my legs over his lap.

"How're you feeling?" Esme asked Jasper. She had opened her eyes, and was looking at us.

"I feel a lot better," he said, as he flashed a grin in my direction. Esme grinned, as I placed his ring back around his neck.

"Well at least one of my kids are feeling better," she said leaning forward to hug him. She pulled me into the hug as well.

Edward must have reached Denali, because at that moment, the silver phone in my pocket buzzed. It flashed to my ear before it anyone could hear it ring.

"Helen?" I asked, sitting up a tad straighter.

"Good morning!" she said enthusiastically. "I figured I'd call. Edward said you had a few hours before school started."

"So he's there?"

"He made it here about an hour ago."

"Why'd you wait so long to call?"

"He figured you would have taken Jasper hunting. He said usually if you go hunting on school nights, you'd be back around this time."

I smiled. "He guessed right. Jasper and I got back around five minutes ago."

"How is Jasper? Edward mentioned that you two got into an argument yesterday."

I clenched my jaw. "It was a very small argument. Anyways, it was none of Edward's business."

In the background, I could hear Tobias snickering in the back.

I growled, and I could picture Tobias putting his hands up in defence.

"Well besides the everyday, married couples squabble, is everything going okay? Is Jasper holding up alright?"

"He's doing well. We have our little methods to keep him on track," I said smiling at him. He frowned at me. I simply took his hand, and then I looked around, and everyone's face, including Jasper's frown, had the same question etched onto their faces.

"Hey, Helen?"

"Yeah?"

"Did he ever say when he was coming back?"

She let out a long sigh.

"No, Alice. He didn't. I'm sorry."

I met Esme's eyes, shook my head, and quickly looked down, not wanting to meet her eyes. I blamed myself in a way. If I hadn't been so focused on Jasper, I would have seen it sooner. Maybe he would have stayed.

"I didn't think so," I murmured. "But it never hurts to ask."

"Don't worry, Alice," Helen said. "You know Edward just as well as I do. He won't stay away for too long. You guys are his family."

"I know."

She was right. I did know Edward. I knew he would come home. But the matter was when. We had just come to Forks. We all liked it here. But if it meant having Edward come home, we'd all move again.

"I know you're right."

"How much time do you have left?" she asked. "I don't want you to be late for school."

I looked around for a clock. "I think I still have about a half an hour minutes before I actually go to start getting ready. I need to take a shower. I accidentally got some blood in my hair moving around the animal bodies."

"Do you want me to go ahead and let you go? I'll probably call you back sometime in the next few weeks."

"Wait! I wanna talk to her!" Tobias whined.

"You're acting like a child," Helen said. Her voice was filled with amusement. I smiled and laughed at the two. The phone shifted between the two.

"Alice!" Tobias said just as enthusiastically as Helen had.

"Good morning, Tobias," I said, still smiling.

"How are you, petite sorcière?" he asked.

"Good for the most part."

"How's Jasper?"

"He's good," I said. "How is Tanya and everyone up there?"

"We're all doing good. Helen and I will have to come come down and see you soon," he said.

"I would love that," I said.

"We'll have to work something out."

I talked to Helen and Tobias for a while longer before they let me go to get ready for school.

"I'm going to call the school," Esme said to me, before heading up the stairs. "They'll be giving all of Edward's work to you at the end of each day until he gets back."

"So I have to stop by the office?"

"No. Each teacher will give you his work at the end of the day."

"Can do. Then I'll put it all in his room."

"Thank you, Alice," Esme said, kissing my cheek before I darted up the stairs behind Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie.

When we left that morning, we took Emmett's jeep. Edward had taken Carlisle's car, so Carlisle used Edward's. Because we all rode together, I never bothered to get a car, neither did Jasper. We had sold the ones we had gotten in the 50's a long time ago. But Rosalie, Edward, and Emmett, all got their own cars.

The school was different than yesterday. Bella was already there, surrounded with a few of the many friends I was sure she made yesterday. Not as many people stared.

"Do you want these back?" Jasper asked,when we got out of the car, motioning to the rings he still wore around his neck.

"Do you feel that you still need them?" I asked. He shook his head.

"I want to try without them," he said, taking them from around his neck, and placing them around my own. He didn't let them fall. Instead, he pulled the rings up to his lips, and kissed them, before placing them over my still heart.

"If you change your mind come find me," I said, pulling him into a hug. "I'm so proud of you for continuing to do this."

"I told you before. I would do anything for you."

He held onto me for a little while longer before we started to walk to class.

"I'll see you guys at lunch," I called to Rosalie and Emmett. Both waved and started walking in the opposite direction.

I walked to lunch with Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie. Jasper didn't like me walking alone, and Rosalie and Emmett followed.

"Can you get Edward's work from Spanish?" I asked Emmett.

He nodded.

"I'll give it to you when we get in the car."

I nodded, and thanked him.

"How'd it go today?" I asked Jasper as soon as I sat down.

He smiled. "It was bearable."

"Perhaps that what we need to start doing," I said. "Hunting before the school day."

"But we can't hunt everyday."

I nodded. "I know. But we'll find a way. We always do."

Jasper and I talked about various classes until the end of lunch where he walked me to my next class.

He kissed my cheek when we got to the door. I put my hand to his cheek, and pulled his forehead down to mine.

"Two more classes," I murmured. "Then we go home."

"One more then I get to see you."

I smiled, and kissed him again.

"Be good," I said, patting his neck.

"Always am."

With that, he headed across the school to his next class.

Jasper and I would go around to collect Edward's work after French before meeting Rosalie and Emmett.

"Have you seen anything?"

I shook my head.

"I'm going to look ahead. See if I can find anything."

He nodded.

I searched for the entire class period, and I couldn't find him. Edward was sure to not make any decisions.

"Anything?" Emmett asked, as Jasper and I slipped into the jeep.

"Nothing."

"Don't worry," Jasper said. "He'll turn up."

Six days had passed. Edward didn't call, and he didn't turn up in any of my visions. Carlisle and I advised the others to give Edward space. I collected Edward's work, placing it all in a large stack in his room on top of his stereo where I knew he would find it. Each file represented a subject that was written on the front of each.

After six days, nearing ten o'clock, Helen and Tobias called me back. I sat up in mine and Jasper's room talking to them, with Jasper at my side.

We talked about school, and work. They asked Jasper about what he'd do after high school this time around.

"I think I'm going to stay here until Alice graduates."

"You don't want to go to college?" Tobias asked.

"I already have several history degrees," Jasper said.

"That's true. But what about something close by? Like the University of Washington or something."

Jasper shook his head and buried his face into my hair. He was done talking about it.

"He doesn't trust himself enough," I said. "Every other time he's went to college, I was there."

I had earned degrees in fashion design and international business. I made money for the family playing in stocks.

"Tobias, drop it," Helen snapped.

"Sorry," Tobias said, defensively.

I leaned onto Jasper's shoulder.

"How is Edward?" I asked, changing the topic before Tobias could start again. Jasper didn't move from where he buried his face in my hair, so I simply began running a hand through his.

Tobias paused for a moment. "Well he's currently not here."

"He left Denali?" I asked sitting up.

"No, no, no. Nothing like that. He's just not at the house. Tanya went to go talk to him. Kate, Irina, and Helen tried getting her to leave him alone. She wouldn't budge though."

I sighed and laid back down.

"You haven't seen anything?" Helen questioned. Much like Jasper and I, they sat with the phone on speaker.

"Not from Edward."

"From anyone?"

"I guess they've just been tuned out."

These were words that had been spoken all too soon. I dropped the phone as my eyes glazed over.

"Alice?" Helen asked, her fading voice filled with concern. "Jasper? Are you there?"

 _Edward ran through a field of snow, running to Carlisle's car. He quickly jumped inside of the car, and began to drive away. The scene flashed around him as he sped into the night._

"Alice," Jasper called from far away. "What is it? What do you see?"

"Edward," I said, trying to focus on the vision.

I could hear the sounds of the rest of our family making their way to the room.

"Where is he, Alice?"

I tried to focus back on the vision.

 _We were all standing outside of the big house. Snow was falling around us, and Carlisle's car pulled into the yard. It came to a stop._

 _Edward stepped out of the car with a wide smile._

My vision began to come back to me. I searched for Jasper's face.

"Edward," I repeated.

"Where is he, Alice?" Esme asked, placing a hand on mine.

"He's coming home," I said, my voice still sounding far away, as everyone sighed in relief.

"Jasper?" Helen was calling from the phone.

Jasper quickly grabbed the phone that I had dropped, and quickly began filling Helen in.

I looked between Carlisle and Esme.

"He's coming home."

They grinned and pulled me into a tight hug.

It finally hit me. Edward was coming back to us.

"When will he come?" Carlisle asked, sitting on the bed at my feet.

"He'll be here before school tomorrow."

"What time?"

"Five minutes after the snow starts to fall."

Emmett's face lit up like a child on Christmas.

"It's going to snow?"

I nodded.

Jasper tapped my shoulder, and held the phone to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Alice?" Helen asked, in a panicky voice. "What did you see? Are you okay?"

"I'm okay. I'm fine. It's Edward. He's coming home!"

Helen sighed a long sigh of relief.

Jasper took the phone from me and hit a button.

"I told you she was fine," Jasper said.

Everyone within earshot began to laugh. Tobias's booming laugh matched Emmett's, even through the phone.

"Well we're going to go ahead and go," Tobias said, when it was quiet again. "We'll call you again soon."

"Bye Alice!" Helen said. "Bye Jasper!"

"Bye Helen! Bye Tobias!"

I snapped the phone shut, and then placed it on the table.

"When will the snow fall?" Jasper asked me.

"A little after one."

Everyone began to clear out the room, and we all waited.

"Jasper?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think Edward will forgive me?"

"Forgive you? For what?"

"It's my fault. I was so busy looking out for your future, I didn't see his. I'm why he went away."

"It's not your fault," Jasper said.

"But isn't it?"

"No, Alice."

I sighed, and pulled him close to me.

"How're you feeling?"

"My energy is going up," I said. "I'll probably be out next week."

Jasper nodded.

"Come on then. It's almost time."

We made our way downstairs, and then the six of us went to wait outside.

Jasper sat in the grass, and I sat in his lap. He rocked me as I watched the sky.

I loved the snow. Jasper always sat outside with me on the days that it snowed. If my energy was especially low, then Jasper would carry me outside.

We all waited for the sleek black car, and before long, the snow began to fall.

"He'll be here soon," I said, excitedly.

"Calm down, sweetheart," Jasper murmured in my ear. "Please?"

I relaxed in his arms, and from the bottom of the drive, I could hear tires.

Jasper rocked me from side to side, his body moving with mine. He hummed in my ear, keeping me in one spot. When the headlights flashed against my face, and against Jasper's, I moved to stand up, but Jasper pulled me back down just as quickly.

"Give him a moment to breathe, Darlin'."

Everyone else crowded around the car, while I looked up to the sky at the falling snow.

When I looked back down again, everyone had cleared the way, and Edward was watching me.

Jasper let me go, and I darted to Edward's side, pulling him into a hug.

"Hey, Al," Edward said, smiling. He hadn't called me Al in a long time.

"It's good to see you," I said, as I stepped back next to Jasper.

"Jasper, how are you?"

Jasper must have given him a mental response because he didn't answer out loud, yet Edward looked down at me, then back to Jasper.

"Don't worry about me, Alice," he said, as Jasper put his arm around my shoulder. "You know I'm going to be okay."

"I know," I said. "Just like I know Jasper will be okay. But I still worry."

Edward smiled weakly.

 _I'm sorry, Edward,_ I thought to him. _I was trying to make sure Jasper was going to be okay. If I had been paying attention to anything else, you wouldn't have left._

"It's not your fault," Edward said.

"I can't shake the feeling that it is."

"Okay," Carlisle said from behind us. "How about we let Edward put the car in the garage. Alice can go up and get the makeup school work, then we can all get the chance to see him."

I nodded and darted in the house and up the stairs to Edward's room. I grabbed the stack of papers, and flew down the stairs, making it back to Jasper's side as Edward stepped out of the garage.

I stepped towards Edward, and placed the papers in his hands. Jasper followed me.

"It's all separated by subject. Excluding gym. You just missed the volleyball unit."

"Thank you, Alice."

I smiled and looked up into the falling snow.

"Such a beautiful night for you to come home."

I looked back down at Edward, offered a smile, and jumped into one of the trees as Emmett hurled a snowball at Jasper's head.

I moved through the trees, looking for a spot where I could watch Emmett and Jasper's snowball fight below. I settled into one of the branches, and watched below as Jasper dodged the snowballs with ease.

Sometime had passed, and they began throwing a few at Edward, who had laid down in the snow. When he didn't, they turned back on each other. I looked at Edward, who didn't seem to notice me. Or if he did, he just didn't make it obvious. I dropped from the trees, to Edward's side, and laid down next to him.

 _I'm glad you're home_ I thought, looking up to the clouds.

"I know you are," he said. "Now you can stop worrying Helen and Tobias."

I frowned.

 _I wasn't worrying them. I like talking to them. They brought me here.I owe them my life. I asked about you, yes. I just wanted to make sure that you're okay._

"I know. I'm sorry."

 _Don't worry. I'll leave you alone now._

I returned to my tree, and watched Jasper with a wide smile.

When we made it to school the next morning, the snow had stopped, and started back up again. I had paused along the side of the parking lot to look at the snow.

"Come on, Al," Jasper said, pulling me to class. "You can't be late."

I looked away from the snow to his face. He was smiling.

"Do you think Edward's going to be okay?"

"I think he will," Jasper said. He leaned on the wall, pulling me in front of him. He had my rings around his neck. He told me when he got here that he felt like he was going to be okay, but wanted to keep them just in case.

I kissed the rings, and placed them back over his heart.

"Will you be okay?"

"I told you," he said, taking my face in his hand. "It's just to be safe."

"I know, I know," I said, closing my eyes. "You'll be okay."

His kissed my forehead while my eyes were still closed. I placed a gloved hand on his cheek.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too. Now go. Get to class."

He turned from me and started heading to psychology, and I watched him for a few seconds longer before turning into the classroom.

Classes seemed to go by quickly again. Before long, gym was half way through.

"They're going to be waiting for us after class," I said as I hit the volleyball to Edward.

"Shouldn't surprise me. Who'd you walk with to lunch over the past few days?"

"Em, Jaz, and Rosalie. Jaz didn't want me walking alone, and Emmett and Rosalie walked with him to get to me."

We stayed quiet for a couple moments while we hit the ball back and forth. We eventually changed the topic, and flipped between different topics over the remaining time.

When we got outside, Jasper kissed my cheek, and took my hand. People were throwing balls of mush through the parking lot. I scooped up a small amount of the mush on the ground and put it in my pocket, with my non-gloved hand holding it, turning it into ice.

"I think I'm going to check and see if anything will happen in Biology today," I said to Edward.

"Don't bother," Edward said. "Nothing will."

"You can never be too safe," I said. He sighed as I began to focus on his future. My eyes unfocused in front of me.

I felt Jasper put a hand under my elbow, guiding me into the cafeteria doors.

As far as I could see, Edward had made the decision to not harm the girl. They looked like they were talking.

"It's going to be okay," I finally breathed.

"Of course it is," Edward grumbled faintly.

I focused on lunch. Where we would be versus where Bella would be.

"She's not here yet, but the way she comes in….she won't be downwind if we sit in our regular spot."

"Of course we'll sit in our regular spot," Edward snapped. "Stop it Alice. You're getting on my nerves."

The comment hurt whether he intended for it too or not. I blinked as Jasper was helping me into my seat. I looked into Edward's eyes.

"Hmm. I think you're right."

"Of course I am," he muttered. Jasper took my hand and squeezed it. He then glanced to Edward and grinned. I could see they were having a private conversation.

Edward began sifting through the thoughts of the humans in the room. He focused on those that we had seen Bella stay with throughout the week.

"Anything new?" Jasper asked as he squeezed my hand.

"Nothing….she must not have said anything."

Each one of us raised an eyebrow. I glanced over to Jasper, then back to Edward.

"Maybe, you're not as scary as you think you are," Emmett said, chuckling. "I bet I could have frightened her better than that."

Of course he could. Between the height and the muscles, Emmett would have been terrifying if I had encountered him in my human life. Although I could probably put a stunning spell on him, and bind him faster than he could move.

"Wonder why…?" Emmett puzzled again.

"We've been over that. I don't know."

"She's coming in," I said. Everyone snapped their attention to me. "Try to look human."

"Human you say?" Emmett asked.

As he held up his right hand, I saw him holding up a ball of ice. Right at that instance, I saw flickers of him hurling it towards my face. As the ball of ice hurtled towards me, I flicked it away, where it went crashing into a wall. The brick cracked and the ice shattered. Everyone looked around trying to find the culprit. A few shrieks nearby where heard.

"Very human, Emmett. Why don't you punch through a wall while you're at it?" Rosalie said.

"It would look more impressive if you did it, baby," he responded.

Jasper and I shook our heads while Edward forced a smile.

Sometime passed. Bella had said she was feeling sick, and didn't get anything but a soda. Mike Newton, who always seemed very cautious of Jasper and I, seemed very concerned about her.

I elbowed Edward.

She's going to look over here.

Edward clenched his teeth.

"Ease up, Edward," Emmett said. "Honestly. So you kill one 's hardly the end of the world."

"You would know."

Emmett laughed. "You've got to learn to get over things. Like I do. Eternity is a long time to wallow in guilt."

I took this opportunity to take the ball of ice that I hit in my pocket, and throw it into Emmett's unsuspecting face. He blinked then looked at me.

"You asked for it," he said grinning evilly.

He shook his dripping hair in my direction. I leaned back, and Jasper leaned with me.

"Ew!" Rosalie exclaimed as she leaned away from him.

I laughed, and everyone else joined in.

Despite everyone who's laughing had started to quiet, my laugh still rang out. I used my empty tray as a shield from Emmett. I leaned closer to Jasper.

For the rest of the hour, Bella did not look back over here. Jasper and I talked about when we'd hunt again, then Rosalie and I talked about a few items of clothes I was designing for her.

When the period ended, Edward stayed seated, as did the rest of us.

"I think that it's okay." I was very hesitant about saying this. I knew how easily his mind could change. "You're mind is set. I think you'll make it through the hour."

"Why push it, Edward?" Jasper asked, repeating the words Edward had said to him many times. Despite trying not to, he sounded smug. "Go home. Take it slow."

"Stop teasing him, Jasper," I said, thumping the back of his head.

"What's the big deal?" Emmett asked. "Either he will or he won't kill her. Might as well get it over with, either way."

"I don't want to move yet," Rosalie complained. "We're almost out of school, Emmett. Finally!"

"No, Rose, I think it really will be okay. It's firming up. I'm ninety-three percent sure that nothing bad will happen if he goes to class." I looked over to Edward who was staring right back at me.

"Go to class," Edward ordered pushing away from the table.

I began to worry as he walked away from us.

"Do you want me to walk you to class?" Jasper asked as he and I pushed away from the table.

I shook my head. "You'll be late. I'll see you in French."

I pecked him on the lips before leaving him standing as I began heading to my class.

I focused on my next class as hard as I could. Towards the end, I was pulled into a vision against my will. I saw Edward killing the girl, right there in the class.

When I pulled out of my vision, Mr. Mason was turning to face me. My wide eyes must have tipped him off that something was up.

"Miss. Cullen?" he asked. I didn't look up. "Miss. Cullen!" he said with a touch more force in his voice. My eyes snapped to his. "Is there something wrong?"

"Can I be excused?" I asked quietly. Everyone had turned to stare.

"We're near the end of class, Miss. Cullen."

"Can I please be excused," I asked again. My voice was much louder and much more urgent this time. My eyes flashed, when he didn't respond right away He paused for a moment, and everyone leaned away from me. "Mr. Mason, please! I feel sick."

"Fine, you can be excused."

I gathered my stuff and quickly went from the room. I focused back on the vision, trying to catch a time frame. I walked dazed, eyes unfocused, through the parking lot to the science building. When I made it about halfway there, the bell rang, and I saw the vision shift. Edward quickly got up and walked from the room. Bella Swan was left alive.

I sighed a sigh of relief before turning away, heading to French.

When I got there, Jasper was already waiting.

"Everything okay?" he asked as I sat down.

I nodded. "Just a little worried about Edward."

"Don't be worried. He'll be okay."

"I know," I breathed. But saying this out loud, I realized how unsure I sounded.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know I just uploaded, but these past few chapter I used the original story as a base, and added and deleted things from that. The next few chapters, I am going to try and space them out a bit from the last few chapters that have been posted. So I hope you enjoyed the chapters!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review (:**


	52. Car Accident

_"Accidents will happen, sometimes, no matter how careful a man may be." ~ Wilkie Collins_

* * *

Chapter 52- Car Accident Alice's POV

After school, seeing as my energy was at its highest, I spent time in my Animagus form. I ran throughout the house, my large paws thudding against the wooden floors. Everyone watched me with amusement, and Jasper followed quickly behind me, opening the doors that I wanted into.

Edward stepped out of his room, reaching down to pet my large head.

"Energy burst?" he asked Jasper.

Jasper nodded.

"It started going up earlier, when we were waiting for you to come home."

"It seemed to go up quickly, didn't it?"

Jasper shook his head.

"It had been going up for a couple days. She was just worried about you, so she didn't pay any attention to it."

"I wish that she wouldn't worry," Edward said, watching me.

"She'll always worry about us."

"I know that."

"In the end, she always means well."

"I know that too."

"Edward, please be patient with her. She's trying, but she already lost one family. I couldn't imagine what would happen if she lost another."

"She's not going to lose her family," Edward said, smiling as I stretched out on the floor at Jasper's feet.

"She thinks it's her fault that you left. So this time, she's going to ensure that you are okay."

"You don't need to do that," Edward said, looking down at me again.

 _You know I do._ I thought.

"No. You don't."

 _I can't break up your family, Edward._

"Our. Our family. You and Jasper has been a part of this family for fifty years."

I shook my head, and turned to look up at Jasper, who shrugged.

"Okay, I'm going to go hunt with Carlisle," Edward said.

"We'll see you later," Jasper said.

I hoped back up, and began to bound back to mine and Jasper's room. Jasper followed behind me.

I crawled onto the bed, and Jasper followed behind me. I dropped my large head on his chest, As I shifted back into my human form, I looked up at Jasper.

"Does this ever bore you?" I asked Jasper.

"Never," he said pushing my hair away from my eyes. "It'll always leave me in shock. Besides, you're the best witch I know. There's always something new to show me."

"Jaz, I'm the only witch you know."

"Still. You'll always amaze me."

I smiled at him, and swept his hair from his face.

"So you'll never get tired of the magic?"

He shook his head.  
"Never."

"Not even after a hundred years has passed and I'm still doing the same spells?"

"Nope. Because I know you. You'll be able to create spells that will keep me on the edge of my seat."

I smiled, and kissed his cheek.

I closed my eyes for a few hours.

"Come on, Al," Jasper said, "we should go ahead and get dressed."

I nodded, and let him pull me to the closet. I pulled on a simple pair of light grey skinny jeans, and a long sleeved black shirt. I pulled on a pair of boots, and then my vision began to cloud.

 _Edward was speeding down a highway. There was no destination in sight. He kept looking up in the rear view mirror, and his face was sad._

Edward made the choice to leave us again. But I couldn't see where. Much like the last time, there was no degree of time. This one, I feared was permanent.

"Alice?" he asked, taking my face in his hands. "Alice, what is it?"

"Can you stay here?" I asked "I want to be alone for a while."

Jasper looked at me, studying my face. After a moment, he nodded.

"Take all the time you need."

"Thank you," I said, before darting out the closet, and out of the bedroom door and to the stairs where I sat on the top stair, waiting for Edward to return.

Before long, Edward appeared on the stairs in front of me.

 _You're leaving again,_ I accused.

He sighed and nodded.

 _I can't see where you're going this time,_ I continued.

"I don't know where I'm going yet," he whispered.

 _I want you to stay._

He shook his head, but never met my eyes.

 _Maybe Jazz and I could come with you?_

"They'll need you all the more, if I'm not here to watch out for them. And think of Esme. Would you take half of her family away in one blow?"

 _You're going to make her so sad._

"I know. That's why you have to stay."

 _That's not the same as having you here and you know it_ , I snapped.

I had learned early on that out of all of her children, Esme was closest to Edward. He was her first son, so it made sense. But it did slightly hurt to know that I would never have the same motherly bond. It was a bond that it seemed I would never have. Esme was curious about Legilimency once, so I showed it to her. It was a thought that I wasn't meant to hear. I never brought it up. She tried once, but I left quickly.

"Yes, but I have to do what's right."

 _There are many right ways, and many wrong ways though, aren't there?_

I pulled him into one of my visions.

The future hadn't been completely set on this path yet, so it was filled with warped shadows. I flipped through them for a while, showing him what felt like a million possibilities, then it all went black.

"I didn't catch much of that," he said, still not meeting my eyes fully.

 _Me either. Your future is shifting around so much I can't keep up with any of it. I think though…_

I flipped through a collection of hazy visions I've had recently.

"I think something is changing," I said out loud. "You're life seems to be at a crossroads."

He laughed, finally meeting my eyes. "You do realize that you sound like a bogus gypsy at a carnival now, right?"

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Today is alright though, isn't it?" he asked.

"I don't see you killing anyone today," I assured.

"Thank you, Alice."

"Go get dressed. I won't say anything—I'll let you tell the others when you're ready."

I stood, and darted back down the stairs. I'll miss you, Edward, really.

The ride to school was quiet. Edward and I glanced at each other from time to time, but neither spoke. Jasper could see that something was wrong, but he didn't ask me about it. He just held my hand from the backseat, rubbing circles into it. I loved Jasper for many reasons, but my favorite, was that he sometimes could pick up when I didn't want to talk about something. Today was one of those days.

I noticed that all of the humans seemed to be more anxious today. I didn't understand, but then for the first time today, I realized that the roads icy. I have never really payed attention to it, and seeing as it didn't affect any of us, I didn't bother to check.

Bella's truck slowly came into view. We each filed out of the car, Jasper leaning at my side, with an arm around me. I watched as Bella parked a couple spaces down. I watched Edward, who watched Bella.

When I turned back to Bella, my vision immediately clouded, replaced by a vision.

 _Tyler Crowley came turning into the parking lot at a higher speed than what he should have. He hit a patch of black ice, and came skidding towards Bella's truck. When the van collided with her, she crumpled to the ground. She was still. She didn't look to be breathing._

"NO!" I gasped loudly. It was almost too loud.

Jasper grabbed my elbow, and turned me to face him.

"Ali? Ali, what is it?"

I didn't have time to answer. Another vision was pulling, begging to be seen.

 _Edward darted to the girl, pulling her out the way, and pushing the van away._

As my vision returned, Edward was already gone. I heard as Bella's head cracked against the ice nearby.

Edward had just exposed us, but nobody seemed to notice. Not that I could see. I watched in horror, as Jasper tightened his grip around me.

We all inched closer, with Jasper keeping a tight hold on my waist. It seemed to take Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper a moment to register what had happened. I looked around. Nobody seemed to notice anything as far as I can tell. Nobody except for Bella.

"You were over there," Bella stated confidently. "You were by your car."

"No, I wasn't," Edward said. His voice was not as kind as I would have expected.

"I saw you," she argued.

"Bella, I was standing with you, and I pulled you out of the way."

One of the EMTs stepped towards Edward. I recognized him as Brett Warner.

"Hey Edward," he said calmly. "You okay kid?"

"Perfect, Brett. Nothing touched me. But I'm afraid Bella here might have a concussion. She hit her head when I yanked her out of the way."

"Come on," I said, the second I smelled blood. I pulled Jasper away from the crowd. He didn't fight me, but his eyes went from being a dark gold to black. "Come on, Jaz."

When we made it far enough away, I took the rings from around my neck and placed them around his.

"Do you want to go home?" I asked. He was shaking his head, and he held onto the rings around his neck tightly.

I pulled his face to mine. "Hey, hey, Jaz, it's okay. You're alright."

"I know," he murmured, pressing his forehead against mine. "I know."

"Are you sure you want to go to class?" I asked. "I can tell them you aren't feeling well, then run and grab the keys from Edward before he leaves."

"You're energy will be down in the next few days, and we'll be missing a lot then," he said, putting his chin on the top of my head as he pulled me into a tight hug. "I want to stay. I'm going to be okay."

"I know you will, love. I'm just double checking."

We walked the rest of the way to class. We waited outside of the room for a bit. It seemed the rest of the school was at the scene of the accident.

"Alice!" Rosalie called, as she and Emmett turned the corner. I turned to face her. "Did anyone see?"

I shook my head. "As far as I know, nobody noticed Edward's little stunt."

"That idiot!" she growled. "He could of ruined things for all of us!"

"He did it for the right reasons," I said. I looked around. Very few people were heading this way. I turned back to Jasper.

"I think most people are going to be at the hospital. Edward being involved can work to our advantage. Do you want to skip the first couple blocks? We can come back at lunch."

He nodded, and the four of us started heading back to the car. We didn't drive out of the lot, seeing as I didn't have the key, but I was able to get the radio to work with a little bit of magic, so we listened to one of Edward's CD's.

Rosalie sat in the back grumbling, while Jasper and I sat in the front.

"Are you okay?" I asked Jasper, once we had been away from the scene for a moment.

He nodded.

"I think so."

"Are we going to go to lunch?"

He nodded.

"Please."

I smiled, and kissed the back of his hand.

"I'm proud of you."

He leaned over to kiss my cheek, and I looked at the time.

"We should go if we're going to make lunch."

As we walked to lunch, Jasper stayed close by me, his hand in mine.

"Thank you," he murmured to me.

"For what?"

"Taking me away. The break away from everything helped."

"You're most welcome," I said, smiling. "Anything for you."

He looked down at me, and I noticed that his eyes had lightened a little.

"We'll hunt tonight if you'd like," I said.

He nodded.

"I think that the girl may suspect something," Jasper said, as we sat down. "I think we should take care of it before she says anything."

"Jaz, we don't know whether or not she knows anything."

"You heard her, Alice," Rosalie snapped. "'You were by your car. I saw you.'"

She mimicked Bella. Then turned her growl towards me. "You know she knows something."

"But Edward may have been able to pull it off," I said, remaining calm. She growled quietly. Much too quiet for a human to hear.

"But he may not have."

"We're not going to touch her," I said, firmly causing her to growl again. This time however, it caused Jasper to growl.

"Jaz, that's enough," I said quietly. "Let her throw her fit."

He looked at me then glowered at Rosalie.

"You can't protect her forever Jasper," Rosalie said, nodding at me. "One day, she will have to fight her own battles."

"I can protect her for the rest of my life," he said, pulling me closer to him. I pulled his face to mine.

"You've done a great job so far. I trust that you'll protect me for as long as you need to."

"Always," he said, putting his forehead against mine. "I will never let you go in harm's way."

"But you still know, I can protect myself."

He pulled back, glowering at me.

"I know that. You're strong. Not to mention that you have magic, but still."

I smiled. "Even without magic, I could protect myself."

"Wait that's it!" Rosalie said, turning to me. "You can alter her memories! With magic!"

I sighed, regretting saying anything about magic.

"No," I said, calmly.

"But Alice, if Edward exposed us, and she knows, you altering her memories can keep her from saying anything!"

"At what cost? Exposing myself?" I said, leaning over the table slightly. "Besides, even if I were to do it, it has risks. Memories that have been altered with my kind of magic, they could fail. The Ministry, or the MACUSA could take me in, and that'd blow my cover, putting everyone I care about at risk."

"Don't you guys have some sort of thing about secrecy?" Emmett asked me. "By telling us, haven't you already broken the laws of magic?"

"No, I haven't. Not in this life. We learn about vampires at Hogwarts. Therefore, we are aloud to tell vampires. It's Muggle humans that we can't tell."

"So you are doing it to save yourself?"

"No, Rosalie, I'm doing it to safe all of you. If it comes to the attention that I am still alive, you, our family, and mine back in Britain are at risk. I am not exposing myself when there is a possibility that she won't say anything. That's the end of it."

"What about Tobias?" Emmett asked.

"No. That doesn't help with not exposing us. I will not put him at risk."

Rosalie huffed.

"So that's it then?" she asked. "You're not going to do anything about it?"

"I will not use magic against that girl, and that's the end of this discussion. We'll talk about this at home."

I pushed up from the table. While Jasper was still set on killing this girl, he kept quiet, as he followed me.

In my last two classes, I was asked about Edward.

"Is he okay?" Mr. Banner asked me.

I nodded.

"He's back now. I think he's just a little shaken up," I said, smiling.

"Miss. Cullen! Mr. Hale!" Mrs. Molina said as the two of us entered French. "I heard your brother was involved in the accident this morning. How is he?"

"He wasn't hurt. He's actually in Spanish with Mrs. Goff right now," I said. "Bella Swan and Tyler Crowley got the worse ends of it."

"Do you know how either one of them are?"

I shook my head. "I wouldn't know. My focus was on my brother."

"Of course," she said, as we took our seats. "If you hear anything, let me know."

"I will. Although, I'm almost certain they'll be back tomorrow."

The ride home was quiet. Rosalie sat, glaring at Edward the entire way, Emmett, looking at Rose, and Jasper, sitting in the backseat of the two. Edward, glanced at me, but I didn't pay attention. I tried focusing on the future.

When we pulled into the driveway. Jasper helped me out of the car, but he didn't help me any further. He dropped my hand and sped ahead. I walked slightly slower than the rest, being the last one to enter the dining room. I guided myself by the sounds of them walking.

The future was filled with hazy shaped, and it looked like I was watching static on a TV. I could feel what felt like a headache starting as I sat down next to Esme, and I began rubbing my temples. Jasper stepped forward, as if he was trying to help me, but then returned to his spot against the wall. I watched him sadly. This resulted in Esme patting my arm comfortingly, and then Edward took a deep breath. Everyone turned their attention to him.

"I'm sorry," he said, looking at Rosalie, then Jasper, and then Emmett. "I didn't mean to put any of you at risk. It was thoughtless, and I take full responsibility for my hasty action."

Rose glared back at him. "What do you mean 'take full responsibility'? Are you going to fix it?"

"Not the way you mean. I'm willing to leave now if that makes things better."

"No," Esme murmured. "No, Edward."

Edward reached across the table and patted her hand. "It will just be for a couple of years."

I didn't want to see Edward go. But I knew that nothing I did would ever change his mind. It would seem that I couldn't change anybody's mind.

"Esme's right though," Emmett said. "You can't go anywhere now. That would be the opposite of helpful. We have to know what people are thinking now more than ever."

"Alice will catch anything major," he said, shaking his head.

"I think Emmett is right, Edward. The girl will be more likely to talk if you disappear. It's all of us leave, or none of us," Carlisle said.

"She won't say anything."

"You don't know her mind," Carlisle reminded him.

"I know this much. Alice, back me up."

I stared at him. "I can't see what will happen if we just ignore this."

I glanced over at Rosalie and Jasper. Jasper looked back at me, and I turned away. They were too decided against this. Rosalie smacked the table with a bang.

"We can't allow the human a chance to say anything. Carlisle, you must see that. Even if we decided to all disappear, it's not safe to leave stories behind us. We life so differently from our kind—you know there are those who would love an excuse to point fingers. We have to be more careful than anyone else!"

"We've left rumors behind us before," Edward reminded her.

"Just rumors and suspicions, Edward. Not eyewitnesses and evidence!"

"Evidence," Edward scoffed.

"Rose—"

"Let me finish, Carlisle. It doesn't have to be any big production. The girl hit her head today. So maybe that injury turns out to be more serious than it looks," she shrugged. "Every mortal goes to sleep with the chance of never waking up. The others would expect us to clean up after ourselves. Technically that would make it Edward's job, but this is obviously beyond him. You know I'm capable of control. I would leave no evidence behind me."

"Yes Rosalie, we all know how proficient an assassin you are," Edward snarled. Rosalie hissed at him.

"Edward, please," Carlisle said. He turned from Edward to Rosalie. "Rosalie, I looked the other way in Rochester because I felt that you were owed your justice. The men you killed had wronged you monstrously. This is not the same situation. The Swan girl is an innocent."

Images flashed through my head of Rosalie's file.

"It's not personal, Carlisle," Rosalie said, through gritted teeth. "It's to protect us all."

There was a few moments of silence. Nobody spoke, and I took this opportunity to look at Jasper. He looked hurt, I offered him a smile. He looked away, and the hurt he had felt, I now felt it too.

"I know you mean well, Rosalie," Carlisle started, causing me to turn away from Jasper, "but….I'd like very much for our family to be worth protecting. The occasional accident or lapse of control is a regrettable part of who we are. To murder a blameless child in cold blood is another thing entirely. I believe the risk she presents, whether she speaks her suspicions or not, is nothing to the greater risk. If we make exceptions to protect ourselves, we risk something much more important. We risk losing the essence of who we are."

Rosalie scowled. "It's being responsible."

"It's being callous. Every life is precious."

Rosalie sighed, her bottom lip, pouting.

"It'll be fine Rose," Emmett said patting her shoulder.

"The question, is whether we should move on?"

Rosalie moaned. "No! We just got settled I don't want to start on my sophmore year of highschool, again!"

"You could keep your current age, of course."

"I like it here! There's so little sun, we almost get to be normal."

"Well, we certainly don't have to decide now. We can wait and see if it becomes necessary. Edward seems certain of the Swan girl's silence."

Rosalie snorted and Esme turned to me, then back to Carlisle.

"What about Alice? She could maybe alter her memories."

Carlisle turned to me too. "Can you do that."

"It is possible...When Hermione, Ron, and Harry went to hunt Voldemort's horcruxes, Hermione took her parent's memories considering they were Muggles. But she could only create the false illusion of them being someone else. If I replace those memories, then it'd be hard to tell what will happen, and I don't want to girl to live under false memories. My biggest issue sits with that it would save all of you, but I would expose myself. There is no guarantee I can pull this off with absolutely no witnesses. This isn't something I can risk, Carlisle. It puts everyone I care about in danger."

"Alice is right," Esme said. "We can't ask her to do that for us."

"Memories can lie though," I said quietly. "Horace Slughorn was the potions teacher when Voldemort went to school. At that time, he went by Tom. Tom went to Slughorn to ask about Horcruxes, and when Dumbledore was teaching Harry about Voldemort's past, he went after a certain memory Slughorn held. It would later be told that Slughorn had lied in his memory."

"Memories can lie?" Esme asked.

"Yes."

"How can we get her memories to lie to her?" Carlisle asked.

"It's not hard, but it's not easy, either. If Edward keeps telling her that she hit her head,that she doesn't know what she saw, or that he was standing next to her, perhaps in time she'll believe it."

Rosalie's decision changed. She and Emmett joined the rest of us. Jasper however, he remained with his original decision.

"Jasper," Edward said. He was thinking the same thing. He met Edward's gaze, but the hurt was gone. His face was expressionless. "She won't pay for my mistake. I won't allow that."

"She benefits from it then? She should have died today Edward."

Jasper's voice faded, and the room in front of me changed.

I saw Isabella Swan. I had my arm around her shoulders, smiling. Bella was smiling too, and she had an arm around my waist. The vision slowly changed to Edward's arm around the girl, and both were smiling. I couldn't tell the timing of either vision though. But at this moment I knew that I would love her. Not the same way I loved Jasper. Edward would love her that way. I would love her like I loved Rosalie. Like a sister.

"I won't let Alice live in danger, even a slight danger," Jasper was saying as my eyes readjusted to the dining room table. "You don't feel about anyone the way I feel about her, Edward, and you haven't lived through what I've lived through, whether you've seen what I've seen or not. You don't understand. She does. I can not, and I will not lose her."

He turned back to me and I no longer felt hurt from earlier. I offered him a small smile.

"I'm not disputing that, Jasper," Edward said. "But I'm telling you now, I won't allow you to hurt Isabella Swan."

They stared at each other, and I twisted in my seat to where I was fully facing Jasper.

"Jazz," I said, causing his attention to snap to me.

"Don't bother telling me you can protect yourself, Alice. I already know that. I've still got to—"

"That's not what I was going to say," I interrupted. "I was going to ask you for a favor."

I eyed Edward warily then continued. "I know you love me, and thanks. I love you too, but I would really appreciate it if you didn't try to kill Bella. First of all, Edward's serious, and I don't want you two fighting. Secondly, she's my friend. Or at least she's going to be."

"But….Alice…" Jasper gasped.

"I'm going to love her someday Jazz. Not like I love you, but I'll love her like my sister. I'll be very put out with you if you don't let her be."

Jasper leaned towards seeing it my way. Surprise was shooting all across the room. "Ah," I sighed. "See? Bella's not going to say anything. There's nothing to worry about."

"Alice," Edward choked out. "What...does this…?"

"I told you there was a change coming. I don't know, Edward," I lied. I locked my jaw, and I knew Edward was going to try racking my brain. I thought hard on Jasper. When we met, our first kiss, when he proposed, our wedding, the moment after Maria left, and I realized he wasn't going to leave me.

"What, Alice?" Edward said, grabbing my arm, then suddenly letting go. "What are you hiding?"

Emmett started grumbling. I shook my head, focusing on Jasper, though it was getting harder.

"Is it about the girl?" he demanded. "Is it about Bella?"

When he said her name, I let a touch of the vision I saw slip, then I thought back to Jasper. But I knew he saw. There was no possible way he didn't see.

"NO!" he roared, standing so quickly that his chair fell to the floor. I moved my chair away from him, flinching as he yelled.

"Edward!" Carlisle rose to his feet too, putting his hand on his shoulder. I shrank further away from Edward who stood across from where I was still sitting.

"It's solidifying," I whispered. "Each minute you're more decided. There's really two options left for her. It's one or the other Edward."

"No," he said again.

"Can somebody please let the rest of us in on the mystery?" Emmett complained. We ignored him.

"I have to leave," Edward whispered to me.

"Edward, we've already been over that," Emmett said, loudly. "That's the best way to get the girl talking. Besides, if you take off, we won't know for sure if she's talking or not. You have to stay and deal with this."

"I don't see you going anywhere, Edward," I said in my normal voice. "I don't know if you can leave anymore."

 _Think about it_ I added silently. _Think about leaving._

He thought for a moment before turning back to me. I continued silently.

 _I'm not entirely sure of Jasper, Edward. If you leave, if he thinks she's a danger to us, to me…._

"I don't hear that," Edward contradicted. I knew that he knew Jasper would never do anything that would hurt me.

 _Not right this moment._ I pressed. _Will you risk her life? Leave her undefended?_

"Why are you doing this to me?" he groaned.

 _I love her too. Or I will. It's not the same, I know, but I want her around for that._

"Love her too?" he whispered.

I sighed.

 _-You are so blind, Edward. Can't you see where you're headed? Can't you see where you already are? It's more inevitable than the sun rising in the east. See what I see…_.

I showed him all that I could see.

"No," he whispered horrified. "I don't have to follow the course. I'll leave. I will change the future."

"You can try," I said skeptically.

"Oh, come on!" Emmett bellowed.

"Pay attention," Rose hissed. "Alice sees him falling for a human! How classically Edward!"

"What?" Emmett said, startled. Then his booming laugh echoed all throughout the room. "Is that's what been going on? Tough break, Edward."

"Fall for a human," Esme repeated. "For the girl he saved today? Fall in love with her?"

"What do you see, Alice?" Jasper demanded. "Exactly."

I turned to him. "It all depends whether he's strong enough or not. Either he'll kill her himself, which would really irritate me," I threw a quick glare to Edward then turned back to Jasper, "or she'll be one of us someday."

Esme gasped.

"That's not going to happen," Edward shouted at me. "Either one."

I didn't pay any attention to him. "It all depends. He may be just strong enough not to kill her, but it will be close. It will take an amazing amount of control. More even then Carlisle has. He may just be strong enough….The only thing he's not strong enough to do is stay away from her. That's a lost cause."

Nobody spoke. We all turned to stare at Edward, who stared at me. After a long period of time passed, Carlisle sighed.

"Well this….complicates things."

"I'll say," Emmett agreed.

"I suppose the plans remain the same, though. We'll stay and watch. Obviously no one will….hurt the girl."

"No," Jasper said quietly. "I can agree to that. If Alice only sees two ways…."

"No," Edward said again. "No!"

Edward stood, and stalked out of the room. Esme touched his arm as he left, but he shrugged her off, and kept going. I stood and walked to Jasper, and gave him a tight hug.

"Thank you, Jaz," I said, kissing his cheek.

He nodded.

"Of course."

"You're upset with me, aren't you?"

Jasper shook his head.

"No, sweetheart," he said, pressing his lips to his head. "You know I would never do anything to hurt you, right?"

I nodded.

"I know. Of course, I know."

The other four sat in a tight circle, talking in low voices.

"Edward was thinking about trying to convince me to use magic on the girl."

"Are you going to do it?"

I shook my head.

"No. Of course not."

"How's your head?" he asked, kissing my temple.

"The future is clear, so I can see things clearly. So my head feels better."

"I'm sorry," he said, hugging me tighter to him. "I wanted to help….I was afraid you were going to be upset with me about my decisions."

"You're entitled to your opinion," I said. "Even if I don't agree with it, it's yours to have."

He smiled down at me.

"I'm sorry," he said again.

"Don't be sorry, Jazz. It's okay. And don't ever worry about not helping me. You help me even when you're not there."

He held me tightly.

My mind wandered off from where I was. I thought of when we were moving to Calgary. When I told him that one day he'd find his mate. Then I thought of him rescuing Bella Swan. I smiled to myself.

"What?" Jasper asked, looking down at me.

"I was right," I said. Jasper didn't even question what I was talking about. He too, smiled, and shook his head.  
"Aren't you always?"

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! The next chapter will start the day after this, and it will go over the time frame of a few months. Looking back at my plans, there aren't that many for the first Twilight book. I thought about adding some chapters to the story as a whole, but I'm not sure yet.**

 **So I hoped you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite and review!**


	53. Time Passes

_"The time will pass anyway; we might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use." ~Ernst Nightingale_

* * *

Chapter 53- Time Passes

Jasper and I hunted that night, like we had planned to do before the big family argument. As bad as he hated to admit it, the blood from the accident had gotten to Jasper. And his lack of self control, got to him even more. It was also my last chance to hunt before my energy started going back down. If I counted right, I would be at my lowest Friday.

"Do you think I'll ever get over it?" he asked as we started walking home.

I nodded. "I know you will. Just give it time."

"I have given it time. Almost 57 years."

"Jasper, honey, you also have to think, you drank human blood for 85 years."

I stopped walking, and stepped in front of him so he'd stop too.

"You've killed people too, you know."

I looked down at the ground of the forest. He was right. I had killed several people during my time as a vampire.

"I didn't mean to kill them," I whispered, thinking of the couple I had killed after joining Peter and Charlotte.

Jasper stopped, his eyes were wide.

"Alice, I'm sorry," he said, pulling me to him.

I shook my head, and pulled away from him.

"It's okay," I said, blinking as I tried to focus on what I was going to say before.

"I shouldn't have said that," Jasper said.

"Don't worry about it," I said, offering a smile. "It's okay."

We took off into a run. The entire way home, I couldn't push that couple out of my head. When we got back to the house, I began to get flashes of that night. I tried as hard as I could to pass the images out of my mind. I didn't want Jasper to catch on about the change of my emotions.

I wasn't sure why, but for some reason, his words upset me. Maybe it was because I hadn't thought about it in a long time. I hadn't thought about it, so I couldn't feel bad about it.

Whatever the reason, I didn't want Jasper to know that I was upset. If he already knew, he didn't comment on it.

As I covered up my Dark Mark, with a custom made foundation, Jasper, who had been getting dressed crouched next to me.

"What're you thinking about?"

I didn't respond right away. If I was honest, would he be upset?

"Hey," he said, taking my hand as I finished covering the scar. "When have you ever not been able to talk to me?"

I turned and looked at him.

"Do you want me to be honest?" I asked.

"Of course I do," he said, pulling me into his lap.

"I'm think about what you said."

"Which part?"

"About me attacking humans," I said quietly.

Jasper groaned. "Alice, you know I didn't mean it like that."

"I know, I know," I said, resting my head on his chest as he wrapped me into a hug. "It just got me thinking about that couple."

"You were a newborn," Rocking back and forth. "At that time, you were no more than a few months old. It's natural."

"I know," I said. "Just listen to me. I thought about the differences from my time as a Death Eater versus that."

"What do you mean?" he asked softly. I shook my head and he held me tighter. "Al, honey, what's wrong?"

"I've taken so many lives. Why did I get a chance at two?"

I had thought about this a lot recently. More so since I've seen Bella's possible path of being one of us. Between Jasper making the subconscious decision to kill Whitney, and Edward deciding to kill Bella, I had been thinking a lot about my time as a Death Eater. Jasper turned me around to face him.

"Alice, you did all the right things. You had no choice!"

"I did have a choice," I whispered. "I could have let him kill me."

Jasper's eyes widened with horror, then he turned angry.

"Mary Alice Black Whitlock Cullen!" he shouted. "Never say that again!"

I flinched away from him. He never called me Mary Alice unless he was angry with me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "But it's true."

"No," he said, taking my face in his hands. "It's not. If he killed you, you would have never found me" I looked up into his eyes. "Alice you were given a second chance because despite the things you've done, you did so much good. You were and still are a good person."

I hid my face in my hands. "I'm sorry, Jasper. I'm so, so, sorry."

"Don't be sorry," he said, kissing my shoulder. Suddenly the anger was gone. I could feel myself start to relax in his arms. "Come on now. It's time for school."

He spent the next few days telling me I had done the right thing.

"All your choices led you straight to me. Someone who's killed hundreds more than you."

He repeated this each day for a week.

"I know," I said once night. My energy was at it's lowest point, and we were looking through photo albums. "But I can't help but think, do you think they would forgive me? The people I killed I mean."

He nodded. "I think so."

"What makes you so sure?"

"Because if they got to know you, and if they know why you had to do it, they'd understand. Think about it. You became a Death Eater, why?"

"To get information on Voldemort from the inside, so Harry would win."

"You did it to protect your family, yes?"

I nodded. He continued.

"Why did you become a vampire?"

"Because if I didn't, a tracker, named James, would kill me and the people I care about."

"So you became a vampire to protect your family," he repeated. "Everything you've done, it was for selfless reasons. You became a Death Eater, so you could provide Harry with information from inside Voldemort's forces. You sacrificed yourself, so your family could live." He took my face and pulled it to his. "Everything you did was to protect the people you care about."

"Everything I do is to protect the people I care about," I corrected. He looked at me, with the question burning in his eyes. I smiled, and held onto the arm that was wrapped around me. "I will now spend the rest of my life protecting you."

He smiled and kissed me. "The same goes for you. As long as I'm alive, no harm will ever come to you."

I closed my eyes, and I listened to the sounds of him breathing. Downstairs, you could hear Esme running the vacuum. Carlisle was in his study, so the occasional sound of a turning page could be heard. Edward was playing music from his room. Emmett and Rosalie, much like Jasper and I, were in their room, but they were talking quietly.

"Al?" Jasper asked.

"Hmm?" I didn't open my eyes.

"Are you feeling better?"

I nodded. "Thank you, Jaz."

"Anytime," he said, kissing the top of my head. "Rest now, beautiful."

"Oh leave her alone, Edward," Jasper snapped Tuesday afternoon when we pulled into the garage. I had seen various different flickers that had Bella involved. Edward had gotten irritated because I hadn't blocked it out. It wasn't so much that I wouldn't block it out as it was that I couldn't. I went back to school Monday, and as a result, I was still weak. So I couldn't block it out if I tried. "She can't always help it."

"Jaz," I cautioned. "Please, just leave it."

"No, Alice," Jasper said before turning back on Edward. "She can't always help what she sees. I'm sorry that her visions don't meet up to your standards of what should be in them, but she can't help it."

"Well considering she's been working with it for the last fifty-seven years, then she had the same problem twenty-one years before that, you'd think sometime in the last seventy-eight years, she would have gained even a speck of control."

He turned to me.

"You just can't help yourself, can you, Alice? You have to insert yourself into everything. Next time, don't get involved in something that doesn't concern you at all."

Hurt rippled through me, and the anger started radiating off Jasper. I didn't stick around to hear anymore. I darted away from the other four.

"Look what you've done," Jasper growled.

When I made it through the door, Esme rose from her spot on the couch, laying her book to the side.

"What was that about?" she asked.

"Edward's mad because I keep seeing Bella in my visions. Jasper tried defending me, and Edward said that one would think that sometime in the last seventy-eight years I would have learned how to control my visions."

Jasper came darting through the door with Rosalie and Emmett behind him.

"Edward headed to Seattle," Rosalie said, as Jasper pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry Alice," he whispered in my ear.

"It's okay," I said quietly. "He was right."

"No Alice. You're trying. Right now, you're weak, and you can't control them as easily. He's just mad that things aren't going his way."

"I'll talk to him when he gets back," Carlisle said, coming down the stairs. "Whether you feel he was right or not, he had no business putting you down the way he did, especially not in your state."

"Thank you, Carlisle," I said. At that point, I took my leave, heading up to mine and Jasper's room.

"Do you want to be alone?" Jasper asked from the doorway as I laid down on the bed. I shook my head.

"Come lay down with me. Please?"

"Of course," he said, dropping his bag next to the door.

"I'm sorry," he said again, as I hid my face in his chest. "I don't think I helped any."

"It's okay," I murmured. "You tried. That's all I could ask for."

He ran his hand through my spiky hair.

"Is Edward going to be mad when he comes home?" he asked.

I closed my eyes and focused. Edward hadn't made that decision.

"I can't tell. He's still mad right now."

"He'll get over it," Jasper said. "He always does."

"He had a point though. You would have thought sometime in the last seventy eight years I would have learned how to control it, even if I am weak."

"There are somethings that are beyond our control."

I smiled and shook my head. "I'm not winning this one, am I?"

He laughed and kissed my forehead. "Sorry, Darlin. This time, I win."

I closed my eyes. I was drained.

"Jazz?" I mumbled against his shoulder.

"What's wrong, Darlin'?"

"Thank you for sticking up for me."

"You're welcome," Jasper said before kissing my forehead.

I rested for most of the afternoon, and into the night. There came a point, where I knew Edward had come home. I could hear him and Carlisle talking in Carlisle's study.

"It was a horrible thing of you to say," Carlisle said. "She's trying. She's trying to do everything in her power to keep you happy, and you were rude to her for no reason at all. You were raised better than that, Edward."

"Carlisle, I'm sorry but—"

"I'm not the one you need to apologize to," Carlisle said. "You know what you need to do to make things right, Edward."

I heard footsteps make their way across the hallway, they paused outside our door.

"What do you want?" Jasper asked.

"I want to talk to Alice," Edward said in a low voice.

I opened my eyes, and peeked at Edward.

"So talk," Jasper said, as I sat up.

"I want to talk to her alone if that's okay."

I pushed myself off the bed, but Jasper quickly caught my hand.  
"Are you sure about this Al?"

I nodded.

"It's going to be okay. We're not going to argue. We're just going to go for a walk."

Jasper let go of my hand, and Edward stepped over to help me stand up straight.

"I'll bring her back in a little while," Edward promised.

I bent down to kiss Jasper's cheek before walking with Edward down the stairs and out of the house.

"So, let's talk," I said once we were out of earshot of the house. My back was to him.

"Alice, I'm sorry for what I said. It was very rude of me. This is something that you can't always control, and I should have been so much more considerate of that."

"You spoke to Carlisle," I said. It wasn't a question.

"I did."

"I don't want you to apologize because Carlisle told you to," I said, turning to look at him. "I want you to apologize because you mean it."

"I am not apologizing because Carlisle told me to. I was going to apologize anyways. Carlisle just happened to catch me. I was wrong Alice. I should have never said it."

"Do you know why I see Bella? I see her because you are trying to figure out whether you love her or not. She'll be a part of our future either way. My powers are weak. I can't block her out."

"I know, and Alice, I am so, so, sorry."

"I can't forgive you just yet," I told him, looking at the ground. "Just give me a few days."

"You were so hurt," he said quietly. "Jasper showed me before he went after you."

I nodded. "That's because I never thought I'd hear that from you. I'd expect something like that from Rosalie maybe, but not you."

Edward looked to the ground as I spoke.

I caught his eye, and I could instantly see into his thoughts.

I searched further back. I caught glimpse of his thoughts during our argument.

 _You just can't help yourself, can you, Alice? You have to insert yourself into everything._

These words rang through his ears. They were followed with:

 _Maybe that's the real reason Remus left._

I was snapped out of his mind, and Edward looked horrified.

"Alice I—"

"You don't really think that do you?" I asked, quietly.

"No," Edward said quickly. "I was angry and—"

"That's all I need to know," I said, holding up a hand. "However, I will clarify this. The reason Remus left me, is the same reason I told you guys. He didn't love me anymore. He fell in love with my cousin."

"I know," Edward said.

"Carlisle is right you know," I said, as we began walking back to the house.

"What about?"

"That is not how you were raised. You are so much better than that."

Edward smiled and ruffled my hair.

Jasper was waiting for the two of us on the front stairs.

"He's worried about you," Edward said, as we walked through the trees. "He's worried I've upset you even more."

I shook my head. "He'll always worry about me."

"He always has."

Jasper stood when we came closer to the house.

"Everything okay?" he asked, looking from me to Edward, then back again.

I smiled. "All is well."

"I'm sorry to you too," Edward said, as Jasper took my hand.

"It's not me who needed the apology. You didn't insult what makes me special."

Jasper and Edward didn't say anything else. The three of us went inside, and sat with everyone else, minus Carlisle who was getting ready for work, in the living room.

"Did you work everything out?" Esme asked, looking between Edward and I.

I could see it in her eyes. She was disappointed.

"Mostly," I said, glancing at Edward.

Time still passed, and Edward tried everything he could to avoid Bella.

"Bella's going to stare at Edward in a minute," I said one Tuesday in March. We all fidgeted, Jasper shifting his weight and moving where we had our hands, me tucking my legs into the seat with me, Emmett relaxing in his seat, and Rosalie leaning towards Emmett.

I sighed.

I wish….

"Stay out of it Alice," Edward said, under his breath. "It's not going to happen."

It seemed what I said to him a few months ago had went through one ear and out the other. This is why it's taken me so long to forgive him for our feud. I pouted, and Jasper chuckled.

 _I'll admit, you're better than I thought. You've got the future all snarled up and senseless again. I hope your happy._

"It makes plenty of sense to me," he said smugly.

I snorted, and turned my attention to Jasper.

"Is today going okay?"

He nodded. "I've been able to block it out for the most part."

"That's good," I said with a smile.

"Don't worry about me, Alice. I'm okay."

"I know you are," I said with a grin. "I'm proud of you. You've done great."

When lunch ended, Jasper walked me to my next class.

"Is it any clearer?" Jasper asked. He knew the future had gone hazy again. I shook my head.

"Edward still hasn't made up his mind. That makes things hard for me."

"I know," he said, kissing my temple. "But things will clear up soon."

I smiled at him as we stepped in front of the classroom door.

"I'll see you in French," I said, letting go of his hand. "If you need anything, I'll see. Just make the decision to go to the car."

"You know I will."

I kissed his cheek before going through the door, and to my seat.

Class hadn't started, and the classroom left my sight. I could see Edward's future shifting and warping. Bella seemed to be clearer, then she'd fade again.

I felt the grin on my face widen as I saw him leaning more to the realization that he loved the girl.

I focused as hard as I could on class. The excitement as the future was becoming clearer, was growing, and when the bell rang, I shot from my seat and out the door.

I waited for Jasper outside of his math class, bouncing from excitement.

"Alice?" he asked, putting his bag onto his shoulder. "Is everything okay? Usually I come get you."

"It's getting clearer Jazz!" I said. "He's leaning towards his decision!"

"Calm down, Al," he said, putting an arm around my waist. I still bounced with excitement.

He laughed as he began to pull me along to class.

"You really need to calm down," he said, as he sat down. I scooted my chair closer to his, where I could feel his calmness and amusement. He assisted, controlling my emotions to calmness.

"Better?" I asked, as I relaxed in my seat.

"Much," he said. I smiled, and leaned my head on his shoulder. He took my hand, and kissed it as Mrs. Molina walked into the room, and in front of the board.

When class finished, Emmett and Rosalie were waiting at the corner of the building.

"Edward told me to wait here for you guys," he said when Jasper and I approached them. "He's being really weird."

"How so?" I asked, all the excitement suddenly gone. I looked across the lot, where Edward had pulled the Volvo out into the middle of the isle.

We walked slowly.

"What is he doing?" I asked.

Jasper shrugged.

I watched at Tyler Crowley got out of his car, and knocked on Bella's truck window. She jumped and rolled it down. "I'm sorry Tyler," she said, irritation evident in her voice. Her voice was faint, but still clear. "I'm stuck behind Cullen."

"Oh I know," Tyler said. "I just wanted to ask something while we're trapped here."

I looked at Jasper, who shrugged yet again.

"He's feeling confident," Jasper muttered as we got closer to the car.

"Will you ask me to the spring dance?" Tyler asked Bella, as we all turned our attention back to him.

"I'm not going to be in town, Tyler," she told him, clearly still irritated. This caused me to snicker slightly.

"Yeah, Mike said that."

"Then why—"

"I was hoping you were just letting him down easy."

"Sorry Tyler," she said. She didn't sound sorry. "I really am going to be out town."

Tyler accepted this excuse. We could see that in in his never fading smile.

"That's cool. We still have prom."

He strutted back to his car as the four of us slid into ours. Edward was shaking with laughter, although I couldn't see why. He was starting to realize his love for Bella, so I had doubted that he was pleased by her encounter with Tyler.

Edward shook his head at an unheard thought.

"Let's go," Rosalie hissed. "Stop being an idiot. If you can."

Edward sped away as Bella revved her engine again.

I paused for a moment in my seat, before turning to Edward.

"So do I get to talk to Bella now?" I asked suddenly. I didn't consider the words.

"No," Edward snapped.

"Not fair!" I whined. "What am I waiting for?"

"I haven't decided anything, Alice."

"Whatever Edward," I said, showing him Bella's clear path.

"What's the point in getting to know her, if I'm just going to kill her?" Edward mumbled.

I hesitated, then sighed. "You have a point," I admitted.

"Enjoy your run," Rosalie said, smugly.

But I could see that Edward made the decision to hunt instead of run. The rest of us were scheduled to hunt tomorrow. However I had the feeling that as it had in the very beginning, Bella's scent was strong again.

Edward didn't come back that night. I saw him going to Bella's house. He wasn't there to kill her though. He sat in a rocking chair, watching her sleep.

He made it back to the house after we left, but we were too far gone to stop and wait for him.

I drove, with Jasper in the passenger seat, and Rosalie and Emmett sat in the back, Rosalie grumbling the entire way.

"Edward will be in the trees when we get to school," I said, as I drove. Nobody answered, but Rosalie continued grumbling as I pulled into the school. I scanned a place near the trees for a parking lot, and pulled into the first one I found.

Sure enough, Edward hit in the trees, as Jasper walked over to join me on my side of the car.

"Come on," Jasper said, not turning to the trees. "Let's get to class."

Rosalie, Jasper, Emmett, and I walked to lunch without Edward. He had made the decision to sit with Bella.

"Edward won't be sitting with us," I said, as Jasper wrapped an arm around my waist. "He's going to ask Bella to sit with him."

I grinned as I said the words, realizing that he had finally accepted his future.

I knew that certain decisions could alter the future, but some futures were set. This was one of them. Edward would love Bella. That was final. She was his mate, much like I was to Jasper, or Esme to Carlisle, or Rose to Emmett.

When we stepped into the cafeteria, I noticed that Edward sat a good deal away from our table.

Rosalie walked by, not looking at him, while Emmett rolled his eyes and shook his head. Jasper offered him a half smile, and beamed at him. I could tell my teeth were too bright.

 _Can I talk to Bella now?_

"Keep out of it," he said under his breath.

My face fell, then brightened again.

 _Fine. Be stubborn. It's only a matter of time._

Edward sighed again.

 _Oh don't forget today's biology lab_.

I had biology before I had gym. I had stayed in the Volvo, then went to Gym, where I had forgotten to say anything to Edward.

He nodded, and I could see that he hadn't forgotten.

We sat down after getting our food props, and Emmett and Rosalie immediately dove into a conversation.

Jasper and I were quiet for a moment, then he look at me with curious eyes.

"He loves her?" Jasper asked. I beamed again and nodded.

"She's his mate."

"He's finally found her," Jasper whispered. I smiled and nodded.

"One day, she'll be my sister. Your's too."

Jasper didn't grin like I did.

"It's okay," I said, placing a hand on his cheek.

Bella came through the doors, automatically looking at our table. I locked eyes with her, before they dropped. She was sad.

As she made eye contact with Edward at the table, and her eyes seemed to bright up.

I turned to Jasper. He was watching me closely.

"What?" I asked, as played with the rings around my neck.

"You love her too."

I nodded.

"She reminds me of Harry in a way," I said, glancing at her. "But don't worry. I still love you the most."

He smiled, and leaned forward to kiss me.

"I can never love anybody as much as I love you."

"I know that."

I turned to Edward and Bella, and focused closely on their conversation.

"What if I'm not the superhero?" Edward was saying. "What if I'm the bad guy."

I snorted, and Jasper frowned.

"The bad guy?" he said, suppressing a smile.

"Not all vampires are the bad guy," I said.

"No they're not. But that's not how Edward sees it," Jasper said.

"I can always show him a bad guy," I said to Jasper, who chuckled.

"But not bad. No, I don't believe that you're bad," Bella said.

"Bella disagrees," I said. Jasper smiled and shook his head.

"You're so happy," he said quietly. I smiled.

"How can I not be?" I asked. "Things are good."

"They are," he said.

When we left the crowded cafeteria, he pulled me from the crowd to a wall, where he kissed me deeply.

"Sorry," he said, when he pulled away. "Being around Emmett and Rosalie…." he trailed off and I smiled.

"It's alright," I said, putting a finger against his lip. "I didn't complain, now did I?"

Jasper, smiled and leaned his forehead against mine. "No. You didn't. But still, there's so many people nearby, and we usually don't show so much affection."

I laughed and shook my head. "It's okay, Jasper."

That day, in French, I could see myself driving Bella's truck.

"Alice?" Jasper whispered in my ear. "What is it? What do you see?"

The classroom around me returned, and suddenly, Jasper's face was in my view.

"Everything is okay," I said. "Nothing to worry about."

No one had noticed our exchange, although Jasper kept my hand tightly in his.

"Are you sure it's nothing to worry about?" he pressed as we met up with Rosalie and Emmett.

"It's okay, Jaz," I said, soothingly. "I'm just going to be driving Bella's truck to her house."

"Why?" Jasper frowned. I shrugged. "I don't know. Do you want to ride with me."

Jasper shook his head.

"The smell."

"That's okay. Edward is going to follow me there."

When we approached the car, I went straight to the driver side, and held my hand out for the key.

"I only saw that I was," I said. "You'll have to tell me the whys."

"This doesn't mean—"

"I know. I know. I'll wait. It won't be long."

Edward sighed, and laid the key in my hand.

He followed me to Bella's house. The rain pounded on the tin roof, and it made me question whether or not Bella would be able to hear the loud, roaring engine of her truck. When I pulled it to the curb, she didn't come to the window. I left the key in the ignition, slid out of the truck, and quickly slipped into the Volvo. Edward speed away from her house.

That evening, Jasper and Emmett were in the middle of a chess game. There were eight boards lined up next to each other, and they had their own set of rules. Jasper played with me when I begged him and swore to not watch his choices, but other than that, Edward was the only one who played with me.

I went to my computer, and began working on a fashion design project for Rosalie. Rosalie didn't join me today. She trusted that I knew what she wanted, and what fit her style.

I leaned my head around the wall, and started mouthing Emmett's moves to Jasper, who kept from smiling at me. Emmett sat with his back to me, and didn't notice my assistance as Jasper stole Emmett's favorite knight.

Edward sat down at the piano, and ran through scales. When he was satisfied with it's tune, he added in a line. It was a new song, one that I didn't recognize. I smiled at Edward's back, and then suddenly the music stopped, and Edward's hand flew to his mouth, letting only a sharp bark of amusement escape.

We all stared at Edward.

"Don't stop, Edward," Esme encouraged after a strained moment. When Edward started playing again, Rosalie rose to her feet, and stalked out the room. She looked embarrassed, although anger overpowered it.

"What's wrong, Rose?" Emmett called after her, but she didn't turn. He then turned to Edward. "What was that about?"

"I don't have the faintest idea," Edward lied.

Emmett grumbled, frustrated. I returned to mouthing Emmett's moves to Jasper.

Edward continued playing, trying a few different tunes for the bridge, but he didn't seemed satisfied with any of them.

"It's charming. Does it have a name?" Esme asked.

"Not yet."

"Is there a story to it?"

"It's….a lullaby, I suppose."

I left Jasper to play for himself, leaving a kiss on his temple as I strode past him. He smiled, and pecked me on the lips before turning back to his game. I however, joined Edward on the bench in front of the piano.

In a trilling, wind chime voice, I sang a wordless decent two octaves higher than the melody.

"I like it," Edward murmured to me. "But how about this?"

Edward added my line to the harmony, modifying it a touch. I caught the mood and began to sing along.

"Yes. Perfect."

Esme squeezed his shoulder.

But the ending was coming. Edward was making it slower, and lower, and I adjusted my voice to match it.

I watched as he played the last note, and bowed his head over the keys. Esme stroked his hair.

"Thanks," Edward said after a moment, responding to something that the rest of us couldn't hear. He laughed once after a moment, then sighed after another. Edward was silent for a moment, then he said, "Stop it Mom, you're making me blush."

I laughed, and then began playing the top hand of "Heart and Soul". Edward smiled, and played the simple song with me, before playing "Chopsticks," which happened to be one of my favorites besides the song he had played at mine and Jasper's wedding.

I giggled, then sighed. "So I wish that you'd tell me what you were laughing at Rose about. But I can see that you won't."

"Nope," he said to me. I flicked his ear.

"I could just always dig around your head myself."

"But you won't." Esme chided. "Be nice, Alice, Edward is just being a gentlemen."

"But I want to know," I whined.

Edward laughed at me, then said, "Here Esme," and began playing one of her favorite songs. Edward had told me some time ago that he was inspired for the song by watching the love Carlisle and Esme shared.

"Thank you dear," Esme said, squeezing his shoulder once more.

As I listened to the song, I saw the piano fading from view. It was fading too quickly, and I couldn't catch it in time.

 _Peter parked the car in front of the stairs, and killed the engine. He turned to Charlotte in the passenger seat._

 _"I doubted they'd be surprised that we're here," Peter said looking up at the house. "Alice at least would have seen us coming."_

 _Charlotte nodded. "This is true. I doubt Alice would keep this from Jasper."_

 _"She never has before. As far as I'm aware, Alice doesn't keep anything from him."_

 _The two stepped out of the car, and darted up the stairs, knocking on the door._

 _Jasper opened it with a smile, and hugged Peter. I stood behind him smiling._

The vision faded, the piano returning to my view.

"Oh," I said abruptly. When Edward saw what I had, his fingers frozen on the keys. "Jasper guess what?"

"What is it, Alice?" he asked as I fluttered to his side, sitting down next to him.

"Peter and Charlotte are coming to visit next week! They're going to be in the neighborhood, isn't that nice?"

"What's wrong, Edward?" Esme asked.

"Peter and Charlotte are coming to Forks?" Edward hissed at me. I rolled my eyes.

"Calm down, Edward. It's not their first visit."

I frowned at him. Then suddenly I was disappointed in his trust for them.

"They never hunt here. You know that."

"When?" he demanded.

 _Monday morning._ I responded silently. _No one is going to hurt Bella._

"No," Edward agreed. "You ready, Emmett?"

"I thought we were leaving in the morning.

"We're coming back by midnight Sunday. I guess it's up to you when you want to leave."

"Okay, fine. Let me say goodbye to Rose first."

"Sure," Edward said.

Emmett must have thought something as he headed to the back door, cause he said, "I suppose I have."

"Play the new song for me, one more time," Esme asked.

"If you'd like that," he agreed.

Esme and I shared a glance, but neither of us said anything.

That night Jasper and I, spent some time with the family instead of retreating to our bedroom. Edward had put mine and Jasper's wedding song on a CD for me, which Jasper suddenly put into the CD player that sat with the TV.

Carlisle looked up from the book he had been reading, and Rosalie looked up from her magazine. Esme smiled as Jasper held his hand out to me, from where I sat at my computer.

"Dance with me," he requested. I smiled and took his hand.

He pulled me close to him, and I rested my head on his chest. Everyone watched us, with a smile on their face. He spun me through the living room and the dining room.

"Is everything okay?" I asked him, ignoring the watching eyes behind us.

He smiled and nodded. "I thought about earlier. When I kissed you outside of the cafeteria. I had decided that it had been awhile since we've danced. Then I thought about it when Edward was playing, and you were helping him write the new song. I figured that before the night was over, we'd dance."

I smiled. "It has been a while, hasn't it," I asked.

When the song came to an end, Jasper kissed me just as he had outside of the cafeteria. It was passionate, and soft. Esme clapped behind us, and I smiled as he pulled away from me.

Jasper looked at the rings around my neck and took them.

"What are you doing?" I asked, as I watched in undo the clasp that held them on the chain. He moved the rings onto my finger.

"I missed seeing them there," he said before kissing the rings.

"Soon they'll be back there for many years to come."

I wore my rings during the summer, and during every break. Then during my senior year, we had agreed that I'd wear them. I could easily say that it was the last thing had of my parents. This story had worked in the past.

He smiled, and we led me to the couch.

Esme scooted closer to Carlisle to make room for us.

"I've missed seeing the two of you dance," Esme said. "You used to dance all the time."

Whenever Edward played something on the piano, Jasper and I used to dance along to it.

I smiled, but sat there contently in Jasper's arms.

"I miss dancing," I said, turning to face Jasper.

"We'll dance more," Jasper promised.

I smiled and leaned back onto his shoulder.

When Emmett returned Sunday, Edward wasn't there with him.

"He went to watch Bella," I told Jasper after I had shut the bedroom door. I had placed my wand on the bedside table.

I wore it on a wand holster throughout the day. The only time I was without it was during school.

"He's watching her?" Jasper asked confused.

"He watches her sleep," I said. Jasper's confusion faded. "She talks."

Jasper didn't question it. Instead, he pulled The Tales of Beedle the Bard off the shelf.

He'd read it a million times, yet it still remained to be one of his absolute favorite books. It was his favorite out of the books I brought from my world.

He laid the book in my hands and pulled me to the bed. He told me once long ago, that he liked it when I read it, rather than reading it himself. Despite me knowing all the stories by heart, even before my transformation, we still read it from the book.

"Which story?" I asked.

"The Tale of the Three Brothers."

I smiled, but gave into his request, flipping to the story he wanted.

As I read, I thought of Harry. He had been the Master of Death once. He told me after the battle, how he saw my father, and Remus when he had the resurrection stone. He told me about how Remus wished that one day, I would understand why he left me. That one day, I would find the man that I deserved. I looked at the scared arm that rested on my waist as his hands met at my hip. With the one hand that wasn't holding the book, I laid my hand over his.

"And then, he greeted Death, as an old friend, went with him gladly, and as equals, they departed from this life," I finished quietly, looking into his eyes.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! It was if I'm not mistaking three chapters of Twilight and Midnight Sun mashed into one. I do want to clarify, I do not have anything against Edward. It seems to me, however, that he can be rude at times. He and Alice do overall have a good relationship, but like all siblings, they have their ups and downs.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! (:**


	54. Jasper's Visitors

_"Each friend represents a world in us, a world possibly not born until they arrive, and it's only by this meeting that a new world is born." ~Anais Nin_

* * *

Chapter 54-Jasper's Visitors

Peter and Charlotte didn't visit often, but when they did, I didn't know my place. Jasper saw me everyday, and he saw Peter and Charlotte a few times a year. Less than that even. They talk on the mirrors I gave them all those years ago, but even that isn't often. So when Peter and Charlotte did come around, is this something he would want me to be around for, or should I keep my distance for the time that Peter and Charlotte were here? This was something I had never voiced to Jasper, although Edward knew. Of course Edward knew.

"Do you actually feel that way?" Edward asked me in the early hours before Peter and Charlotte were due to arrive. He was getting ready to go back to Bella's. He had come by to change his clothes, seeing as Bella would no doubt be waking up soon. He had only meant to stay for a few minutes, but then he caught my thoughts, and pulled me outside to talk.

I nodded.

"He sees me everyday," I said, looking at the ground. "What if he just wants to be with Peter and Charlotte?"

"I don't think he wants that. He always feels better whenever your around."

"Yes but the bond that Jaz and Peter have—"

"Is the same bond you and I have. The bond he has with you, it's stronger. So much stronger. You're the one thing he constantly thinks about. I think that maybe," Edward said, ruffling my hair, "you should talk to your husband. But I have to go now. You'll work it out. You always do."

I knew deep down that he was right, but Jasper was excited. I couldn't ruin that for him.

"What was that about?" Jasper asked when I returned to the bedroom. He pulled me into his arms, and I closed my eyes.

I almost told him. But when I started to feel the strong waves of excitement fade slightly, I shook my head.

"Nothing," I lied. "He was just asking where he should hideout to avoid getting caught by Bella or by Chief Swan."

He accepted this answer, and pulled me close to him. We waited, but I still couldn't push mine and Edward's conversation from my head.

Jasper and I had went downstairs about a half an hour before Peter and Charlotte were due to arrive.

"How much longer?" Jasper asked me. We were sitting on the floor of the living room.

I closed my eyes and focused on the clock in Peter and Charlotte's car.

"It won't be long now. I'd say about ten more minutes," I said, opening my eyes. I pressed a hand against his cheek. "Patience, love."

He smiled, and kissed the rings that I had left on my hand.

When the knock on the door came from the floor below, Jasper jumped to his feet, pulling me with him.

"Come on," he said, tugging my hand.

I laughed at his eagerness, but allowed him to pull me down the stairs to the door.

When Jasper opened the door, he smiled and hugged Peter, while Charlotte hugged me.

"Alice," she said with a smile.

"Hello, Charlotte," I said, as Peter pulled me into a hug. "Peter."

"How are you?" Peter asked.

"I'm doing well," Jasper said.

"And you, Alice?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm well. What about you two?"

"We just spent some time in Virginia."

"What part?" Jasper asked.

"Salem," Charlotte said. Memories of Helen, Tobias, and I flashed through my mind and I smiled.

"I like it Salem. It's a cute town."

"Please," Jasper said, pulling me to him as he stepped to the side. "Come in."

The two stepped in the door, looking around as they always did.

"This isn't much different from the other houses." Jasper said. "Just five new graduation caps."

"What year are the two of you this time around?" Charlotte asked.

"I'm a senior. Alice is a junior. But we have French together, so I have something to look forward to at the end of the day."

He turned and smiled at me.

"What about next year?" Charlotte asked. "Are you going back to college?"

Jasper shook his head. "The public story will be that I went to college. However I'm staying here until Alice graduates. We've talked about maybe traveling a little bit."

We went upstairs to the living room, where Carlisle and Esme sat. Carlisle called the next two days out of work due to the sun.

"Peter, Charlotte," Carlisle said, rising to his feet and extending a hand. "How great it is to see you."

"Hello Carlisle," Charlotte said, as she took his hand.

"If there's anything we can do for you, let us know."

"Thank you," Peter said.

"Peter," Jasper said, calling his attention. Peter turned his head, and Jasper continued. "I know you won't. But I do have to ask you to keep from hunting in Forks. Edward has asked me to remind you of that."

"Of course not, Jasper," Peter said before turning to Carlisle. "It will never be our intent to bring trouble to your family."

"Thank you, Peter."

Jasper led the two through the house to the back, where they dropped into the yard, heading for the trees. I smiled at him, and turned to my computer.

"Will you not be joining them?" Carlisle asked. I poked my head around the wall, and shook my head.

"I could see that Jasper wanted to spend some time alone with Peter. He'll come for me soon."

I pulled up my project for Rosalie, and set to work.

Esme stood beside me quietly.

After some time, Esme stood beside me quietly.

"Alice?" she asked, as she sat next to me. I turned to her.

"Yes?"

"Edward," she said. "Is he okay?"

I nodded. "He'll come home soon. But he won't stay for very long. He doesn't trust that Peter and Charlotte won't harm Bella, although they'd never do anything that would put Jasper in any danger."

"What about you? Do you trust them?"

"I trust Jasper, and he trusts them. Therefore, I do too."

Esme smiled and squeezed my shoulder.

"When will they come to get you?"

"Jasper will come in at noon. I will go with them, and chances are, we'll be gone for a good amount of the day."

She nodded, and watched as I created the cocktail dress for Rosalie.

"That is beautiful, Alice," she said, as I was adding on some of the final touches. "You've become so good at this."

"Thank you, Esme," I said, as I saved my work, and shut down the computer. "Jasper will be coming in a few moments. Edward will come home in about two hours. Tell him that we've already talked to Peter and Charlotte, and they won't hunt in the area."

I almost mentioned mine and his earlier conversation, but decided against it.

"He knows that already," Carlisle said,pulling me from my train of thought. He was pursing his lips. "I understand, he's protective over the girl. But he should know well enough by now that Peter and Charlotte would never harm Jasper."

"Just please tell him that we talked to them about it," I said, as Jasper walked up the stairs leading to the back, Peter and Charlotte following closely.

"Alice?" Jasper said, coming through the door.

"In the living room," I said. He came through the dining room doorway, and pulled me into a hug.

"Hey, do you want to get out of the house and go for a walk?" he asked, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Of course," I said. "I already saw you guys coming. So I was just telling Esme and Carlisle to fill in Edward that we've talked to Peter and Charlotte about hunting in the area."

Carlisle turned to Peter and Charlotte.

"We do apologize for Edward."

"It's no problem, Carlisle," Peter said kindly. "He's looking out for his family."

"Yes, but he should trust you by now," I said. "I know you guys would never do anything that puts Jasper at risk."

Peter shook his head.

"Definitely not."

Jasper wrapped his arm around me, and guided me to the door.

We walked to the forest, where the four of us jumped within a second of each other.

"Where to?" I asked.

"Let's just walk," Peter said. He has his arm tightly around Charlotte, much like Jasper with me.

So we walked further and further away from the river.

"Emmett's going to want to play football tonight," I said.

"Will Edward play?" Jasper asked. I shook my head.

"He'll be too busy watching Bella."

"How about it?" Jasper asked, turning to Peter and Charlotte. Up for a game of football?"

"Sounds like fun," Charlotte said.

"When?" Peter asked me. I closed my eyes, and let Jasper lead me. The sun was almost finished setting. I opened my eyes, and looked for the sun, then closed my eyes again.

"We'll have to head home at around 4:45 so I can change, and start heading to the field at around 5:30," I said. "We won't start until 6:00."

"Will you play?" Jasper asked me. I shook my head. We had come to a stop. Peter and Charlotte had stepped to the side. They muttered something about giving us a moment of alone time.

"Probably. But I haven't decided fully."

Jasper smiled against my ear.

"I think you should."

I twisted his his arms to where I was facing him.

"Jaz?" I asked, my thoughts of earlier ringing in my ears.

"Hmm?"

"Are you sure that you want to go play?" I asked. "I can go, and you can spend time with Peter and Charlotte before they leave."

"No, it's okay. It'll be fun," he said.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure," he said. He kissed me, and turned, not letting go of me. "Come on. Peter and Charlotte are waiting."

We joined back up with them about half a mile away.

"Why'd you guys go so far out?" I asked, when we stopped in front of them.

"Charlotte felt bad that Jasper wasn't spending time with you today, so she figured we should give you two a few minutes of privacy."

"Thank you," I said. "But you didn't have to do that. He sees me everyday. It's rare that you guys are in town." They smiled as I looked to the sky. "You've come here on such a beautiful day."

Jasper chuckled. "Come on Al. Let's go to a place where you can see it better."

"Do you think we can see the stars tonight?" I asked, as the four of us walked to a clearing in the woods.

"I think so," he said.

I smiled.

"I think I'll stay out and watch them. But I'll have to get my astronomy books after the game."

"It's not often she gets to see the stars in Forks," Jasper said to Peter and Charlotte. "But on the days she can see them, She doesn't come home until they disappear again."

"I remembered that she loved the stars," Peter said, smiling at me. "She watched them every night while we were in Texas. When we were teaching her to fight."

I smiled.

When we got to the clearing, we all sat in the middle. I laid with my head in Jasper's lap watching the sky. There were some fluffy clouds in the sky, but none came close to the sun.

The sun beamed off Jasper's face, making him shine like a thousand diamonds. It made him look more like an angel.

My fingers lightly brushed one of the scars on his neck. He looked down at me and smiled.

I pulled his face to mine, forgetting for a single second that Peter and Charlotte were there. He kissed me gently before Peter cleared his throat.

"Sorry," I murmured, hiding my face.

Jasper chuckled, and leaned down to kiss my temple.

I closed my eyes, and I listened. I heard the sounds of Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte's quiet conversation. I could hear the wind whistling in the trees. I felt Jasper run a hand up and down my arm, and the heat of the sun beating down on my icy skin.

I felt peaceful. My mind was blank. It felt like I could sleep. I stayed completely still.

After some time, I felt Jasper shift.

"Alice," he murmured in my ear. "Come on, Darlin'. If you want to change your clothes before the game, we have to go."

I opened my eyes.

The sun had lowered in the sky. Peter and Charlotte were standing now, and Jasper was grinning.

"You looked peaceful," he said. "I almost didn't want you to open your eyes."

"It felt like I was sleeping," I said.

"Well now," he said, pulling me up to where I was sitting in his lap, "it is time to go."

He showed me his watch. It was 4:30. It wouldn't take us that long to get home, but it definitely gave me time to get dressed.  
"I suppose it is time to go, isn't it?"

We stood up, and the four of us began to make our way back to the house.

"Which field are we going to, Al?" Jasper asked, as we ran.

"Rainer, I think."

"Will Emmett be there when we get back?"

I nodded.

We made it back to the house in five minutes.

"Alice! Jasper!" Emmett said when we got inside. "Football in Rainer field?"

"You're more than welcome to join us," Carlisle said to Peter and Charlotte.

"Alice and Jasper already extended the invitation," Peter said, with a small smile.

Carlisle smiled too. "Excellent," he said.

"So the four of them can be a team," Emmett said pointing at Jasper, Peter, Charlotte, and I. "Then the four of us can be the other team," he finished, pointing at himself, Carlisle, Esme, and Rosalie.

"What if Edward decides to join us?" Esme asked. Emmett grinned.

"I've already thought about this. They have Alice, so no matter what play we make, she'll see it the second we decide on it. So we get Edward. He'll be able to hear what they're thinking. Then we'll be even."

"Who's to say I'll tell your plays?" I asked.

Emmett shrugged. "Because you tell Jasper everything. All he has to do is ask."

Emmett wasn't wrong. I did tell Jasper everything. Maybe that was because he was one of the first people to make me feel like I belonged in this world. But maybe, it was because I felt like I owed him in a way. He's done nothing but protect me, he gave up his life for me. However, I hadn't told him about the thoughts I had been having the last few days while waiting for Peter and Charlotte to come. I'm sure I would talk to him, but not now. Not when he was excited.

My silence was enough for Emmett to grin from ear to ear.

"I'm right aren't I?" he asked.

I didn't answer. No so much because Emmett was right, but because I was upset with myself.

"I'm going to go change," I said, turning away from my brother.

"We can always meet you at the field," Carlisle said. "It'll give us enough time to set everything up."

"Sounds like a good idea," I said as I darted out of the room and up to mine and Jasper's room.

"I think we'll go with Carlisle and the others," Peter said to Jasper on the floor below me.

"The most we can do is help set things up," Charlotte said.

"That's very kind of you," Esme said.

I could hear the wind of people going out the door, and the wind of Jasper coming up the stairs.

"Al?"

"I'm in here."

He was next to me in an instant. As he stepped inside, I was pulling on a pair of athletic pants.

"Everyone left," Jasper said, stepping closer to me as I pulled off the shirt I had been wearing.

"I know," I said, pulling on a half sleeved, stone grey, button up shirt.

"Are you okay?"

I paused again, before nodding.

"Yeah. I'm okay. I'm fine."

Jasper frowned.

"No you're not. You've been feeling uncertain all day. Even now you're acting….different."

I shook my head.

"It's nothing."

Jasper stepped closer, taking my face in his hands, making me look at him.  
"Talk to me," he said. "When have you ever been able to not talk to me?"

I closed my eyes.

"I don't know my place," I whispered.

"You're place? Ali, Darlin', what are you talking about?"

"You see them a few times in a year. You see me everyday. So when Peter and Charlotte are here, do I come with you, or do I leave you to your time alone with them?"

Jasper was quiet. When I opened my eyes, he was watching me. His eyes were sad, and his hands dropped from my face.

He was upset now. I could see it.

"Never mind," I said, pulling on my shoes. "I shouldn't have said anything. We should go. They're waiting on us."

"They can wait," Jasper said. "Please, Al. Talk to me."

I sighed.

"It's just that when they come, you're so excited, and I'm so glad. But sometimes, I can't help but wonder whether you want me around when Peter is here….I don't know how to say it Jazz."

He pulled me into a tight hug.

"Mary Alice Black Whitlock, I will always want you around. When Peter and Charlotte come around, I am excited that they're here because I get to spend time with three people that I really, really care about. The person I care about most, is my wife. And if she's feeling upset, or angry, or anything along that sort, I want to know, because I want to make it better. I only want for you to be happy!"

I smiled, and buried my face into his chest.

"I'm sorry," I said, shaking my head.

"Don't be sorry," he said, "just come to me next time."

"Edward said I should come talk to you."

"Ah, so that's what earlier was about."

I nodded.

"Yeah. That's what it was about."

Jasper shook his head.

"Next time, come to me. Promise me you'll talk to me, Al."

"I promise."

He leaned down and kissed me.

I peered around his elbow.

"Jazz, we better go."

He turned and looked at the clock. We only had about ten minutes before the game starts.

"Do we have to?"

I nodded.

I grinned.

"Yes we do. You know our brother as well as I. If we do not leave now, Emmett is going to start making jokes about our sex lives to Peter."

Jasper frowned. "Perhaps it's better if we leave now. Like right now."

I shrieked as he picked me up and moved quickly through the house.

"You're not leaving your wand?" he asked, looking at the wand holster on my arm.

"Nope. Do I ever?"

"When we're at school."

"Okay that's true. But that's only because I don't see a need for it there."

We made it to the field about five minutes after the game was supposed to start."

"About time you got here," Emmett called. "What were you two doing?"

Jasper hissed quietly, which caused Emmett to laugh.

"Relax, Jasper," he said, throwing his hands up in defence. "I'm only joking.

"Well looks like it was bound to happen," I said, smiling at Jasper's irritated expression. I pulled his face to mine and he relaxed. His eyes softened, and I smiled again. "There, now. That's better."

I patted his face and turned back to Emmett.

"As for your question, Jasper and I had something we needed to talk about."

Jasper, Peter, Charlotte, and I won the game. Edward didn't turn up, and we had the advantage. However, we tried to rely mostly on playing it fairly to please Emmett. When we got back to the house, we saw that Edward had been there, but didn't stick around.

"He's watching the Swan girl again isn't he," Jasper asked as I grabbed my astronomy books and star charts.

"Her name is Bella, Jasper," I said, frowning at him.

He didn't say anything. Just walked quietly down the stairs at my side. Peter and Charlotte stood by the door.

"Ready to go?" Jasper asked them. Emmett's head snapped up.

"Leaving again?" he asked.

"Alice wants to see the stars," Jasper said, the irritation clear in his tone.

"You don't have to go," I said, coldly. "You three can stay here, and I'll go on my own."

Jasper's annoyance disappeared then. "I always go with you."

"It's all up to you," I said, heading for the door. "Who knows, Jasper, maybe this time you'll change your mind."

Nobody moved in the living room for a moment, and I was already in the trees before Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte followed. We ran quietly to the clearing where we had been before. Jasper, Peter, and Charlotte ran in a cluster while I ran ahead.

When we got to the field, I sat everything down. Jasper sat down at my side, and looked at the charts that I had laid out in front of me, but stayed quiet.

I looked up to the sky, and watched the thousands of twinkling stars. I smiled, and laid back. Living in Forks, this was rare. I remember being able to go outside during my human life and just watch the stars. Even during the war. While I liked Forks, I didn't like how little I got to see the stars.

"Alice?" Jasper asked as he sat cross legged beside me.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry, " he said. "I know she'll be your friend one day."

I smiled at him. "I know you're sorry."

"You're not mad anymore," he said.

"No. Like I've told you Jasper. It's hard for me to stay mad at you."

"I know the feeling," he said.

He held his arms out. I smiled, sat up, and moved into his lap. He wrapped one arm around my shoulders, and left the other hand resting on my knee.

I pulled my star chart onto my lap and started pointing out stars to Jasper. Peter and Charlotte watched the two of us from across the field.

"There's Sirius," I said, pointing at a star north of us. "The dog star. Then there's Orion's belt."

Jasper looked where I pointed, and looked back down at my charts.

"How long did it take you to be able to read one of these?" he asked me.

"About two months," I said, turning back to him. "I learned before going to Hogwarts."

"You learned how to read these things at 10?" he asked. I nodded.

"Yeah. I saw them in Charlie's notes during one of my stays at the Weasley's house during Remus's transformations."

"Who taught you?"

"Remus. He taught me a lot. When I was in my fifth year, he taught me how to do a Patronus, and when I turned 16, he and McGonagall started teaching me how to become an Animagus."

Jasper looked at me in amazement. He always did whenever I spoke of my past. Even if it was something I'd told him before.

"You'll never fail to amaze me," he whispered into my ear.

"We'll see about that," I said grinning, as I buried my face in his hair.

We stayed there until a few hours after sunrise. Peter and Charlotte came and sat with us, and we talked about the places they've been.

"When we leave here, we plan on going to Canada," Charlotte had said.

We hadn't lived in Canada since Maria came for Jasper. We left only two days after her visit.

"I think you'll like it there."

"I'm sure we will."

When we got back to the house, Emmett and Rosalie sat flipping through the channels, not pausing on one.

"Welcome back," Emmett said, as I went to walk up the stairs. "How were the stars?"

"Bright and beautiful as always," I said.

"I never understand how she gets so fascinated by the stars," Emmett said to someone downstairs.

"Lay off, Emmett," Rosalie said. "They make her happy. Besides, she took classes dedicated to Astronomy during her time in Hogwarts. It's what she was used to."

I smiled as I went into the room, returning everything to it's place. Once I finished, I returned downstairs, where everyone remained where I had left them. I moved to the couch, on Emmett's other side, where Jasper joined me. Peter and Charlotte set up one of the chess boards, and sat down for a game.

I closed my eyes, and leaned my head back against Jasper's shoulder. I didn't search for any future in particular. I flipped from Jasper, to the weather, to Edward. I saw Edward coming home for a while, then going to Port Angeles to follow Bella. I then watched Peter and Charlotte, and saw that they wouldn't be going near Port Angeles. But they were going to be leaving today.

When I opened my eyes again, a baseball game was playing. Peter and Charlotte moved away from the chess board, and were sitting on Jasper's other side. Charlotte was tucked under Peter's arm, much like I was to Jasper. Sometime during me flipping through the future, Jasper wrapped one arm around my shoulders and one around my waist.

"What time is it?" I asked.

"Just after 1:30," Jasper said. His chin was resting on my shoulder, and he was watching the game. "They're leaving today?"

He didn't have to ask.

"They decided that they'd leave about an hour or so ago."

"They'll be leaving when Edward comes home. Or around that time anyways."

I poked my head around Jasper, and addressed Peter and Charlotte.

"Have you enjoyed your stay?"

Charlotte smiled and nodded.

"You and Jasper have been excellent hosts, as always." She turned to Esme, who was just entering the room, and took a seat next to Rosalie. "Thank you for letting us stay here."

"Of course!" Esme exclaimed. "You two know you are welcome at any time."

"Alice will see us coming when we decide," Peter said, with a smile at Jasper and I. I smiled, back, and turned to the clock on the wall.

It was nearing 1:45. Edward would be home in about an hour and ten minutes, considering school let out at around 3:00, but sometimes teachers let classes out early. Today, Coach Clapp would do just that. He already decided on that. After that, Edward would come home to get his car, then follow Bella, Jessica, and Angela to Port Angeles, where they were looked at dresses for the dance. Jasper and I had agreed not to go to this dance, as did Rosalie and Emmett.

We sat and watched the game, while Jasper, Peter, Charlotte, and I talked quietly.

The time passed quickly. Before we know it, Peter and Charlotte stood, as did Jasper and I. We walked to the staircase, where Jasper wrapped an arm around me.

"We had a great time," Peter said to Jasper.

"We're glad," Jasper said, grinning widely. "You'll have to come visit us again soon."

"Of course," Charlotte said. "Perhaps we'll visit again when you guys settle in a new place."

Edward came through the door then, half acknowledging the greeting from Emmett and Esme, and heading straight for the piano.

 _Have fun in Port Angeles tonight,_ I thought. _Let me know when I can talk to Bella. Oh, and thanks for suggesting that I talk to Jasper. It helped._

He didn't answer, and began playing an impatient tone. Peter and Charlotte noticed this tone, and eyed Edward curiously. Jasper and I glanced in his direction as well, before all four of us turned our attention back to each other.

"If you see Maria again," Jasper said, holding me a little bit tighter to him, "tell her I wish her well."

I had never gotten over what happened in Calgary. Deep down, I would never forgive Maria for trying to take my angel from me.

"I don't think that will happen," Peter said with a laugh. "But should it certainly happen, I will."

He extended his hand which Jasper took. Charlotte pulled me into a hug, and then hugged Jasper while Peter hugged me.

"Take care of him, Alice," he said quietly in my ear.

"I always do," I said.

He smiled, as I stepped back next to Jasper, who placed a hand on the small of my back.

The song Edward was playing came to an end, and suddenly he was behind me.

"Peter, Charlotte," he greeted.

"It was nice to see you again, Edward," Charlotte said. Peter simply nodded in Edward's direction.

 _They're going east, to Seattle. No where near Port Angeles,_ I chided, before showing him Peter's decision to go to Seattle.

He ignored me, and pulled out of the garage. I sighed and turned back to Peter and Charlotte.

"We'll call soon," Peter promised Jasper.

Jasper smiled. "Here, I'll show you out."

His hand slipped from my back, as he guided Peter and Charlotte through the house.

I walked up the stairs, and to mine and Jasper's room, where I jumped onto the bed.

I tried focusing on Jasper. I had already gotten his anniversary present, even though it wasn't for another four months. I could see that Jasper was trying to not decide on a gift, although there was a golden locket that kept appearing in my visions. It was small, and simple, yet I loved it. On the inside, it was engraved with resta con me per sempre which meant Stay With Me Forever in Italian.

Jasper didn't join me. But I could tell the time passed. He thought more of our anniversary. I could tell because he was flipping between the golden locket, and a new ring. Between the two, I would prefer the locket. I already knew that Jasper knew this.

Suddenly, after a good amount of time passed, my visions shifted away from Jasper completely. I hadn't been looking for Bella, although I had become tuned to her, after looking for any danger in her future.

 _Bella's terrified face filled my vision. A group of men surrounded her. They closed her in, leaving her nowhere to go. While I didn't see what would happen, his path was clear. Alonzo Wallace, who was wanted in both Texas and Oklahoma, for rape and murder, was the leader of the group. He went to grab Bella, then everything went black._

My eyes shot open, and I was on my feet in a flash. My phone was downstairs on the coffee table, where I had left it last night. I darted out of the room, and down the stairs, and through the living room.

Edward was on speed dial, so I hit his number and put the phone to my ear.

"Answer the damn phone, Edward!" I shrieked into the phone.

Jasper, Esme, and Emmett looked at me bewildered.

The phone went to voicemail and I threw it onto the couch.

"Alice?" Jasper asked cautiously. "What is it?"

"Shhh," I said, as I closed my eyes, and focused on Edward. His car was hurtling to where Bella was. I sighed and opened my eyes again.

"Carlisle came home, right?" I asked Esme. She nodded. "Is he in his study?" She nodded again, and I went to turn. Jasper caught me arm.

"Alice, what is it? What did you see?"

"Bella was in trouble. But I need to talk to Carlisle. It's okay, I promise."

He let go of my arm, and I darted through the house to Carlisle's study.

"Come in Alice," he said before I had the chance.

I quickly filled Carlisle in on everything. He thought for a moment.

"The man, he's still alive right?"

I nodded. "Edward decided not to kill him."

"Thank you Alice," he said.

"He'll come up to see you when he gets home," I said.

"How long?"

I closed my eyes. He was going to take Bella to dinner, to keep him from going back to kill the man. Then he would bring her home.

"An hour and a half. Give or take fifteen minutes."

"Thank you, Alice."

I nodded, and left his study. I went back downstairs and out the door. I sat on the stairs, looking up into the starry sky, partially blocked by trees.

The door opened, and Jasper sat down on the stair above me.

"Al? Are you okay?"

I nodded, and laid my head in his lap. "She's safe. Edward got to her in time."

"What happened, Alice?"

"There's a man, his name is Alonzo Wallace. He's wanted in Texas and Oklahoma for rape and murder. He found Bella, and she became his next target."

Jasper's eyes softened.

"Al," he said quietly.

"I wouldn't of even got the chance to meet her," I said, my voice cracking.

"It's okay, Al." He began rubbing my back. "Edward got to her. She's safe. You'll get the chance to meet her."

"I know," I said. He leaned down and kissed my temple. "Maybe I can introduce myself tomorrow."

"Alice," Jasper said warningly. "You know you have to wait for Edward to give you the okay."

I sighed. "I know that too. But he doesn't get it. I love her too."

Jasper sighed this time. "I know, Al. But it's different for him. He loves her like I love you."

"I know," I said, taking his hand, but never lifting my head.

"Do you want me to stay out here with you?" he asked quietly, his lips brushing against my ear.

"For a little while."

He stayed with me for over an hour, before he leaned down again.

"Alice, I think I'm going to go back inside," he said.

"Okay," I said, sitting up.

He leaned forward as gave me a kiss before standing up.

"I'm going to go read," he said. "So I'll probably be in the room when you come inside."

"Hey, Jazz," I said. He turned. "Thank you for staying with me."

"Anytime, Darlin'."

He smiled as he turned and headed inside of the house.

"Hey, Jasper," Emmett called as soon as the door opened. "How about a game of chess?"

"I just want to read for a while," Jasper groaned. I laughed as he head up the stairs.

The smile faltered sometime later, when I saw the Volvo coming up the driveway.

"Carlisle's in his study," I said, before he could speak.

"Thank you," he said, tousling my hair as he passed.

 _Thank you for returning my call_ , I thought bitterly.

"Oh," Edward said, stopping at the door. He pulled out his phone, and flipping it open. "Sorry. I didn't even check to see who it was. I was….busy."

"I know," I said. "I'm sorry too. By the time I saw what was happening, you were already on your way. But I didn't know that until after I called."

"It was very close," he murmured to me.

I put my face in my hands. _Sorry._ I repeated, ashamed.

"Don't be," Edward said. "I know you can't catch everything. No one expects you to be omniscient, Alice."

"Thanks," I said, although I was sure that he would have felt differently if Bella wasn't safe.

"I almost asked you out to dinner tonight—did you catch that before I changed my mind?"

I grinned up at him. "No I missed that one too. Wish I'd known. I would have come."

"What were you concentrating on, that you missed so much."

 _Jasper's thinking of our anniversary._ I laughed. _He's trying to not to make a decision on my gift. Although I have a pretty good idea…._ I showed him the locket. _Isn't it beautiful?_

"You're shameless."

"Yep."

I pursed my lips. _I paid better attention later. Are you going to tell them she knows?_

He sighed. "Yes, later."

I won't say anything, to Jazz or the others. But do me a favor, and tell Rosalie when I'm not around, okay?

He flinched.

 _Bella took it pretty well,_ I continued.

"Too well."

I grinned up at him. _Don't underestimate Bella._

He sighed heavily. He was growing impatient. I didn't need Jasper to know this. "Alice…." he started. I knew what he was planning to ask.

 _She'll be fine tonight. I'm keeping a better watch now. She sort of need twenty four hour supervision, doesn't she?_

"At least."

"Anyway, you'll be with her soon enough."

"Go on—get this done so you can be where you want to be."

He nodded and flew through the house.

I closed my eyes, and looked ahead.

Everything would go smoothly. No complications.

I opened my eyes and smiled. Carlisle and Edward came back then, and I showed Edward as he and Carlisle headed for the Volvo.

I smiled and waved at both of them as they pulled out. Carlisle gave a wave from the driver's side window. Once they were far enough away from the house, I turned to go inside.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapters! I figured since last chapter I showed more of a meaner side of Edward, I would show his nice side in this one. Like I said, they are close, and I haven't gotten the chance to show much of that. So with that being said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)**


	55. Edward's Secrets

_"The greatest secrets are always hidden in the most unlikely places." ~Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl_

* * *

Chapter 55-Edward's Secrets

CNN broke the story first. Edward and I sat and watched the news the next morning, and because of an earthquake in South America, and a political kidnapping in the Middle East, it got very little screen time.

"Alonzo Calderas Wallace, suspected serial rapist and murderer wanted in the states of Texas and Oklahoma, was apprehended last night in Portland, Oregon thanks to an anonymous tip. Wallace was found unconscious in an alley early this morning, just a few yards from the police station. Officials are unable to tell us at this time whether he will be extradited to Houston or Oklahoma City to stand trial."

An old mugshot filled the screen. It was Alonzo Wallace, but he had a thick beard which he had shaven off sometime before last night.

"The coverage here in town will be light," I said. "It's too far away to be considered of local interest. It was a good call to have Carlisle take him out of state."

He nodded, then the two of us didn't say anything for a brief moment.

"Alice do you mind—"

I saw his question before he asked it, and cut him off. "Rosalie will drive. She'll act pissed, but you know she'll enjoy the excuse to show off her car."

I laughed and Edward turned to grin at me.

"I'll see you at school."

I sighed and his grin faded away.

I know, I know. Not yet, I'll wait until you're ready for Bella to know me. You should know though, this isn't just me being selfish. Bella will like me too.

He didn't say anything. He just simply hurried out the door.

I sighed. I don't think Edward understood why I liked Bella. Her similarity to Harry was most of it, but she made Edward happy.

As I was putting on my jacket, Emmett, Jasper, and Rosalie came down the stairs.

"Why am I driving?" Rosalie asked.

"Bella and Edward are going to ride together," I said.

Her eyes flashed, but she grabbed her keys, and I could see the excitement in her face.

Jasper put an arm around me as I grabbed my bag from the couch.

"He's not ready for me to meet her yet," I said, as we walked to the car.

"Patience, Alice," he said, as we slid into the back seat. "Tell me why she reminds you of Harry."

"They're both kind," I said, as we walked out to Rosalie's car. "And from what I can see, they are both incredibly stubborn. They're both smart."

The more I talked about Harry, I became a little bit more upset, and my thoughts strayed from Bella.

"It's going to be okay, Al," Jasper said, squeezing my hand. "I want to believe that you will see him again some day."

"Maybe," I said, closing my eyes. "But I miss them all everyday. I just you all could have known them. They would have liked all of you."

Emmett turned and his seat.

"You know, from the stories you tell, we already feel like we know them."

I smiled.

"I wish I had been changed under different circumstances. Then you could meet them."

"There's still a chance," Jasper said. "Keep hope, Alice."

I smiled.

"I'll try."

Jasper kissed my temple, before starting to hum quietly.

We made it to school before Edward. None of us waited for him. Jasper walked me to class, like always, and we moved through the day. When gym came, Edward and I were partners. We were both bored, but we got through it. We didn't talk much though.

Coach Clapp sent us out early. He made the decision to break off of his diet, and go find something to eat, seeing as he hadn't eaten breakfast that morning.

Edward didn't walk with us. He planned on walking with, and sitting with Bella.

 _Enjoy yourself,_ I said, walking away from him to meet Jasper, who stood waiting nearby. _Just a few days more to be patient. I suppose you won't say hi to Bella for me, will you?_

He shook his head, I saw that as I looked quickly over my shoulder.

 _FYI, it's going to be sunny on both sides of the sound this weekend. You might want to rearrange your plans._

Edward sighed, and paid no more attention to me, as I finally got to Jasper. When I got to him, I took his hand, and squeezed it.

"Will Edward be sitting with us today?" he asked as we walked towards the cafeteria.

I shook my head. "He plans on sitting with Bella. I think it's safe to say that Edward won't be sitting with us anymore."

I kept what I knew secret, keeping my promise and not saying anything to Jasper. It was hard, but I got by.

When we got in the cafeteria, Rosalie and Emmett were sitting at our normal table. Jasper and I stepped into the line, and quickly went through, grabbing a couple things each. I paid as Jasper started heading back to the table.

"No Edward?" Emmett asked as we sat down.

I shook my head. "No."

We all sat quietly for a moment. Edward had came in not long after Jasper and I got into the line, although he waited for Bella so he didn't get anything.

"Hello," Edward said. I looked up, knowing it wasn't at me. From where I sat, I saw Bella standing in front of him.

Her face brightened, and I smiled. "Hi."

Edward got up from his seat, and he and Bella got in the line.

"Are we going to be listening to their conversation?" Jasper asked with amusement.

"It couldn't hurt," I said. He smiled, and kissed my temple.

"If it means that much to you," he said.

"How was your classes," I asked, as I waited for Bella and Edward to return to their seats.

"They were fine. Just really slow," he said. I traced the dark circle under his eyes. "Al, I'm fine. It wasn't that bad today."

"Do you want to hunt tonight?"

He nodded. "Esme, Carlisle, and I are scheduled to hunt tonight anyways."

I thought of the day. "I suppose you are, aren't you."

He smiled and nodded. "Then you and Edward go on Friday."

I smiled and nodded. "Are you sure you're going to be okay without me on Friday?"

He groaned, and tilted his head back behind the seat.

"I'm going to be fine, Alice. I've done it before."

"I know that," I said, brushing his hair out of his eyes. "I just wanted to be sure. You know if you need anything to call me and I'll come home."

He put his head against my temple. "I know, Darlin'. But don't worry about me. I got this. I'll have your rings, and when I get home I'll have plenty of books to last me until I get back."

"Don't worry," Emmett said, smiling at me. "We'll make sure he's okay.

Around me, I could hear the loud whispers of everyone. Bella and Edward's name were scattered through all of them.

"Out of all the girls in the school, he chose Bella Swan!" a girl a few table over said. I glared at the girl. She looked over, and when her eyes met mine, they quickly dropped. I smiled to myself and turned back to Jasper, who stared down at me with amusement.

"So small, yet so frightening," he murmured.

I smiled up at him, and gave him a quick peck on the cheek.

"Take whatever you want," Edward encouraged Bella. I turned back to them, as Bella took an apple.

"I'm curious," Bella said, spinning the apple in her hands. "What would you do if someone were to dare you to eat food?"

Rosalie and Emmett stopped talking, and their eyes, as well as Jasper's eyes snapped to Edward and Bella. I froze.

"What'd she say?" Jasper whispered.

"You're always curious," Edward said as he picked up a slice of pizza. He took a slice of pizza from the tray and took a bite.

We didn't speak as Bella watched with wide eyes.

"It was probably nothing," Rosalie said quietly, and she and Emmett turned back to their conversation. Rosalie didn't look entirely sure of her decision. Her eyes kept flashing over to Edward and Bella.

"If someone dared you to eat dirt, you could, couldn't you?"

"I did once….on a dare. It wasn't so bad," Bella admitted.

He laughed, "I suppose I'm not surprised."

Jasper squeezed my hand as I started to fidget in my seat.

"What's wrong, Alice?"

I shook my head. I fought to keep my emotions from being guilty as they always were when I lied to him. That was how he always knew when I was lying. "Nothing. People just started staring over here," I lied. The lie must have been convincing, as Jasper didn't press it any further.

"Jessica's analyzing everything I do," Edward told Bella. "She'll break it down for you later."

When Bella didn't answer, Edward continued. "So the waitress was pretty, was she?"

Bella raised an eyebrow. "You really didn't notice?"

"No, I wasn't really paying attention. I had a lot on my mind."

"Poor girl," Bella said, smiling.

Edward didn't speak for a moment. But when he did, you could hear him fighting to keep the conversation casual.

"Something you said to Jessica," he said, "Well it bothers me."

"I'm not surprised you heard something you didn't like," Bella snapped. "You know what they say about eavesdroppers."

I laughed quietly and leaned onto Jasper, who had moved his hand to having his arm around my shoulders.

"I warned you I was listening," Edward reminded her quietly.

"And I warned you that you didn't want to know everything I was thinking."

"You did. You aren't precisely right,though. I do want to know what you're thinking—everything. I just wish….you wouldn't be thinking some things."

"That's quite the distinction."

"But that's not really the point at the moment."

"Then what is?"

I turned my attention to Jasper, who still watched me.

"It's going to be sunny this weekend," I told him.

"Do you want to go stargazing," he teased.

I shook my head. "No. Maybe just spend time away from the house together."

Jasper smiled. "That sounds nice."

We both turned our attention back to Edward and Bella.

"I'm absolutely ordinary," Bella was saying. "Well, except for all the bad things like all the near death experiences, and being so clumsy that I'm almost disabled and look at you."

"You don't see yourself very clearly, you know," Edward said.

"Reminds me of you in the beginning. And even still now," Jasper grumbled. I glared at him, and he smiled as he tightened his hold around me.

"I'll admit," Edward said, "You're dead on about the bad things." he laughed humorlessly. "But you didn't hear what every human male was thinking on your first day."

Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper all froze. They all finally pieced together their conversation. They knew, that Bella knew. I saw flashes of Rosalie destroying Edward's Aston Martin and burning it.

"Alice, what has he done!" Rosalie growled as Jasper dropped his arm from my shoulders.

I quickly filled them in on everything. Rosalie hissed, and then the hiss turned into a snarl.

Emmett wrapped his arm around her, restraining her from getting up. I saw Edward flinch, and I knew that he knew.

 _I'm sorry Edward,_ I thought guiltily. _She could tell Bella knew too much from your conversation….and well, it would have been worse if I hadn't told her the truth right away. Trust me on that. I showed him the vision of Rosalie burning his favorite car._

Jasper wasn't much happier than Rosalie. I could feel the fury rolling off of him. I flinched away.

"I'm sorry Jasper," I whispered.

"You didn't tell me," he hissed.

"I promised Edward," I said, my voice no louder.

"You could have told me!" he said. I shook my head. "You didn't have to keep it from me!"

"I was afraid of this," I told him. I felt hurt at the idea of Jasper being upset with me. Not that I didn't deserve it though. But then I felt guilt, because I could have told him. I knew I could trust Jasper. But I focused on keeping my promise to Edward.

I hid my face in my hands, moving away from Jasper. The anger still rolled off of him.

"Alice…." he started. I stopped him when he trailed off.

"No, don't apologize,it's okay. You're right. I should have told you."

"He's endangered us all!" Rosalie hissed.

 _Please don't tell her about me….not just yet. If she ever asked, tell her the story I created for James. That I don't remember. Please._ I begged Edward. He nodded to quickly for the human eye to see, and I knew he was answering my request.

"She guessed," I said. "Edward never told her."

Suddenly, the visions of a field where only Edward went flashed into my mind.

 _Edward!_ I called. I showed him the place where I had seen. It reminded me of another vision I had seen. _It's the same place._

He shook his head, pushing the other visions out of his head.

He wasn't going to listen to me. I knew that now, so I stopped trying. I moved my hands, and looked back to my family. I sat further from Jasper than I had in a very long time. He still had anger rolling off of him.

"Jasper, I'm sorry," I whispered.

He looked at me. Hurt was apparent in his face.

"You hid this from me, Mary Alice. After what I said yesterday, about you being able to tell me anything, you kept this from me."

Hearing him call me Mary Alice took me by surprise. I hadn't expected it.

"We have bigger things to worry about,Jasper," Rosalie hissed. "What are we going to do with her?" She gestured over to Bella.

"We'll have to tell Carlisle, of course," I said, pulling my knees to my chest.

"We'll have to move again," Emmett said.

I shook my head. "She loves Edward too much to tell anybody anything."

Edward scowled at me, as I gave him a warning look. A few minutes later, my eyes flickered to Bella, and she met my eyes. I watched as her eyes glanced to Jasper, who still sat far from me, and to Rosalie and Emmett. All three stared at Edward. I offered her a small smile, which I don't think she saw.

"Alice," Jasper asked as shaking my shoulder. I turned to face him, but I didn't meet his eyes. "She won't say anything will she?"

I shook my head. "I swear."

"At any sign that she will, swear to me that you'll tell me."

"Jaz, she won't say anything," I complained.

"Promise me," he said. I sighed.

"Fine, I promise."

He turned back to Rosalie. "We'll talk to Edward and Carlisle when we get home. If Alice sees any immediate danger, she'll find me."

As far as I knew, Jasper stayed angry for the rest of the day. He still picked me up from English, but he was quiet.

"Jasper, please, I'm sorry. I don't know what to say to make it better."

"I'm not angry with you, Alice," he said, taking my hand. "I'm hurt."

"I promised him," I said, shaking my head. "He swore he was going to tell you guys. I respected his wishes."

He stopped and pulled me to him.

"I'm not mad anymore, Al. It just hurt. But I understand why you did it."

"You called me Mary Alice," I said, smiling up at him.

"I did."

He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

"I still love you though," he murmured against my ear before dragging me to French.

When French ended, we met up with Emmett, who waited outside.

"Rosalie still mad?" Jasper asked him.

He shrugged. "I'm sure she is. But she'll get over it. What about you?"

Jasper shook his head. "Not so much. Alice insists that Bella won't say anything."

Emmett smiled. "Well we all trust Alice."

I smiled. "That's not always a good thing."

Jasper rested his chin on the top of my head, as we all waited for Rosalie.

When Rosalie joined us, from where I stood, I could see the convertible being crowded by a group of people. Jasper tensed as he saw it too.

"We'll wait here for a few more minutes," I told Jasper. I then turned to Rosalie. "You two go ahead. We're going to wait here for a second."

Rosalie nodded, and started walking with Emmett. I turned to look at Jasper who had tightened his arms around me. I moved my head and pulled his down to me.

"It's okay," I said, as he looked down at me. "It's okay. Tonight, you're going to hunt with Carlisle and Esme, and you'll be alright."

His eyes focused on his face. "I'm okay," he said quietly. "I'm going to be alright."

His grip loosened, and we slowly walked to the car. When Emmett came through, a good deal of the crowd scattered.

"There we go," I said.

Jasper quickened the pace. He was very eager to get to the car. More people scattered as Jasper and I came through. Jasper jumped into the back seat, me sliding in next to him.

"Go Rosalie," I said. She quickly pulled from her parking space, and out of the lot. Before long, we were heading to the house.

"We'll make it there before Edward," I said. "We wait until he gets home before we say anything to Carlisle."

"Alice—"

I interrupted her. "No. We wait for Edward, then we walk to Carlisle."

She shrieked in frustration. I grinned, hidding my smile behind mine and Jasper's hands that were locked together.

"Don't push her, Alice," Jasper scolded.

"I'm not pushing her," I said smugly. "I'm simply telling her that we will wait for Edward before anything is said to Carlisle."

Rosalie didn't speak to me for the whole ride home. When we did make it to the house, she stormed angrily inside.

"What's wrong with Rosalie?" Carlisle asked when I came inside.

"When Edward comes home," I said. "It's easier for him to explain."

Carlisle didn't question it any further. Instead he turned to Jasper. "Me and Esme agreed to leave at about seven tonight. We'll be back at around seven tomorrow."

Jasper's eyes flashed over to me, then back to Carlisle. "That works for me."

Carlisle turned to me. "What time will Edward be home?"

I settled onto the couch next to Jasper.

"Soon. About thirty minutes I'd say."

"Well then when he gets home, we will talk to him about whatever has angered Rosalie."

When Edward came in the door, grinning from ear to ear, Carlisle called for Rosalie, who came storming down the stairs with Emmett trailing behind her. Jasper and I stood, watching as Rosalie backed Edward against the wall.

"You complete jackass!" she snarled. "How could you do this?"

"Rosalie," Carlisle said sharply. He turned to Edward. "Alice didn't tell us anything. She said it was easier for you to explain."

Edward looked up at Carlisle, then over to me.

"Bella knows," he said quietly. "She guessed, and she guessed right."

"She knows about us?" Esme gasped. Edward nodded, and set into the story of what had happened the previous night.

"I'm sorry," Edward said to Carlisle when he finished.

"You knew this was going to happen," Rosalie said as she came in my direction. Jasper tightened his grip around me, moving back. He snarled as she stepped closer.

"I knew it was a possibility. When I saw that it happened I swore that I wouldn't say anything. Not even to Jasper. I made a promise. I keep my promises."

"But now we're all in danger!" she hissed. "I bet you if it was Harry or George that were in danger you would have said something the second you knew!"

I shrank away from her.

"Rosalie!" Carlisle said again. He turned to me. "Alice you did the right thing in keeping your promise to Edward. But this is serious. Are you positive she won't say anything to anyone."

"Yes," Edward and I said together. He gave me a small smile.

"What are we going to do?" Jasper asked.

"For now, we can stay here, but if things start to look bad…." Carlisle trailed off.

"She already knows she can't say anything," Edward said.

Carlisle nodded and turned back to me. "Alice can you see her saying anything?"

I shook my head. "She won't say anything. I looked when I found out that she knew."

"Okay. Well I'll trust that. But you have to tell me if you see even the slightest possibility of her saying anything. Understood?"

I nodded. "Understood."

The thing I liked most but also hated the most about Carlisle and Esme, was that they were like actually like my parents. But sometimes, I wondered whether Carlisle and Esme felt the same way about me, as I did them. Especially knowing what I did about Esme. In England, I didn't really have much of a mother, seeing as she died when I was young. I didn't remember much about her, but even know, I could clearly remember the night that she died.

Green lights flashed behind my eyes. he anniversary was coming up soon. May 17th to be exact. In this time, she had only been dead for twenty four years. But to me, she had been dead for a lot longer. Knowing that she was buried in the same graveyard as my tombstone was, made it more difficult, because I knew I could never go visit. Not until everyone I knew was dead. Which would still be several more years. Or until James was dead, although I was sure that my entire family dying would come first.

Things like this was hard for me. Edward, Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper could all go visit the graves of their family. In fact, Jasper and I had went to Texas recently. He showed me the graves of his mother, his father, and even his own. Of course, I had the grave in Biloxi, but it wasn't mine. And it wasn't my family.

As for me, I went from 1998 to 1948. In that time, I watched everyone I knew before, being born, and even when people like my parents, James, Lily, Fred, and Remus die. But people like Harry, Molly, George, and so many others were still alive, and while James was alive, I could never go back. But I could never kill him promise to Helen, Tobias, and Jasper aside, I didn't know what he or Victoria looked like.

 _Don't let Jasper follow me_ , I begged Edward before darting out of the room. _Tell him I'll be back before he leaves._

"Alice!" Jasper called after me.

I paused outside of the forest.

"Don't follow her. She wants to be alone. She thought how much like Carlisle and Esme were like her parents. Then that led her to think of her family in Britain. She'll be back before you leave."

Once Edward filled Jasper in, I darted to the field where Jasper and I came so often. It wasn't like the one I saw Edward and Bella in, in my visions. In Edward's field, it was filled with various wildflowers. Mine was filled with a lot of green. Grass, and the surrounding trees.

I stayed there for a while and gathered my thoughts. Jasper didn't come, just like I asked.

I cried. I couldn't help it as the memories began to flash in my head. It was like my life was playing on a screen, except somebody chopped the happy parts.

When the flashing stopped, and I had pulled myself together, I made my way back to the house. I stopped outside of the trees. I could see Jasper sitting on the front step, his hand covering his face. I quietly walked to him and knelt down in front of him. I placed my hands under his and pulled them from his face.

He looked up at me, before pulling me into a hug.

"You didn't want me there," he said in a quiet voice.

"No," I said. "But I wanted to say goodbye before you went hunting. I know you'll only be gone for under a day, but I wanted you to know that I was okay."

"I can stay," he said, not letting me go. "If you need me here, I can go tomorrow, or with you and Edward on Friday."

I shook my head. "No, Jasper. You go. I'm okay now."

"I'm so sorry, Alice," he said. "I know you can't go back home. Not now."

"When James dies," I said through clenched teeth.

"What about Victoria?"

"She posed no threat to my family. Besides, when James dies, I don't think Victoria will be too long after him."

He didn't let go of me, but he moved me to where I was sitting in his lap.

"Carlisle and Esme are worried about you," he said, as I laid my head on my shoulder. "You should go talk to them."

"Why are they worried?"

He looked at me in disbelief. "Well it's close to the anniversary of both your parents death–"

"I still have over two month for my mother, and over three months for my father," I said. He put a finger up to my lips.

"Either way it goes. They always worry about you during this time. Edward told us what you were thinking. They were really upset when he told them that you often questioned if they thought of you as their daughter."

I hid my face, suddenly feeling guilty.

"No, Alice," Jasper said, pushing back the feeling of contentment. "Don't feel guilty, and please, don't hide your face."

He put a hand under my chin, and tilted my head back.

"I better go talk to them," I said. He nodded.

"You should."

He leaned down, and kissed me. Suddenly, everything felt better.

"Better?" he asked when he pulled away.

"Much," I said, with a small smile. He smiled back and dropped him arms.

"Go talk to Carlisle and Esme. They are in Carlisle's study."

I nodded, gave him another quick kiss, and jumped to my feet.

"I'll come see you before you guys leave," I said. Jasper smiled and nodded, while I darted through the house and up the stairs.

I paused outside of the door. Suddenly I felt guilty and ashamed.

"Come in," Carlisle said softly as I reached up to knock.

Carlisle sat on his desk, while Esme sat in a chair in front of him.

"Alice," Esme breathed when I stepped inside.

"Are you feeling better?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded, and kept my eyes on the ground. "I had the time I needed to think."

"Please," Carlisle said, gesturing to the empty chair. "Sit."

My eyes never met theirs as I moved across the room.

"Alice, why do you think we don't think of you as our child?" Esme asked, leaning closer towards me.

"I don't have a complete answer for that," I said, fidgeting with my wedding band on my finger.

"Why do you think that you feel that way?" Carlisle asked.

I shrugged. "I guess it's because I don't remember what it was like to have parents."

"You had parental figures growing up, didn't you?"

"Yes and no. Yes, because I did have Molly who was like a mother to me. She treated me the same way as she treated the rest of her kids. But no, because I never truly felt like I belong. And here, I'd like to think of you guys as my parents, but when you asked me about Legillimency, I heard a thought I wasn't supposed to hear."

Esme looked at me, confused.

"What thought."

I closed my eyes.

"You think more of Edward than the rest of us. He was your first child. Rosalie was your first daughter. The way I see it, I will never have the bond with either of you that you have with them."

I finally looked up at them. Esme's eyes were sad.

"I didn't know that you heard that," she said, "and that's not at all what I meant. I love all of my children the same. Edward was my first child, that's true. But I had just lost my baby, so for me, Edward was everything that my baby could have been. That doesn't change the way I feel about you or Jasper."

"Alice, we've told you several times, you and Jasper will always be our children. No matter what," Carlisle said.

I knew that of course. But that small piece of me, still didn't know for sure.

"Can I ask you a question?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded.

"How much do you remember about your parents? I know your memories work differently."

"I remember what I was told. But as far as my memory goes, I remember the night my mother died. As for my father, the memory extends the same way. He went to jail not long after Mom died. The night she died, something in him switched. I think he blamed me...I saw it too late, but you guys already know that. I remember what he was like when he escaped. It was the same, but it was different. He favored Harry. It was almost as if I didn't exist. To him anyways. That's why I took that thought so hard. I don't want to be more important than anyone else, but I don't want to be a second choice."

Esme pulled me into a hug. "You will always be my daughter. I never want you to feel like I don't think of you that way, and Alice, you are not a second choice."

"I'm sorry," I whispered, looking at Carlisle over Esme's shoulder.

"Don't be sorry," he said, pulling me into a tight hug when Esme let go. "We just wanted to understand."

I smiled at them both.

"Thank you for listening."

"Of course. Next time, come to us. Don't run."

I nodded.

"Of course."

"How much longer until you guys leave?" I asked.

Carlisle looked at his watch. "About a half an hour. That was all we wanted to talk about. I'm sure Jasper is waiting for you."

I smiled. "He is. He's at the bottom of the stairs."

"Jasper was worried about you," Esme said, watching me. "He didn't stop pacing. He almost decided not to go with us."

"He offered to stay with me earlier, but surely you weren't going to let him stay here."

"There would have been no way to stop him," Carlisle said.

I opened the door, and from downstairs, I could hear Edward and Jasper talking.

"She's okay, Jasper. She's going to get through this like she always does. Just give her some time."

"I just wish there is more I can do for her," he said.

"We all do. But here in a minute she is going to come back down here as good as new."

"I know," Jasper said. "But can you blame me for being worried? Maybe I shouldn't go tonight."

"I'd better go," I said, rising to my feet. "He'll worry himself into not going hunting. And him not taking care of himself won't help me."

Carlisle and Esme smiled, and I darted from the study down the stairs.

"You're going," I said, as I sat on the stair next to him. "I'm alright, I swear."

He groaned, and pulled me into a hug. "I can always go tomorrow."

I shook my head. "Nope. Not a chance. You are going tonight if I have to get Emmett to drag you."

He smiled, and I turned to Edward.

"Thank you for helping."

"Of course," he said with a grin.

"Come on," I said, standing and pulling Jasper to his feet. "Let's go for a walk before you go."

Jasper let me pull him through the house and out the door, into the woods.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay?" Jasper asked.

"Yes, Jasper. I am absoultley sure. You're going. End of discussion."

I stopped walking, pulling Jasper in front of me. "I'll be okay Jasper. Don't worry about me. Just focus on taking care of yourself."

He pulled me into a hug. "I will always worry about you. Just as you will always worry about me."

"I don't always worry," I mumbled.

He laughed.

"Of course not, Al."

"I don't!" I said, pulling away from him.

Jasper chuckled, as he ran a hand through his hair.

"I suppose you don't worry all the time," he said. "But you do a good portion of the time."

Jasper and I walked through the outskirts of the forest. I did feel a lot better now. Having Jasper there helped. Even when it was time for him to leave, I was still in a good mood.

Edward, Emmett, and I sat in the living room doing various things. Emmett was watching a baseball game, while Edward and I played a game of chess. Rosalie was in the garage, tuning up her car.

 _How's Jasper doing?_ I asked Edward, as I moved a pawn forward.

Edward frowned. "You're around him more than I am."

 _But you see what's going on inside his head. I can't. Not without him noticing anyways. I'm never sure if he's just telling me what I want to hear or not._

"He's doing okay. He's really trying. For you. A lot of what he does, is for you."

 _Is that a good thing?_ I asked, suddenly becoming worried.

Edward nodded. "It's a very good thing."

 _Is he happy here?_

Edward nodded again. "He's happy wherever you are I'd say. You make a difference in his life."

I thought of myself in the days after my father's death leading up to the end of my life. I compared that to now. I thought of mine and Jasper's wedding, and the two of us watching the stars a few nights ago.

I looked up at Edward and smiled. _He's made a huge difference in mine. I can't imagine what I would have become without him here._

Edward grinned, and moved a piece.

"Checkmate."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. I want to talk a little bit about Jasper in this chapter. So we all know that Jasper loves Alice very, very much, and because of her history, he worries about her. That is why he gets so upset when she keeps things from him. He spends his days worrying that Alice is going to try and find James to kill him. So it upset him that she didn't tell him about something that could put her in danger of the Volturi. As for Alice in this chapter, she ran because she still believed Jasper to be upset with her, so she wanted to fix it on her own.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, review! :)**


	56. The Weekend

_"Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless." ~Bill Watterson_

* * *

Chapter 56- The Weekend

When Carlisle, Esme, and Jasper got back the next morning, I was immediately greeted with a long, tight hug from Jasper.

"Good morning," I said, when he finally released me.

"Good morning," he said.

"Someone's in a good mood this morning."

"I am. But so are you."

I smiled up, pushing his hair from his eyes. The black from last night was gone. They were now glittering gold. He leaned down, and kissed my forehead as I traced where the dark circles had been hours ago.

"Come on," I said, pulling him to the stairs. "We've got to go get ready. We don't have much time."

It took a relatively quick time for us to get ready, changing from our clothes from yesterday, and me recovering the red outline on my arm.

"I can't wait until summer," I said, as I put the foundation back into the drawer. "Then I won't have to worry about covering this damn thing up every single day."

"Well we have a couple months to go," he said, his eyes sparkling with excitement.

"Then you get to graduate and leave me alone," I grumbled, pouting my lip out.

Jasper's laugh rang throughout the room as he swooped down and kissed my stuck out lip.

"You'll be okay. It's only one year without me."

"I know. But I'll still miss you. I've gotten so used to you being around."

"I'll miss you too, but I'll be here everyday before you leave, and everyday when you come home to me."

I smiled and stood from my seat at the desk. Jasper stood as well, throwing an arm over my shoulders.

"Come on," he said, guiding me through the door. "Rosalie's starting to get impatient. She's ready to leave."

Jasper grabbed our jackets from the bed as we passed, while I grabbed our bags from beside the door.

"About time," Rosalie said when we got in the garage. She was still mad at me for keeping this from her, but much like everyone else, she was worried about me after last night.

"We still have 10 minutes before we actually have to leave," I said, before hopping into the back seat, Jasper moving into his place next to me.

"Yes, but I'd rather get there early and avoid the crowd," she said, more nicer than the first statement.

"I guess that's a good idea."

After draping my jacket on my shoulders, Jasper held it down when he returned his arm to my shoulders.

I curled up at his side as Rosalie pulled out of the garage. Jasper moved his arm, running his hand through my hair.

Jasper and I stayed quiet for a little while, listening to Rosalie and Emmett discuss the plans of a trip to Africa they were planning to take when the school year ended.

"Well we'll go see the pyramids of course," Rosalie said. "However that may be something we have to do at night."

"Do you think we could stay with Carlisle's friends in Egypt?" Emmett asked.

"I don't think so. Amun is very secretive."

"We could still go to Egypt, even if we don't go see Amun."

"Take pictures," I murmured.

"Of course, Alice," Rosalie said, giving me a faint smile through the rearview mirror.

"The Weasleys went to Egypt once," I told Jasper in a quiet voice, as I closed my eyes.

"Did they?"

I nodded.

"The year I turned seventeen. They won a Galleon draw, so they went to go see Bill. Fred and George begged me to come with them, but because Dad had escaped, Remus, Molly, and Arthur didn't think it was such a good idea."

I listened to Emmett and Rosalie's hushed voices, and Jasper's calm and steady breathing. It was all soothing. Especially if you added the whistling wind as Rosalie sped down the streets of Forks.

The ride itself was peaceful. Rosalie's anger towards me, seemed to fade slightly. About halfway through the ride, I started getting flashes of all the questions Edward planned on asking Bella.

I thought more of the differences between Bella and Edward's relationship versus mine and Jasper's. I spent a good amount of time just getting to know him before we started dating, and I think that may have also had something to do with not being ready for a relationship when I first met Jasper. Edward and Bella seemed to do everything Jasper and I did in reverse. They became public about their relationship, then they started to get to know each other. Not that that was bad, of course, it just took me by surprise.

"Al," Jasper said quietly. "Come on, Darlin' we're here."

When I opened my eyes, we were in the school parking lot. A few people were watching us. Then again, they could have just been looking at the car. Either way, to a degree, it made me nervous.

When Jasper moved his arm, I slipped it through the sleeves of my jacket.

"Come on," he said, taking my hand. I let him pull me from the car into his arms. "We still have awhile before class starts. Let's go for a walk."

His bookbag was more of a messenger bag, so once he put that over his shoulders, he took my bag, and threw it onto his back.

"I've got it," I said reaching to get it back from him.

"No, no. Let me." He took my hand. "Isn't that what they do in high school? The boyfriend carries his girlfriend's things?"

"I think that rule can be bent for husband and wife," I said too quiet for human ears.

"We'll I'm posing as your boyfriend, not your husband," he said in the same quiet tone, smirking at me.

I chuckled.

"Okay, fine carry the bag."

He grinned and squeezed my hand.

"Glad you're seeing things my way."

I scoffed, and playfully shoved him away from me.

We walked around the parking lot until we saw Edward and Bella pull in next to Rosalie's car. They got there about ten minutes after we had, but I didn't at all think that it was because of Edward's driving.

Jasper walked me to class like always, pausing outside the classroom door.

"I'll see you after class," I said, standing on my tiptoes to kiss him.

"I'll be waiting right here," he said.

"I love you," I said, looking into his eyes. .

"I love you too."

He kissed me one more time before he turned and headed to his own class. I watched him before smiling, and entering my own class.

The day seemed to move slowly today, although I kept myself occupied by doing the work at the pace of the others. This seemed to work, and before I knew it, I was in gym.

"How's questioning Bella going?" I asked Edward. "What have you learned?"

"Her favorite color changes. I've learned what she's listening too right now."

I was surprised. He usually avoided talking to me about Bella. To me, it would seem that he was hoping I wouldn't befriend her. But I suppose after last night, everyone felt sorry for me, and that's why he was talking to me about it now.

"Why are you blocking me out?" Edward asked.

I didn't look up at him.

"I'm sorry. I didn't realize that I was," I lied.

"Alice, is everything okay?"

I nodded.

"Of course."

"Last night was not easy, I'm sure."

"You're right. It wasn't."

"They do love you, you know."

"I do know. But sometimes, I forget that."

Edward hesitated, but I could see there was something further he wanted to ask me.

"What?" I asked.

"Your memories...they play like movies, right?"

I nodded.

"Do you ever get stuck in them?"

I nodded.

"Jasper helps...sometimes he can't, and I'm stuck watching horrible things in my life. Mom dying, Remus leaving, Dad dying..." I trailed off, as I hit the ball.

"How do you get out of it?"

"I have to try and replace myself. Find a way to remind myself that I am not there anymore."

He paused again.

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Go ahead."

"If you could go home, back to Britain I mean, what would be the first thing you would do?"

"I think I'd go visit my parent's graves, then try and find Harry and George."

I looked over at Edward, and smiled.

"Anymore questions?"

He nodded.

"I have one more. How did you know you were in love?"

"Which time?"

"Both."

"In my years, I have only been in love twice. With Remus, it was a crush. I don't know what it was, but I loved him. When he left, it hurt. What absolutely destroyed me was that he moved on, with my cousin."

"And with Jasper?"

"As you know I saw him for the first time during my transformation. I knew the angel had to be a part of my life. When I realized that I loved him, it was so different than Remus. With Jasper, it felt like I couldn't live without him. I knew then that I would do anything for him. Anything to make sure that the angel stayed happy. When I finally met him, it was like all the weight that was holding me down was finally lifted. Like I was free."

When I stopped talking, Edward was watching me.

"I know it's not a very good explanation," I said, shaking my head.

"No, it's fine."

"It's been over fifty years," I said looking at Edward. "It's been over fifty years, and you all will always have new questions."

"That's because you came from a place that I can't even imagine."

"One day I'll show you."

We went through the rest of gym talking very little. At the end, I walked to go find Jasper while he went to go find Bella.

Jasper stood where he always did. The only difference was today he leaned against the side of the wall.

"Hey," he said when I reached him.

"Hi," I said. I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him.

We walked a little bit further down to where Rosalie and Emmett waited for the two of us.

"What time are you leaving tomorrow?" Jasper asked.

"Right after lunch. We'll probably go a little bit before."

"Okay," he said.

"Don't worry," I said, rubbing the back of his hand with my thumb. "I'll be back before you have time to miss me."

"I'll already miss you," he said, as we stepped in the cafeteria.

Rosalie and Emmett paid us no mind. They talked more about their trip and the hunting possibilities. Jasper and I got our food, and sat in our usual spots. I leaned against him, and he wrapped an arm around me.

I didn't listen to Edward and Bella. Instead Jasper and I talked about our weekend, and what we would do.

Friday, I'd be with Edward, so Jasper said he'd probably help Esme around the house. Saturday, while Edward was with Bella, we planned on taking a couple recreational items,like chess, gobstones, and Muggle cards, and spending the day in the place where we stargazed, and we probably would stay there through the night if the weather stays nice. Sunday, we'd spend the day with the family. We spent a lot of time in our room, and it made me feel bad, especially with what happened last night.

"One more class," I said, as we walked to French. "Then we get to go home."

He smiled, but he didn't say anything. He was feeling content. To be as close to him as I always was, it was natural for me to be able to feel what he was.

The worry increased as class started. He didn't speak. He just held tightly onto my hand under the table.

"Don't be worried," he said in my ear. "I'm okay. I'm just thinking."

"About what?"

"Tomorrow."

"What about it? I thought you said you were going to be okay."

He scowled at me as Mrs. Molina passed around a worksheet. We paid little attention to the work that set in front of us. Instead, he scowled at me, and I glared at him.

I turned away from him, setting the hand I had just taken from him in my lap, and started working on my sheet.

"It's nothing, Al. Just thinking about what I'm going to do while you're gone. After I help Esme, I'm going to need to do something."

He kissed my cheek without anyone noticing. I hid my smile behind the sleeve of my shirt.

"See?" he said smugly. "Can never stay mad at me."

"I wasn't mad. I was irritated that you wouldn't talk to me."

He laughed quietly and shook his head. People around us had started talking, so our conversation didn't seem so out of place.

"My apologies, ma'am," he murmured in my ear.

I smiled, and looked down at my worksheet.

When class ended, Jasper and I stayed behind so I could get my work. I didn't like being behind. Once we got that, we went to meet Rosalie and Emmett by the car.

The ride home was mostly quiet. Rosalie and Emmett talked in low voices, and Jasper and I sat quietly, just enjoying each other's company.

When we got to the house, Rosalie and Emmett went immediately to their room. Esme was in her's and Carlisle's room, I could hear the scratches of the pencil on the papers. Carlisle left about an hour after we did. He had taken on extra hours at the hospital for the week.

"How about a game of chess?" I asked, sitting my bag on the couch.

He thought about it for a moment.

"I won't cheat," I promised.

Jasper sighed, but he was smiling.

"Come on. We'll play a game or two."

We played two different games. Jasper won the first, I won the second. I focused on not letting the visions, that I usually welcomed, surface. I played fair.

Edward came home before the sun had fully set. Jasper and I sat on the couch, him sitting cross legged, and running his fingers through my hair while I sat with my head in his lap.

Edward moved my legs, and sat down with us. We had been watching the news.

"Are you going back tonight?" I asked.

"Don't I always?"

I shrugged and sat up.

"I guess so. But don't you get bored watching her sleep?"

He shook his head. "You know how Jasper stays with you when you try and focus on the future? Or when your energy is at its lowest?"

I nodded. "He told me when we first met that he found it interesting."

"That's how it is with Bella. She talks in her sleep."

I smiled.

"I told you it would happen for you," I said.

He looked at me questioningly.

"What are you talking about?"

"When we were moving to Calgary. I told you one day she'd come. I was right."

Jasper started laughing. "I remember that day very well," he said. "The movers thought our relationship was odd."

"Everyone thinks our relationship is odd."

Edward looked between the two of us. "I remember that day too. Alice had so much hope for me finding a mate."

"But I was right, wasn't I?" I asked.

He smiled and looked down at the floor. "Yeah, Alice. You were right."

"One day you'll learn to not doubt me, Edward."

Jasper laughed again, and Edward playfully punched my leg.

"Hey, Alice?" Edward asked, after a few minutes.

"Hmm?"

"You don't want Bella to know your past."

I shook my head.

"No. Not yet."

"So what do I tell her about your energy?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"I'm going to start taking potions again. That should help. Just tell her that because the public story is that I'm sick, I take off for a few days out of the month."

He nodded.

"Why don't you want to tell her?"

"It's not safe. Not with James still alive."

We all watched the news for a while longer before Edward left to go see Bella. Carlisle came home as Edward was leaving.

Jasper and I went to our room to do homework, which we both finished quickly. Afterwards, I laid at his side, with his hand in mine, and closed my eyes, focusing on nothing in particular.

Before we knew it, the day was up.

"Come on, Al," he said pulling my arm.

I groaned but let him pull me off the bed and to the closet.

I ended up in another long sleeved shirt, and didn't bother covering up the mark. My wand was stowed away on the holster on my forearm like it is for every hunting trip.

"Are you ready?" I asked, slipping out of the closet to put on my jacket.

"Almost," he said following me out while clipping a set of chains onto his jeans. "There. Now I'm finished."

I tossed him his jacket, and grabbed both of our bags from next to the door as I did every morning.

Jasper sat closer to me than usual on the ride to school.

"Are you sure you're going to be okay?"

"Yeah I'm going to be just fine," he said, his lips brushing against my temple. "And you and Edward are gonna go and hunt, then later tonight you'll come back to me."

I leaned my head against his shoulder. "I'll have my phone on in case you need me."

"I know, Darlin'."

When we got to the school, I looked around for Edward, and then Bella, then finally for the Volvo. I didn't find any of the three.

"Are we waiting for Edward to get here?"

I shook my head. "No, I'll just talk to him in gym."

Jasper and I walked around the lot for a bit, waiting for a time closer to the bell ringing for us to head to class.

When gym came, Edward waited for me.

"What time are we coming back tonight?" he asked.

"That's up to you," I said, holding open the door for him.

"Do you think coming back at around one o'clock would give us enough time?"

I nodded. "It should. If not we can stay another hour or two."

He nodded. "Sounds like a plan."

We went for the rest of gym quietly discussing the plan. As bad as I hated to say it, it was the longest Edward and I had talked in a long time. Even if it was about hunting, we talked.

When lunch came, Jasper was leaning on the side of the gym building.

"I'll come get you at the end of lunch," I said, as Jasper took my hand.

Edward, walking in the opposite direction, held a thumb up behind his back.

Rosalie and Emmett had went ahead to the cafeteria, so it was just Jasper and I.

We walked quietly. Jasper seemed absorbed in his thoughts. But he was happy. I knew that much.

"Hey, Alice?" he asked as we stepped into the cafeteria.

"Hmm?"

"Did you and Edward decide on a time to come back?"

I nodded. "We're going to go until one. But there is a slight chance we'll stop at three."

He nodded. "Okay."

"Why? Are you okay?"

He nodded. "Just curious. And I know. If I need anything to call you."

We stepped into the line, and Jasper moved his arm around my shoulders.

He seemed to be doing okay. He was more quiet than normal, but also more relaxed.

He stayed quiet until we sat down before he launched into a story about his psychology class. Today they had talked about the cultural differences between Britain and America.

"I had meant to tell you about it this morning," he said.

"How much did they get right?"

"A good portion of it based on what you told me."

I smiled and shook my head.

"Tell me about it."

"Well a lot of it is subtle," he started. He told me about the word differences that it took me years to learn.

I grinned as Jasper talked about the class.

"I really think you'd like psychology, Al," he said.

"I've never taken it before Jaz."

"I'll teach you!"

I laughed.

"I'll think about it," I said smiling.

He and I talked about various other things. Some included what he would do, and others included what we would do when I got back.

"How much longer do I have with you?" he asked, as I glanced at the clock.

"Not much, love."

We both listened in to Edward and Bella's conversation a few tables over.

"I should have let you drive yourself today," Edward said.

"Why?" she demanded.

"I'm leaving with Alice after lunch."

Jasper and I talked quietly. I still had a bit before I actually had to leave.

I turned back and looked at Edward and Bella. They were currently having a scowling contest. Or at least that's what it looked like to me.

"Why are you going with Alice?" Bella asked when I started listening again.

"Alice is the most….supportive."

"And the others? What are they?"

"Incredulous, for the most part."

I laughed, and Jasper glared at me.

"Don't give me that look, Jasper," I said. I then turned my attention to the other two. "Bella's about to look."

Jasper stared off somewhere above my head, while Emmett slouched in his chair. I stared out the window, and Rosalie looked at Emmett.

"They don't like me," Bella guessed.

"That's not it. They don't understand why I can't leave you alone," Edward said.

"Damn straight," Rosalie said, under her breathe.

"Neither do I, for that matter," Bella said at the same time.

"I told you—you don't see yourself clearly at all. You're not like anyone I've ever known. You fascinate me. Having the advantages I do, I have a better than average grasp of human nature. People are predictable. But you… you never do what I expect. You always take me by surprise."

Edward had broken off mid-sentence to growl at Rosalie who glared at Bella.

"Rosalie, that's enough," I said, grabbing my bag.

She turned her glare on me.

"Glare all you want. It doesn't change that you are being rude." I snapped. I turned to Jasper and pulled the rings from around my neck. "Keep these safe for me?" I asked. When he nodded, I put them around his neck. "Thank you."

He nodded, and pulled me into another hug.

"I love you," he said quietly.

"I love you too, Jazz. I'll be back before you know it."

He kissed me, and like always it seemed like the world stop.

I pulled away from him, pressed a hand against his cheek.

"I'll see you soon," I promised.

"Bye, Al," he said, smiling at me as I stood.

I walked through the crowd of people, careful to make sure that none of them touched my icy skin.

"And you're ready to leave now?" Bella asked, her voice becoming clearer as I got closer.

"Yes," Edward said. It's probably for the best. We still have fifteen minutes left of that wretched movie left to endure in Biology." He paused. I stepped behind him then. "I don't think I could take anymore."

Bella looked up to me then. I smiled at her.

"Alice," Edward greeted without turning to look at me.

"Edward."

"Alice, Bella—Bella,Alice."

"Hello, Bella!" I said, still smiling. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

Edward flashed a dark look in my direction.

"Hi, Alice," she mumbled shyly.

"Are you ready?" I asked, turning back to Edward.

"Nearly. I'll meet you at the car."

I walked away without saying anything else, and shot Jasper a smile before walking out of the cafeteria.

I walked across the lot rather than running. There were a few people who didn't go to lunch, and were in their cars, probably ditching the next block. I still walked quickly though, making it to the car before Edward made it out of the cafeteria.

The car door was locked and a few people had been looking in my direction. I had suddenly found myself grateful for being able to do wandless magic. I quickly unlocked the door, and ducked inside.

"To Bella's house first?" I asked, as he slipped in.

"You have your wand, right?"

"I always do. I'm sure it will come in handy when breaking and entering. Even if I didn't have it, I can do wandless magic."

"There is an unlocking spell type thing, right?"

I nodded. Edward was curious about the world I came from. But he never seemed to borrow any of my books. I would have thought at some point in the last fifty five years, he would have asked at least once.

"You've never offered them to me. I didn't think I was welcome to them. Carlisle wonders about it quite often too."

"Just ask. I have a few different books I think you'd like."

"I may take you up on the offer. It gives me something to do at night."

"Yeah I guess watching someone sleep can get boring," I mumbled.

"It's not boring," he said, as we started speeding down the road. "It's just slow. She takes a bit before she starts talking."

My mouth made an 'o' shape, but I didn't speak.

When we got to Bella's house, Edward followed me to the door. Everyone seemed to be at work, so we didn't worry about leaving the Volvo in an unseen location.

I approached the door, and Edward hovered behind me.

"She didn't lock the deadbolt," he said.

"I know."

I focused on the door, and raised my hand to it. I did the usual hand movements that you would do with a wand, looking around.

The click of the door unlocking seemed louder than what it would have with a key. Perhaps it was the magic forcing it open. I did another quick sweep of the street before ducking into the house.

"Close the door," I told Edward. "I'll get the key."

I pulled my wand from the holster as Edward shut the door.

"Accio truck key," I said, clearly.

I heard the whistle of the key. I held out my hand and the key dropped onto it.

"Here we are," I murmured.

"I'll drive the truck. You drive my car behind me, we'll take that back to the house, then we'll go."

I handed him the truck key, and he handed me the key to the Volvo.

He headed out of the house before me, and I paused to turn the lock before shutting the door behind me.

I darted through the rain to the car. The loud roar of the truck behind me carried through the town. We quickly made it back to the school, and Edward parked the truck in the empty space where the Volvo sat before.

"Okay, so we'll take this to the house, then go through the woods to the park," he said, ducking into the passenger side.

I nodded, and backed out of the lot.

Edward and I ran inside the house long enough to drop our bags off in our rooms, and to take off our jackets. I didn't like hunting in my jacket because I felt that it was too much weight.

We then took off for the Olympic National Park.

To give it credit, it did hold a nice variety of animals. Bears, elk, deers, and Roosevelt elk cows.

About half way through the trip, Edward and I paused and sat on the rock.

"It's stressful being away from her, isn't it?" I asked, climbing onto the rock next to him.

He nodded. "She's a danger magnet, Alice. I'm worried she's going to fall into the washer or trip down the stairs."

I chuckled before shaking my head.

"So I've noticed. But it's like that even if they're not magnets for danger."

He looked at me with surprise. "It's like that for you and Jasper? I've never noticed."

"When I came into this world, he was all I had. Even now, everything he does, he's trying to keep me safe."

"I know that. But he should know you're perfectly safe."

I nodded. "He does. But I don't think he's only protecting me from outside forces."

He looked at me questioningly, cocking his head to the side.

"I don't understand."

"I think he's also trying to save me from my mind. He knows I constantly think about how things could have gone differently in my human life. I don't regret my decision to be changed. But I wish there was more I could do."

I looked down at my feet.

"But there was nothing you could have done."

I laughed hollowly. "That's what everyone tells me. But I know there had to be more."

"No, Alice, that's the truth. You did what you had to do to survive."

"Killing several innocent people….how is that better?"

"Because you wouldn't have gotten to Jasper if you didn't do that."

I shrugged. "Maybe you're right. But your being right doesn't make it any better."

"I know."

I always thought that's why I related to Edward so much. We differed, because I didn't think I was a monster for what I am. I thought I was a monster for what I've done. Jasper helped numb the pain and guilt. I'm sure being with Bella did the same for him, even if it meant that he was hardly around anymore. But I related to him, because he understood the guilt of killing people. Not in the way Jasper did.

I hopped off the rock. "Well. I don't know about you but I'd like to make the most of my hunting."

I darted off through the space, and charged after a elk. It was small, and fast. I found it easier that if I was hunting in a time crunch, much like today, I could get more prey by stunning my catches.

"Immobulus!" I cried. The elk dropped and fell to its feet.

It belated under me as my sharp teeth pierced into it's throat. The bleats turned to gurgles, then went silent all together. My sleeves had been rolled up, so I wiped my mouth on my forearm.

We took another break at around nine, to decide how much longer.

"I should be good," I said. "I've had a decent amount. I'd say I'm almost done."

I was currently working towards clearing up any trace of Edward and I being there.

"Me too," Edward agreed.

"We may be able to leave earlier," I told him.

He nodded.

"So let's meet here at ten. Or would you rather eleven?"

"How about ten-thirty?" I asked. "It's a nice medium."

I nodded.

"Gives me the chance to get one more in."

He grinned as I took off through the park.

We did as we said we would, and met back up at ten-thirty.

"Are you going to text Jasper and tell him we're on the way back?"

I shook my head.

"No. I think I'd rather it be a surprised."

He smiled at me, and we started to head back towards the house.

"Alice?"

"Yeah?"

"I wanted to say I'm sorry. I know I'm not really around anymore."

"It's okay," I said, smiling at him. "You're happy. We miss you, of course, but you're happy."

He smiled.

"This is why I said you were more supportive," he said, smiling at the ground.

"Edward?"

He looked up at me.

"What's going to happen next year? Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett are going to be gone. It would seem like you don't want me around Bella. So what? Am I going to be alone?"

"No, Alice!" Edward said. "It's not that I don't want you around Bella. It's just that I wanted to see how things would go. Next year, you won't be alone, I swear."

I smiled, and we continued to take off.

When we made it back to the house, Jasper wasn't waiting outside like I expected. I smiled, and went into the house, closing the door quietly behind Edward.

I found him in the living room, playing chess with Carlisle.

"Hey," I said, sitting down on the floor next to him.

"You're back early," he said, not taking his eyes off the board.

"We finished early," I said, kissing his cheek.

"Will you be back before you and Bella head out?" Carlisle asked, much like Jasper when he greeted me, not taking his eyes off the board.

He nodded. "I'll be back when Chief Swan wakes up."

"What time will that be?" Jasper asked.

"He wakes up early each morning," Edward said. "It's hard to pinpoint a time."

Edward turned to me, and closed my eyes.

"He's going fishing. He'll probably be awake at around five."

"Is Bella asleep?" he asked.

I changed my focus to Bella. She looked to have been asleep for a while now. She looked very peaceful.

"Yes," I said, opening my eyes. "Would you like to borrow a book?"

He scowled at me, but nodded.

I stood. "Follow me."

He and I went up to mine and Jasper's room, and straight to the large bookcase.

"Here's all my books," I said, pointing to the collection of books that I both came to America with, and bought over the years. "If you're looking to read about a certain section, their organized by you're looking to read about magic in general, this section may help you more," I said, waving to the section dedicated to History of Magic.

He pulled off A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot off the shelf a I placed my wand into its box, and placed the holster on my bedside table.

"There you go," I said. "Give it back to me when you finish it. Just don't have it with you when you're around Bella, please."

While I already thought of Bella as one of my friends, I didn't want her to know just yet.

"I'll put it back in here in the morning."

"Thank you," I said, following him out of the room.

I took my spot next to Jasper when I got back downstairs. Carlisle glanced at me, but then paid attention to Jasper's next move.

"Which did he take?" Jasper asked.

"A History of Magic." I turned to Carlisle. "You know, Edward and I were talking. You are more than welcome to borrow a book. You just have to ask. I always wondered why you never asked."

His eyes brightened. "Really?"

I nodded. "Anytime."

Carlisle seemed more cheerful during his and Jasper's round of chess.

I moved away from the two about half way through the game, and moved to my computer.

That night seemed to be the beginning of my energy increasing. I moved from my computer to the couch with Esme and Carlisle, back to the floor, and then starting moving through the rest of the house, returning things laying around the downstairs to their proper places, and straightening up the already cleaned coffee table. I sat still only when Jasper, much like everyone else, got tired of hearing me walking, and pulled me into his arms while he and Rosalie played a few rounds of chess.

"How about after I finish this game, we go for a walk?" Jasper asked me, as I tried to move again.

I nodded.

Edward came home not long after. Esme had made her way upstairs, and Carlisle had went to his study.

Edward took off up the stairs before saying anything.

When he returned downstairs, he sat on the couch next to Emmett, and looked down at me.

"I finished it. I think it was rather interesting."

"So Edward," Emmett said before I had the chance to respond. "What will you and Bella be doing since the weather's nice?"

"Hiking," he muttered.

"I bet he won't bring her back," Rosalie bet.

"Wanna put money on that, Rose?" Emmett challenged.

"$50," she challenged.

"Okay. I bet fifty that he'll bring her back. Jasper?"

"Won't," he said.

They all looked at me.

"He'll bring her back," I said, siding with Emmett.

"We'll see if she's wrong," Rosalie said.

"She won't be. Just you watch," Emmett said, moving next to Rosalie.

I turned to Edward, who was grinning at me.

I'm right. I know I am. I thought, causing him to break a smile.

Edward left not long after, leaving us to watch the game.

"I'll see you guys later," he said before ducking out the door.

"Bye," I called, as he took off down the path.

"What are you two doing today?" Rosalie asked as Jasper put her into checkmate.

"I think we're going to go for a walk," Jasper said, as I yet again shifted my position.

"Is your energy going up?" Emmett asked, watching me, as I twisted my way out of Jasper's arm.

I nodded.

"It would seem that way."

Jasper raised to his feet, pulling me up with him.

"Come on Al," he said, putting an arm around my waist.

We walked to the back door, pausing so Jasper could grab a bag that sat by the door, and then to the edge of the woods. I simply walked through the woods rather than running. Making our way to the feild, Jasper and I made small talk.

"How was hunting?"

I shrugged.

"It was nice to spend time with Edward. He's been gone a lot."

"You're afraid," Jasper said.

I nodded.

"You graduate this year. So does Emmett and Rosalie. Edward doesn't seem to want me around Bella. I'm scared of being alone."

"Al, I will come up everyday at lunch if it makes you feel better."

"I'm afraid of being alone Jasper."

I was afraid of being alone because the memories were worse when I was alone. I was afraid of being alone because I had no way of ensuring that my family was okay.

"You're not going to be alone," Jasper said. "I promise."

He kissed the back of my hand, causing me to smile.

When we made it to the field, Jasper pulled me back into his arms, and laid down in the grass. It was still wet from the mists of rain we had gotten through the night.

I laid my head on his chest, rising and falling as he breathed.

"Are you okay with sitting still now?" he asked.

"I think so," I said, closing my eyes as the sun shined down on my face.

The thing I missed most about being human, was being able to sleep. I closed my eyes, but I was still fully conscious of everything around me. In my human life, sleep was how I numbed the pain, in this life, Jasper does the same thing that sleep did for I still thought of sleep. Wishing I could sleep one more time.

"What are you thinking about?"

"I'm thinking about sleep," I said, opening one eye.

"What about it?"

"It's what I miss most about being human."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I guess because sleep was always so peaceful."

"Until it got interrupted."

I laughed. "I suppose you're right."

I pulled the bag to me, and looked inside. Inside sat one of my sketchbooks for non-fashion related drawing, colored pencils, and drawing pencils. There was also a book or two on philosophy that Jasper had bought some time back on one of the shopping trips I dragged him on, there was Wizard's chess, and Gobstones, as well as a deck of cards.

I didn't want to draw, and I didn't have patience to read. The games required focus, which would require me sitting still.

I groaned and turned onto my stomach, covering my eyes with Jasper's hand.

"So much for sitting still, hmm?" he asked, smiling at me.

"I can't sit still!" I said, jumping back on to my feet. "I want to sit here, and play Gobstones, or war, or chess with you, but I can't!"

"It's okay, Alice," Jasper said, laughing, as he sat up. "Will the highest point be today?"  
I shook my head.

"Tomorrow. I think there may be a thunderstorm, so we may be able to play baseball."

"We'll see if the weather changes."

I smiled and began to shift into my Animagus form.

I tugged on the bottom of his pants, signaling to him I wanted him to stand.

Once he did what I wanted, I began to run to the other side of the field, before letting out a loud bark. He understood that I meant that I wanted him to run with me.

It would be a good way to keep me calm until tomorrow.

Jasper ran with me. Around the field, through the woods, all the way back to the house. We didn't stay as long as I would have liked to, but at the same time, I would have liked to be at home. Home was comforting.

When we got back, it was a little after 3:00. Carlisle sat in the living room writing in a small notebook. I recognized it all too well. He kept track of all of my energy bursts over the last fifty five years in it.

He looked up to the sounds of my paws clicking on the wooden floor.

"You're back early," he noted, looking at the two of us.

I crouched, and morphed back.

Jasper shrugged. "Alice led the way."

"Being here may keep me calmer."

"Does magic help with pain?" Carlisle asked. "When things get too fuzzy and bring your headaches?"

I shook my head. "There is a potion for pain. I've tried it. Doesn't work."

"But the energy potions do?"

I nodded.

"They help to a degree. I can move around, go to school, but I am still tired."

He scratched down a couple of notes.

"I was thinking," he said, looking back up at me. "How many of books on potions do you have?"

"I'll go get them," Jasper said, standing. He darted out of the room and up the stairs.

"I have just about every potions book I could find. A few, I had brought with me. A few I bought along the way."

Jasper returned then with a stack of books in his hands. He set them on the couch between Carlisle and I, then sat on my other side, peering over my shoulder.

"This one," I said, laying a finger on the book Moste Potente Potions, "is a book I got during my time with the Death Eaters. Voldemort thought that with the exception of Severus, I was the best at potions. So this is filled with dark potions."

He picked up the potions book from my first year at Hogwarts. "I was curious. Do you think brewing a sleeping potion could help you with the decline of the energy bursts?"

"But she can't sleep," Jasper said.

"Maybe not. But I wonder the effects it may have on her."

Jasper hissed and moved me protectively into his hold on his lap.

"Jaz, stop," I said, putting a hand over his.

"You know it is not my intent to hurt her. I'm simply curious. She's not like most vampires."

"I'll think about it," I said, looking over his arm.

"Do you mind if I look over these?" he asked, pointing to the stack.

I shook my head.

"Go ahead."

Jasper was tense until Carlisle went back to his study, taking the books with him. He began flipping through the channels before settling on a news station.

I curled up at his side, my head on his shoulder while one arm was around my shoulders, while the other was around my waist.

It was easier to sit still being this close to him. He held me tightly, and sent never ending waves of calm to me.

"Thank you," I said, closing my eyes, fighting the high amount of energy that remained.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know that I usually do three or four chapters, but I wanted to put these two up as one group, and the next two as another. I should be done with the other two sometime before Wednesday. I know I've been putting chapters up quickly, and that's because I have been using the original story as a base. There is a lot, however, that I wrote by myself. I take chunks from the original, and add it to a notepad, then I edit that, and add it to a chapter. Then I'll skip over other pieces, write some for this chapter on my own that fits more to this plot than the other, and then return to the original.**

 **Some of the dialogue came from Midnight Sun, and Twilight, and in some spots, chunks of the original dialogue has been taken out, but I felt that in order to make it fit my plot, things needed to be taken out, and some things needed to be added. Keep in mind, some dialogue will come from the movies as well.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	57. Bella

_"Sometimes the greatest adventure is simply a conversation." ~Amadeus Wolfe"_

* * *

Chapter 57- Bella

Despite my energy starting to be at its highest point, I laid down next to Jasper while he read. He was reading a psychology book. Whether it was for class or for fun, I wasn't sure, but he seemed to be intrigued.

"Did you know that kissing releases a hormone called Oxytocin? It's supposed to strengthen a bond between two people."

"Is that so?" I asked, looking up from the book I had decided to settle into to pass the time.

He moved closer to my face, grinning.

"Yep."

I chuckled, and laid the book I was reading to the side.

"It's supposed to make people calmer," he said. "Maybe it'll work on those energy bursts."

I laughed as he began to give me several short kisses.

"Did it work?" he asked, laughing.

I shook my head.  
"No, I think they have to be longer than that."

He smiled, and pulled me into a deep kiss.

"How about that?" he asked, grinning as he pulled away from me.

I nodded.  
"Yeah, I think that worked better."

He laughed, and pulled me to where I was sitting up.

"Come on, let's go downstairs for a while."

I stood up, and darted through the house to the living room where Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie were.

As soon as I stepped off the bottom stair, my vision was gone, replaced by something new.

 _It was the inside of Bella's house. She and Edward were standing and talking._

 _"Look, I'm trying really hard not to think about what I'm about to do, so can we go already?" Bella asked._

 _"And you're worried, not because you're headed to meet a houseful of vampires, but because you think_

 _those vampires won't approve of you, correct?"_

 _"That's right," Bella answered._

 _The scene changed, and Carlisle, Esme, Bella, and Edward were in the front room._

 _"Carlisle, Esme," Edward's voice broke the short silence, "this is Bella."_

 _"You're very welcome, Bella."_

 _Carlisle stepped forward, his hand extended, and Bella took it._

 _"It's nice to see you again, Dr. Cullen."_

 _"Please, call me Carlisle."_

 _"Carlisle."_

The scene faded, and I couldn't focus my eyes. Not immediately. When I did, my family was surrounding me, Jasper holding me up, with his hands tightly on my arms.

"Alice?" Jasper asked as I turned to find him. "What did you see?"

"I think," I said, slowly, "it would be best for me to wait until Edward gets home."

Jasper watched me.

"Is it something bad?"

I shook my head.

"No, I wouldn't say that it's bad. It's just not for me to tell."

"Okay," Jasper said pulling me to the couch. "Come on, let's sit down."

When we sat back down, I closed my eyes. I kept getting flickers of things I couldn't see fully.

Edward came a little bit after four in the morning. Everyone except for Jasper and I had moved from the living room, but I knew that they could all still hear.

"Hey guys," he said, stepping into the living room. "I need to talk to you."

"You're bringing Bella here," I said, opening my eyes and turning to face him.

"Did you just see that?"

I shook my head.

"No. I saw it earlier. I just wanted to wait until you were here to say anything."

Jasper looked from Edward to me.

"Is this what you saw earlier? When we came downstairs?"

I nodded.  
"Yes."  
His eyes widened.  
"She's coming here?"

"Yes," I said, pressing a hand against his cheek. "But that's okay, because you're not going to hurt her. I can see that. You've made amazing progress, and we are all so proud of you. Isn't that right, Edward?"

Edward didn't answer. When I turned to meet my eyes.

"Edward?" I asked again.

"I do think you've made great progress," he said, continuing to look at the ground. "And Alice is right, we are all so proud."

"But?" I asked through clenched teeth.

"But I want to ask you if you could please keep your distance from Bella while she's here."

I looked at him in disbelief.

"You're not being serious," I said, glaring at him.

"I think that may be for the best," Jasper said, his voice dropped to a whisper.

I quickly turned to face him. "But Jasper—"

"No, Al," he said, putting a finger to my lips. "I will meet her. But it is better if I keep my distance."

"Thank you," Edward said.

Jasper didn't smile but he nodded his head before pulling me closer.

Edward stood, thanked Jasper again, then left again.

"Jasper, why do you think this is better?"

"Because. Why risk it? Say that I hurt her. Then I would hurt you. Then of course Edward will come after me which would only hurt you more." He rested his forehead on the side of my head, and kissed my cheek. "Hurting you is the last thing I want to do. It kills me when I hurt you."

"Thank you, Jaz. But I still don't think you're going to hurt her."

"This is just to be sure. To make sure that the girl remains safe," he said, turning my face to where I was looking at him. "Now. What do you want to do until she gets here?"

"I don't know. But I do know that I don't want to sit anymore," I said. I was angry, and that made me not want to sit anymore. It was unfair of Edward to ask Jasper to stay away from Bella. It was unfair of Edward to bring Bella here, to the place where Jasper lived, and tell him that he had to stay at a distance. Jasper had been doing extraordinary well, and I would never let him do something that he would later regret. But of course Edward would ask. Because fair didn't seem to matter. It was Bella, and as much as I liked Bella, and as much as it hurt me to say it, as long as Bella was safe, Edward didn't seem to care the expense. He didn't stop to see who it would hurt.

"Come on, Darlin'." His voice snapped me out of my thoughts. He stood, and pulled me to my feet. "Let's go find something for you to do that doesn't involve sitting."

I pulled him to the room, and pulled out my different vials of potions I had stored away.

"Inventory?" he asked.

I nodded. I had calming potions, and Pepper Up potions. I also had energy supplements that I altered over the years to help me with my energy bursts, or rather my energy declines.

"Your angry," Jasper said, as I began scratching down the names of all the vials onto a sheet of paper.

"I am. But not at you."

"At Edward. Why?"

"Because it's not fair!" I exploded. "You live here! He has no right!"

"Alice, I thought you liked Bella."

"I do. But that doesn't mean that Edward should ask you to keep your distance from her. Does he really, honestly think so low of you? Or does he honestly think that I'd let you do something that I knew you were going to regret later?"

"Alice, I agreed it was a good idea."

"Because you didn't want to hurt me! But I would never let it get that far!"

Jasper walked around the table and pulled me into a hug.

"Alice, please, calm down. It's okay. I'm just going to keep my distance, like Edward wanted."

I sighed, and he sent waves of calm throughout the room. My breath shuddered, and Jasper pulled me to the ground into his lap.

"You've done so well," I said, turning to look at him. "You've done so well, and I am so, so, so proud of you. Never forget that."

"I won't," he said, smiling.

I couldn't be angry. Not when Jasper was asking me not to.

"I still think it's unfair," I mumbled.

"I know. But I am okay with this. So can you at least pretend to be okay with it? For me?"

I sighed.

"Okay."

"Okay," he said, kissing my cheek. "Now, let's finish inventory."

I went through, making a list of all the potions I had, and making another for potions I needed. This entire process seemed to take some time, but not enough. I moved on to my ingredients. Things I didn't have, I'd been sending in orders to a Wizarding community in LA. They sent an owl once every two weeks, and it was expected to arrive here in a few moments.

I waited by the window, and while I did so, I began to get flashes of three strangers.

One, had an olive tone on his pale skin, his hair was long, and glossy. The other, he was very average looking, his light brown hair was short. The last, was the only female. Her hair was a fiery red, and wild. The only thing that made the three alike, were there blood red eyes. I had very bad feeling about these strangers.

As the owl came, Carlisle stepped in the room. I didn't address him immediately I attached the envelope with the list and the money to the owl.

"Jasper says you're seeing some visitors coming our way."

"Yes," I said, turning to look at him. "They know we're here, and they're curious about us."

"But?"

"But I have a bad feeling about them."

"Why?"

"I don't know. Something just doesn't sit right with me about them."

Carlisle nodded.

"When will the come?"

"I don't know, but they're moving fast. I'd give them maybe a day at most."

"Thank you, Alice."

He turned, and made his way from the room, giving me a small smile.

"It's okay, Alice," Jasper said, pulling me to him. "There are many who are curious about us."

"I know that, but Jazz, I have a bad feeling about them."

"Would it make you feel better if I didn't leave your side while they were here?"

I pulled him into a hug.

"I'm sure, I'm just being silly."

He took my face in his hands, and kissed me.

"Not silly," he said when he pulled away. "If you have an off feeling, then I won't leave your side."

I turned back to the potion I had started making, and Jasper kept an arm around my waist.

"Thank you," I said.

"Of course," he said, kissing the top of my head. "That's why I'm here. To make you feel safe."

I smiled as I set to work.

As I poured my final potion into the vial, I could hear the door close downstairs.

"They're here!" I said, waving my wand, wiping the cauldron clear of all the residue. I moved around, packing away my ingredients.

"Carlisle, Esme," Edward said from below, "this is Bella."

I pulled down the sleeves of my shirt, and placed my rings back in their spots on my hand.

"You're very welcome, Bella."

"It's nice to see you again, Dr. Cullen."

I listened closely to the conversation downstairs while I put everything back in its place.

"Please, call me Carlisle."

"Carlisle," Bella repeated.

"It's very nice to know you," Esme said.

"Come on, Jaz," I said, turning the key where I kept my potions. I quickly casted a spell, hiding the bookcase from view.

"Thank you," Bella said. "I'm glad to meet you too."

"Where are Alice and Jasper?" Edward asked as we reached the lower staircase.

"Hey, Edward!" I darted down the stairs before Jasper could catch my arm. I hurtled to a stop in front of Bella. Carlisle and Esme shot me warning looks, as did Jasper as he walked down the stairs. I studied her face. Bella was a good amount taller than I was, then again, everyone was. "Hi Bella!" I said, bouncing forward to kiss her cheek. The closer I got to her, the more her scent filled my nose. "You do smell nice. I never noticed before."

Edward stiffened, and I shot him a quick glare.

 _I'm fine._ I thought impatiently.

I was angry with Edward, but I couldn't feel that. I could only feel the wave of ease and comfort flood the room. I walked back over to Jasper's side.

"Hello, Bella," Jasper said, taking my hand.

"Hello, Jasper." She smiled at him, then turned back to Carlisle and Esme. "It's nice to meet you all— you have a very lovely home."

"Thank you. We're so glad you came," Esme said.

Bella began looking around the room, before her eyes fell on Edward's piano.

"Do you play?" Esme asked suddenly.

Bella shook her head. "Not at all. But it's so beautiful. Is it yours?"

Esme laughed. "No. Edward didn't tell you he was musical.

"No," Bella said, briefly glaring at Edward before turning back to Esme. "I should have known I guess."

We all looked at her in confusion. Esme raised her eyebrows.

"Edward can do everything," Bella explained.

Jasper snickered, while I hid my smile in his arm.

"I hope you haven't been showing off— it's rude," she scolded.

"Just a bit," he said, laughing.

"He's been too modest actually," Bella corrected.

"Well play for her!" Esme encouraged excitedly.

"You just said showing off was rude."

"There are exceptions to every rule," she said. Jasper glanced down at me, then wrapped an arm around my waist.

"I'd like to hear you play," Bella said.

"It's settled then."

Esme stepped forward and pushed Edward to the piano.

As soon as Edward started playing, Jasper leaned down to my ear. "Come on, Al. Let's give them some privacy."

I nodded, and let him guide me out the room.

We moved to the living room, where we could still hear Edward play. He was starting Esme's song.

Jasper glanced down at me. I tried to focus on the conversation. His lips lightly pressed against my own, regaining my attention.

"It's not nice to eavesdrop," he said in my ear. "How about a game of chess?"

I smiled at him. "Sure."

"No cheating," he said, as he pulled me to the board.

"Hey, Alice, can I talk to you for a second?" Carlisle asked.

"I'll set up," Jasper said, letting his arm drop from my waist.

"What's up?" I asked as we stepped into the dining room.

"I've been reading on some of those potions. Have you given any more thought about my idea?"

I shook my head. "I don't know. Seeing as we can't sleep, I don't know what effect it would have on me. I'd have to wait before I can brew it, and of course I'll have to talk to Jasper."

"Of course. In the meantime, are you ready for the energy crash?"

I nodded. "I refilled my pile. Energy supplements, calming potions and draughts, so on and so forth."

"Just think about it," he said, as he closed the notebook. "Then let me know."

I nodded. "I will."

He smiled and headed for his study.

I sat cross legged in front of Jasper on the other side of the board.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong," I said. "He just wanted to know whether I had given anymore thought to his idea."

Annoyance flooded the room this time, but instantly faded.

Esme watched us as we began playing. Emmett and Rosalie wandered in, and sat next to Esme on the couch, and Carlisle had left for a shift at the hospital.

I wasn't focusing on anything but Jasper. With each decision he made I had to force the vision from taking over as well as trying to keep my energy under control. There came a point, about halfway through our game, where a vision couldn't be suppressed.

"Oh," I said dropping the chess piece that I had just picked up. I never heard it shatter. I did however hear loud rolls of thunder.

"Alice? What is it?" Esme asked faintly. Her voice was worried.

I felt something take my hand. It was Jasper, I was sure.

"I was right about the thunderstorm. It's much bigger than I thought."

The pressure in my hand lightened as the vision of the approaching storm faded. I focused on where Jasper had been seconds before. He was now sitting at my side. Cross legged, and had a hand on my knee, while the other held onto mine.

"A storm," Emmett repeated. "We should play some baseball!"

"It's been awhile since we've played baseball," Esme said, smiling.

"I'm in," Jasper said.

I liked baseball. It was my favorite Muggle sport, although I didn't have much patience for watching it.

"Alice? Rose?" Emmett asked.

"Sure. I think it'll be fun," I said.

Rosalie shrugged. "Like Esme said. We haven't played in a while. I think it'd be fun."

"Maybe it'll keep Alice from pacing around the house," Emmett said grinning. Rosalie smacked his arm, while his booming laugh rang throughout the room.

I stood, as Jasper put the chess piece I had dropped back on the board.

"I'll go talk to Edward," I said, as Jasper stood. I was still angry, but I wanted him to play.

I darted up the stairs, Jasper following quickly behind me.

When I made it to the top of the stairs, I could hear something hit the wall Edward's room.

"You were saying?" he growled, playfully.

"That you are a, very terrifying monster," Bella said breathlessly.

"Much better," he said.

I pulled Jasper to the door.

"Um can I get up now?" Bella asked. Edward started laughing.

I focused now, on the view in front of me. The door was open, and Edward had Bella curled in a ball against his chest. He held her tightly against his chest and the couch, that had hit the back wall.

"Can we come in?" I asked softly.

Bella began struggling against Edward's hold on her. Edward adjusted himself, and her to where she was sitting on his lap. When her eyes fell on Jasper and I, blush turned her face a bright red.

"Go ahead," Edward said, still chuckling quietly.

I walked to the center of the room before I sat down cross legged on the floor. Jasper hesitated looking at the two of them bewildered.

"It sounded like you were having Bella for lunch, and we came to see if you'd share."

Bella stiffened while Edward grinned at me.

"Sorry, I don't believe I have enough to spare," he said, pulling Bella closer to him. I heard Jasper step into the room and I turned to face him.

"Actually," Jasper said, smiling, walking into the room, pausing behind me, "Alice says there is going to be a real storm tonight, and Emmett wants to play ball. Are you game?"

Edward's eyes lit up, then hesitated. I knew his concern.

"Of course you should bring Bella," I said. Jasper glanced at me warily.

"Do you want to go?" Edward asked Bella. His excitement was clear in his voice.

"Sure. Um, where are we going?"

"We have to wait for thunder to play ball— you'll see why."

"Will I need an umbrella?"

The three of us began laughing.

"Will she?" Jasper asked me, still smiling.

"No," I said positively. "The storm will hit over town. It should be dry enough in the clearing."

"Good, then."

"Let's go see if Carlisle will come," I said, quickly standing and bounding to the door. Jasper was right behind me.

"Like you don't know," he teased. I laughed as we walked down the hall.

Carlisle was walking in the door when I got downstairs.

"Carlisle!" I said, flying down the last few stairs, stopping when I almost crashed into him.

"Alice, what is it?" he asked panicked. "Is everything okay?"

"There's a storm tonight," I said. "We were wondering if you wanted to play ball."

Carlisle looked at Jasper.

"The crash should come soon. She's at the peak of the energy." Jasper chuckled, and he put a hand on my back. I felt the calm and the energy fighting.

"So will you be joining us?"

Carlisle nodded. "Someone else came in to take over for Dr. Snow. They had no more use for me, so they sent me home."

I looked at the clock. "We still have a few hours to go. The storm will be at its worst after dusk."

"Thank you, Alice."

I nodded, before turning to Jasper.

"So. What shall we do?"

He shrugged. "I wouldn't imagine you sitting down to finish our game."

I shook my head. "I don't want to sit."

"I know, Darlin'. I know," he said, pulling me into a tight hug. As he pressed his lips to mine, the energy seemed to drown in the calmness. I felt complete calmness now. "There we go. That's better isn't it?"

I smiled and pulled away.

"Oh, Alice," Carlisle said from his spot next to Esme on the couch. "Before Edward took Bella on a tour of the house, I put those books back in your room. They're on Jasper's desk."

"Thank you," I said. Turning back to Jasper, I added, "I think I am going to put them back on the shelf. I'll be back down in a few minutes."

I darted up the stairs, then quickly slipped into the room, shutting the door behind me. As I waved my hand, the shelf reappeared.

I put everything back in its place, then scanned my two shelves making sure everything was in place. I don't know if I was so much checking the shelf as I was delaying going back downstairs. Now that I was alone, I remembered the strangers. The ones that for some reason that I didn't know made my stomach twist.

Seeing as I was so lost in thought, I didn't notice Jasper slipping through the door until he hugged me from behind.

"What're you looking for?"

"I'm just making sure that everything is where it needs to be," I said, shaking my head.

"Is it?"

I nodded.

"It would seem to be."

I waved a hand again, and the bookshelf faded into the background.

"You're worried again," Jasper said, as I twisted in his arms to face him.

"I can't stop thinking about the strangers," I said, closing my eyes.

"Alice, I'm never going to let anything hurt you," he said, placing his hands on my face.

"I know that. But I can't stop thinking about this. Why do they give me a bad feeling when I don't know them?"

"Alice, to be fair, you have always been wary of strangers."

"Weary. But I usually don't have bad feelings about people."

He sighed, and I shook my head again.

"It's going to be okay, Al. I swear."

I buried my face into his shirt, and for a small period of time, the worry, and the anxiety faded into calm, and happy.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know this chapter is shorter than the last few I've been putting out. I didn't want to make the chapter seem like I was grabbing at loose straws. I do want you to keep in mind that Alice had no clue what James or what Victoria looked like.**

 **I think that's all for this chapter.**

 **Follow, favorite, and review!**


	58. The Game

_"Never let the fear of striking out get in your way." ~Babe Ruth_

* * *

Chapter 58- The Game Alice's POV

Once Jasper knew I was calm again, he pulled me back downstairs, trying to persuade me to finish our chess game the entire way down.  
"Come on, Al," he said, pulling me to the chess table. "Later we'll be playing baseball, and you'll get to run all you want."

I sighed.

"Fine, fine. We'll finish the game."

I smiled, and sat in the spot I had been sitting in before. Jasper, grinned at me.

"Let's play then."

I didn't focus on Jasper's choices, and I tried to not focus on the strangers. That seemed to help. I didn't worry, at least not that I could tell. I focused on the game. On which moves I would make. I moved a piece, and slid next to Jasper.

"I win," I said before pecking his cheek.

He smiled.  
"Do you want to go for a walk?"

I nodded.

"Please?"

I jumped to my feet, and he stood.

We didn't go very far during our walk. We walked to the river and back, and then around the house. As we came across the stairs to the front door, we saw that Bella and Edward were leaving. The rain hadn't started yet, but it wouldn't be too much longer now.

"I'll see you later, Bella!" I said, waving to her.

"Bye, Alice," she said quietly.

I beamed at the car while Jasper held a hand over my shoulder, keeping the calmness radiating through me.

"So. What should we do while we wait?"

I shrugged. "Edward will be coming back soon. To get the jeep. Then we should be leaving here not long after he goes to get Bella."

"How much time does that give us?"

"About two hours until we leave."

"Do you want to go change?" he asked, looking at my outfit. I glanced down at it too.

My shirt was long sleeved like it was most of the time. I had worn long sleeved today because I knew Bella would be there. It was black with grey sleeves. I wore black leggings, which could easily work for baseball pants. My shoes however were boots. They had no heel, but I didn't like playing sports in boots.

"I could change my shoes."

"Then let's go do that real quick."

I smiled and darted through the house and up the stairs.

I made it to the back of my closet before Jasper got in the room.

I sat in the floor, unzipping the boots and placing them on the floor. I pulled out my pair of sneakers. They were solid white, which would go with the socks that I had laid out for baseball.

"How about these?" I asked, holding them up to him.

"Aren't those the ones you always wear?" he asked, sitting down next to me.

I nodded.

"Then go with those," he said, resting his chin on my shoulder. "They always work well with your outfit."

I ended up with the white shoes and socks as well as a baseball vest.

"What do you think?" I asked Jasper who leaned against the wall, grinning at me.

"You look great," he said, as I leaped towards him. "No matter what you wear, you will always look great."

I leaned my head on his chest as his arm wrapped tightly around my waist.

"You calmer this way, aren't you?" he asked, looking down at me.

I nodded. "You make it better."

He guided me to the bed, and pulled me into his lap.

"Tell me what worries you about it," he said as he began rocking back and forth. "It may help."

"I don't know," I said, looking over his shoulder and out the window. "Since I've started seeing them, they gave me an off feeling. It's like my stomach is twisting."

"But you've never met them before?"

I shook my head. "I don't recognize any of them."

He stood, still holding me in his arms. Turning, he laid me on the bed before climbing beside me.

I scooted closer to him, putting my head at the top of his arm.

"You have nothing to worry about, Darlin'. When they get here, I'm not leaving your side."

"I know," I said, looking up at him. "Can we stay here for a little bit longer?"

He nodded. "Of course. We can stay here as long as you want."

I curled up into a ball against his chest. He held me tightly to him.

"It's okay," he repeated over and over again.

"Jasper?" I asked after a moment.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think I'm being silly about this?"

"Like I told you this morning. I don't think it's silly."

I smiled against his chest. He leaned down and kissed the top of my head.

"I've got you now, Alice. Nothing can ever hurt you."

I smiled. "I love you," I said.

"I love you too."

He kissed my forehead, and remained in that position for a while.

I closed my eyes, listening to the surrounding sounds. I could hear mine and Jasper's breathing. Downstairs, I could hear the closing door.

We went back downstairs right before Edward left, after I reattached my holster to my arm. We would all be leaving right after Edward, so I figured I'd go ahead and get in now.

"I thought you didn't want Bella to know?" Jasper said, as we moved towards the door.

"I don't. Not yet. But it just makes me feel better to have it with me."

When we got downstairs, they were discussing the Black family being at Bella's house when he dropped her off. I remember that when we first came to Forks, Carlisle explained the treaty to Jasper and I. As far as we could tell now, there were no wolves in Forks, but Carlisle wanted to keep his end of the treaty, so we stayed away from La Push.

"The child, he doesn't know anything about it. He thinks it's a superstition. So it's safe to say that he hasn't shifted yet."

"Isn't he the one who told Bella?" I asked, coming in behind him.

Edward nodded. "Jacob Black. He's Ephraim's great-grandson."

"Why were they there?" Emmett asked.

"Well Billy Black is a friend of Chief Swan. He played it off as dropping something off for the chief. But he was there to warn Bella to stay away from me."

"I don't think that's his place to say," I growled. Jasper put a hand on my shoulder.

"Calm down, Alice."

"I don't think she'll listen to him," Edward said. "Now, I have to go get Bella. We'll meet you guys at the field."

"We'll be heading out after you," Carlisle said. He had the bag with bats, balls, and bases sitting by the door.

Edward walked out the door, heading to the garage.

"Should we head out?" Esme asked.

Everyone nodded and we made our way to the door. Carlisle swooped down and grabbed the bag before we all took off to the field.

When we got to the field, I grabbed a ball, tossing it once in the air. Jasper caught it, and smiled.

"Want a throwing partner?"

I nodded.

"That'd be nice."

We moved a little bit further out onto the field before Jasper sent the ball hurting back into my hand.

We passed it back and forth for a while, but once, when a ball came crashing into my hand, I heard a noise come from the forest that sent a shiver down my spine. It sounded like a bear choking, but it was much too loud.

"Hey," Jasper said, grabbing my arm, as I began to back to the farthest end of the field. "Don't be afraid. It's probably just Edward."

"What if it's the strangers?"

"Then I'm going to be right here."

He pushed waves of calm to me, and I felt the dread that filled me wash away. I looked at the ball in my hands and threw it back to Jasper.

"It's all going to be okay, Darlin'. Just relax. Enjoy the game."

A few moments later, from the far end of the field, I saw Bella and Edward. I threw the ball back to Jasper, and listened.

"Was that you we heard, Edward?" Esme asked.

"It sounded like a bear choking," Emmett said. Jasper chuckled, and I cracked a smile.

"I think you scared Alice a little," Esme continued, to quietly for Bella to hear. "The strangers have her worried."

I turned my attention back to Jasper, and kissed his cheek.

"I'll be back," I said, before dancing my way over to Esme, Edward, Emmett, and Bella. I came to a stop next to Emmett, and smiled.

"It's time," I announced. As I spoke, a loud crack of thunder rolled somewhere to the west.

"Eerie, isn't it?" Emmett asked Bella, smiling.

"Let's go," I said, reaching for Emmett's hand. He took it, and together the two of us darted off towards the others.

Emmett grabbed a bat while I took the ball from Jasper. He pulled me to him.

"Don't worry," he said. "Just focus on the game. Everything is going to be okay."

Playing the game wouldn't be a problem. My energy was at its highest now, and it became harder and harder to fight.

"I'm okay, Jazz," I said, quietly.

"Maybe you're okay right now, but I can still feel the little bit of worry you have hidden inside of you."

He leaned down, and kissed my jaw, and I felt calm and joy wash over me yet again.

"Okay lovebirds," Emmett said. "Time to play."

I smiled, and ran to the pitcher's mound. Emmett spun the bat, and Jasper and I locked eyes. He smiled at me from where he stood.

From where I stood, I could hear Esme and Bella talking quietly.  
"Edward just said you f-fell," she was stammering.

I smiled, and looked down at the ground. Edward didn't tell other's stories, and I knew I could trust him to keep my secret.

"All right," Esme called clearly from the edge of the field. "Batter up."

I stood straight, and eyed Emmett. I flicked my arm, and the ball smacked into Jasper's hand behind Emmett.

"Was that a strike?" Bella asked Esme.

"If they don't hit it, it's a strike."

Jasper threw the ball back to me, and I caught it with ease. I gave a small grin, then flicked the ball back out again.

The bat smashed into the ball. The hit mimicked the sound of the thunder that had echoed off the mountains just minutes before. The ball shot through the forest, and Edward immediately ran after it.

"Home run," Bella muttered.

"Wait," Esme cautioned, as Emmett flew around the bases. "Out!" she cried a moment later.

Bella looked around. She must have just noticed that Edward was gone.

"Emmett hits the hardest," Esme said, "but Edward and Alice both run the fastest. Alice usually stays as a pitcher though."

I smiled again as Edward threw the ball back to me.

I laughed quietly at Bella's concern when Jasper, trying to avoid Edward's feilding, hit a ground ball towards Carlisle. Carlisle ran into the ball, then he and Jasper ran to first base. They collided at the base, the sound of the collision sounded like two boulders. Bella jumped, but neither Carlisle or Jasper was hurt. Jasper had thrown me a quick thumbs up to let me know he was okay.

"Safe," Esme called.

Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper's team were up by one. Rosalie had managed to flit around the bases after tagging up on one of Emmett's long flies.

After catching the third out, Edward ran to Bella's side while Jasper ran to mine.

"Having fun?" he asked. I smiled and nodded.

"I'm glad I get the chance to run."

"Are you still worried?"

I shook my head.

"No, not so much now."

"Oh, I think we're about to start again," he said, kissing my forehead before running back to where he was.

"I'm up," Edward said as he approached the plate.

Edward kept the ball low, out of Rosalie's reach in the outfield. He made it two bases before Emmett got the ball back into the field. Next, Carlisle hit one so far out of the field, with a booming crash that caused Bella to flinch, that he and Edward both made it to home. I high fived them both grinning from ear to ear.

The score changed as the game continued. Jasper and I threw taunts back and forth, and the others did the same. Esme had to call us back to order several times.

Carlisle was up to bat. Edward and I were in the outfield preparing to catch, and I felt the game in front of me slip away. I gasped at the vision.

 _The three vampires, two males and female, stopped running._

 _"That's not thunder," one of the males said. It was the one with glossy black hair._

"Alice?" Esme called faintly.

 _"It sounds like someone's playing baseball," the only female said. Her brilliant red hair had leaves in it, and a high baby voice._

 _"Maybe it's that one coven that we've heard about," the other male said._

 _"Let's go check it out," the first female said. "Maybe they'll let us play."_

 _The three of them broke into a run._

"Jasper," I called quickly.

"I'm right here, Al. What is it?"

"I didn't see," I whispered as my eyes focused. "I couldn't tell."

Jasper had a hand on my side from behind me.

"What is it, Alice?" Carlisle asked me. He was calm.

"They were traveling much quicker than I thought. I can see I had the perspective wrong before," I murmured.

"What changed?" Jasper asked, leaning over me. Despite not looking at him, I could tell his posture was a protective stance.

"They heard us playing, and it changed their path."

We all looked to Bella, then looked away.

"How soon?" Carlisle asked Edward.

"Less than five minutes. They're running—they want to play."

"Can you make it?"

"No, not carrying. Besides the last thing we need is for them to catch the scent and start hunting."

"How many?" Emmett asked me.

"Three."

"Three!" he scoffed. "Let them come."

We all turned to Carlisle. "Let's just continue the game," he finally decided. "Alice said they were just curious."

This all happened in a flurry of words. I wasn't sure whether or not Bella had heard.

While Esme turned to Edward, I turned to Jasper.

"Jasper, I don't know about this."

I was scared again. There was no doubt that Jasper didn't already know that.

"It's all going to be okay," Jasper said, moving his hand up and down my side. "I'll stay close."

He leaned down and kissed me gently.

"I love you," I breathed.

"I love you too," he said. "It's going to be okay. When they get here, I'll be at your side. I won't leave until they're gone."

"Thank you."

He smiled and squeezed my hand before we returned to the field.

Esme had taken Edward's place catching, and both of us stayed closer to Bella.

"Take you hair down," Edward said to Bella from behind me.

"The others are coming now." she stated.

"Yes, stay very still keep quiet, and don't move far from my side, please."

"That won't help," I said quietly. "I could smell her across the field."

"I know," he said, with frustration heavy in his voice.

Carlisle stood at the plate, and the rest of us joined the game halfheartedly. The fun was gone. No one dared to hit harder than a bunt, and Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper hovered in the infield. I tried focusing, but I found it hard to do so when I blamed myself. I shouldn't have invited Bella to come along. I should have been paying better attention.

"I'm sorry, Bella," Edward said from behind me. "It was stupid, irresponsible, to expose you like this. I'm so sorry."

Suddenly we all stopped breathing except for Bella, and turned towards right field. Jasper immediately flew to my side and took my hand.

"It's going to be okay, Alice." he whispered in my ear. "I swear to you, it's not your fault."

I hoped that he was right.

* * *

 **Okay, guys, I know this chapter is short, and I really, really wanted it to be longer. The next chapter is definitely going to be long. Keep in mind, Alice has no idea who these strangers are, but her subconscious has an idea. That's what's making her afraid. I am excited to write the next few chapters, because we get to see more of how Alice copes with this. So I hoped you enjoyed the chapter, and all the chapters to come!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)**


	59. The Hunt

_"Hunting is not a sport. In a sport, both sides should know they're in the game." ~Paul Rodriguez_

* * *

Chapter 59- The Hunt Alice's POV

They were almost here. I could hear the strangers moving through the woods. They grew closer and closer, and I began to become afraid again. Jasper held tightly onto my hand.  
"It's all going to be okay, Al. You're safe. We're going to leave here, and it's all going to be okay.

The three vampires from my vision emerged one by one out of the forest, ranging several meters. Jasper squeezed my hand.

"It's okay," he whispered again.

The first male, the one with light brown hair, fell back, letting the other male take the front. I could see that the second male was the leader. The female stood near the first male.

The three closed together before they made their way to my family. They walked in the same catlike way that they had ran in my vision. They looked like backpackers: jeans and casual button down shirts that came in weatherproof fabrics. All of them were worn down however. None of them wore shoes.

Carlisle stepped forward, flanked by Emmett, and Jasper who hid me behind him. The male with light brown hair looked at Jasper, then his burgundy eyes landed on me. He looked back to Carlisle.

The man in the front flashed a smile at Carlisle. "We thought we heard a game," he said in a relaxed voice. He had a slight French accent. One that reminded me of Tobias. "I'm Laurent. These are Victoria and James."

I tensed. So did Jasper and Edward. I saw Rosalie and Esme glance at me. Carlisle was the only one who remained calm. Everything clicked together. I had a bad feeling about these strangers, and I could now understand why. For the first time, in fifty five years, I finally came face to face with the man who caused my changed. I saw the vampire who hunted me, and put my family into danger. Did he know that I would be here? If so, is that why they came? So that James could finish what he once started all those years ago. Or was it fate that brought the two of us together again?

I made a move for my wand, but Jasper caught my arm, and held it tightly against his back.

"I'm Carlisle. This is my family, Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper, Esme and Alice, and Edward and Bella."

He didn't call attention to anyone in particular, and I noted that he quickly moved on after saying my name, although James caught my name, and he watched me. His eyes brightened, and I tried to remain as calm as possible. As far as he knew, I had no idea who he was, and it had to stay that way.

When he caught Jasper's eye, he turned away.

"Do you have room for a few more players?" Laurent asked, in a friendly tone.

"Actually we were just finishing up. But we'd certainly be interested another time. Are you planning to stay in the area long?" Carlisle's friendly tone matched Laurent's.

"We're heading north, in fact, but we were curious to see who was in the neighborhood. We haven't run into any company in a long time."

"No this region is usually empty except for us and the occasional visitor, like yourself."

The tense atmosphere had calmed. I felt it stronger, so I immediately knew it was Jasper. Whether he was trying to calm me, or keep the conversation from escalating, I wouldn't know.

I kept my eye on James. He didn't seem to be paying much attention to me anymore.

"What's your hunting range?" Laurent asked Carlisle.

"The Olympic Range here, up and down the Coast Ranges on occasion. We keep a permanent residence nearby. There's another permanent settlement like ours up near Denali."

Laurent rocked onto his heels.

"Permanent? How do you manage that?"

"Why don't you come back to our home with us and we can talk comfortably," Carlisle invited, causing for me to tense up again. "It's a rather long story."

 _What the hell is he doing?_ I thought to Edward. He turned to face me, and I could see into his thoughts.

 _He's being civil. We have to pretend like we don't know who they are. It's going to be okay, Alice. You're safe. I promise you, that you're safe. We're not going to let anything happen to you._

I didn't answer him right away. I glanced to Edward, and then to James, before glancing back again.

 _Show me his mind,_ I demanded.

Edward did as I asked.

 _That's the girl._ James thought. _Mary Alice Brandon. So this is where she's gone. And it seems she has a mate now too. Protective, no doubt about that. She doesn't remember me. I can see that. Although she is tense. Maybe it's just that we're strangers._

I turned away from Edward, breaking the connection.

"That sounds very interesting, and welcoming. We've been on the hunt all the way down from Ontario, and we haven't had the chance to clean up in a while." Laurent had said. His eyes moved appreciatively over Carlisle's refined appearance.

"Please don't take offense, but we'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from hunting in this immediate area. We have to stay inconspicuous, you understand," Carlisle explained.

"Of course." Laurent nodded. "We certainly won't encroach on your territory. We just ate outside of Seattle, anyway," he laughed. James looked at Victoria, then his eyes flickered to me. Her eyes followed. Much like Jasper and I, they had their own way of communicating, and it didn't take much to figure out what they meant. He was telling her I was the girl that they had hunted down years ago. To them, it was back in 1920. To me, it was a lot sooner than that. But in reality, it was seven years. Only seven.

"We'll show you the way if you'd like to run with us — Emmett and Alice, you can go with Edward and Bella to get the Jeep," Carlisle said.

As Carlisle spoke, the wind blew a touch harder than what it had been. I watched as Edward stiffen, and James suddenly whipped his head around at Bella, his nostrils flaring.

James stood in a crouch, and Edward snarled as he pushed Bella behind him. Jasper crouched in front of me.

"What's this?" Laurent asked in surprise. Neither Edward or James relaxed, and Jasper straightened, stepping back a few paces, keeping me near him.

"She's with us," Carlisle said firmly. It looked to be more directed to James than Laurent's question.

"You brought a snack?" Laurent questioned taking a step forward. Edward snarled once again, causing Laurent to jump back.

"I said, she's with us," Carlisle repeated in a hard voice.

"But she's human," Laurent protested. The words were not at all aggressive, merely astounded.

"Yes." Emmett was very much in evidence at Carlisle's side, his eyes on James, much like all of ours.

"It appears we have a lot to learn about each other," Laurent said soothingly, trying to calm the sudden hostility.

"Indeed," Carlisle said in the same hard voice.

"But we'd like to accept your invitation. And of course, no harm will come to the human girl. We won't hunt in you range as I said," he said, his eyes flashing to Bella and back again.

Carlisle didn't speak for a moment. "We'll show you the way. Jasper, Rosalie, Esme?" he called. Rosalie and Esme started moving towards him, blocking Bella from view.

"Jaz," I whimpered, my voice no louder than a whisper. I had never thought of myself as being afraid of James. Not until I actually came face to face with him. I was more afraid of what he could do. But now, I was afraid of him. He knew who I was, or at least who the made up me was. Either way, he still knew that I was a person who escaped his hunt.

"Go to Bella," Jasper whispered in my ear as he turned. "Emmett will keep you safe. He won't hurt you."

I flashed to Bella's side as Jasper flashed to Carlisle's. Emmett never took his eyes off James as he backed towards us.

"Let's go, Bella," Edward said.

He pulled Bella at his side, while Emmett and I followed closely behind. Emmett stayed close to me, and I quickly made my way across the field.

"That's the same one?" Emmett asked me quietly as we moved. "The same James that caused your change?"

"Yes."

"Does he know who you are? I noticed he kept looking at you and Jasper."

"Yes. He knows."

"Don't worry, Alice. We're going to keep you safe."

I shook my head.

"Focus on Bella."

"Al—"  
"Em, please. Edward's going to want the focus on Bella. Don't worry about me. Just focus on Bella."

Emmett didn't push it, but he hovered close.

Once we were covered by the trees, Edward swung Bella onto his back and the three of us broke out into a run all the way to the jeep.

When we reached it, Edward flung Bella into the back seat while I jumped into the front.

"Strap her in," he ordered Emmett as he started the ignition.

I glared out the window, trying to hide the fear. I knew that Tobias's memory alteration worked. As far as James knew, I was tense because of he was a stranger. Not because I knew who he was.

We sped away from Forks, and Bella noticed this quickly.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

None of us answered. In truth, I didn't answer because I didn't know. Edward hadn't picked a destination. All I knew is that we were not going back to Forks. I wouldn't have Jasper here. I wouldn't know if he was safe, and that was killing me.

"Dammit, Edward! Where are you taking me?" she yelled.

"We have to get you away from here— far away— now." Edward didn't take his eyes off the road as he spoke.

"Turn around! You have to take me home!" she said as she started tearing at the straps of the harness.

"Emmett," Edward said.

"No! Edward! No, you can't do this."

"I have to, Bella, now please be quiet."

"I won't! You have to take me back — Charlie will call the FBI! They'll be all over your family — Carlisle and Esme! They'll have to leave, to hide forever!"

"Calm down, Bella." His voice was cold. "We've been there before."

"Not over me, you don't! You're not ruining everything over me!"

"Edward, pull over," I said, speaking quietly. He flashed me a hard look, and sped up. "Edward let's just talk this through."

"You don't understand!" he roared at me. "He's a tracker, Alice, did you see that? He's a tracker!"

"I'm well aware of that. In case you can't remember, Edward, I've known James a hell of a lot longer than you. He came after me once too. He put my entire family at danger, and now he's back." My voice was shaky, angry, and definitely too fast for Bella to hear. "Pull over, Edward."

My voice slowed, and rang with authority.

He ignored me. The speedometer inched passed 120 miles per hour.

"Do it, Edward."

"Listen to me, Alice. I saw in his mind. Tracking is his passion, his obsession— and he wants her, Alice— her, specifically. He begins the hunt tonight."

The way he said her, made him sound like he was trying to get the point across to me that James wasn't after me this time. I closed off my mind. I knew I was bound to think something to set him off.

"He doesn't know where—"

Edward cut me off. "How long do you think it will take him to cross her scent in town? His plan was already set before the words were out of Laurent's mouth."

"Charlie!" Bella yelled from the back seat. "You can't leave him there! You can't leave him!"

She began thrashing against the harness.

"She's right," I said.

The jeep slowed, but not by much.

"Let's just look at our options for a minute," I coaxed.

The car slowed, then screeched to a stop all together.

"There are no options!" he hissed at me. His voice sped up as he added, "this isn't the same as it was for you, Alice!"

I closed my eyes, focusing on closing off my mind. What Edward didn't realize, is that it was exactly the same thing. I knew how this would play out. When James realized he wouldn't be able to get to Bella, he would go after her mother or her father to draw Bella out.

Edward didn't want to believe it was the same thing. Because now it was someone he loved, and not me. If James were to change the course he was on, and come after me, I felt that Edward wouldn't care. Because James wouldn't be after Bella. Therefore, everything was fine. Would he care I got hurt during this?

"I'm not leaving Charlie!" Bella yelled, pulling me back to this place.

We all ignored her.

"We have to take her back," Emmett said.

"No."

"He's no match for us, Edward. He won't be able to touch her."

"He'll wait."

Emmett smiled. "I can wait too."

You didn't see— you don't understand. Once he commits to a hunt, he's unshakable. We'd have to kill him."

"That's an option," Emmett said.

"And the female. She's with him. If it turns into a fight, the leader will go with them, too."

"There are enough of us."

"There's another option."

I controlled my thoughts, and opened my mind. I then thought of how I escaped James.

He turned his fury on to me. "There—is—no—other—option!"

Emmett and Bella stared at Edward in shock. Edward and I stared each other down.

"Does anyone want to hear my plan?"

"No," Edward growled. I glared at him, growing more and more irritated by the minute.

"Listen," she pleaded. "You take me back."

"No," he interrupted.

She glared and continued. "You take me back. I tell my dad I want to go home to Phoenix. I pack my bags. We wait until this tracker is watching, and then we run. He'll follow us and leave Charlie alone. Charlie won't call the FBI on your family. Then you can take me to any damned place you want."

"It's not a bad idea, really," Emmett said.

"It might work— and we can't simply leave her father unprotected. You know that."

"It's too dangerous. I don't want him within a hundred miles of her."

"Edward he's not getting through us."

I closed my eyes, looking forward. "I don't see him attacking. He'll try to wait for us to leave her alone."

I was careful to close my mind again after showing him the vision.

"It won't take him long to realize that won't happen. Why are you closing your mind?" Edward added to me quietly.

"Because you won't like some of the things I have to say," I growled, still glaring at him.

"I demand that you take me home," Bella said from the backseat.

Edward closed his eyes and pressed his fingers to his temples.

"Please," she asked.

"You're leaving tonight," he finally said. "Whether the tracker sees or not. You tell Charlie that you can't stand another minute in Forks. Tell him whatever story works. Pack the first things your hands touch, and then get in your truck. I don't care what he says to you. You have fifteen minutes. Do you hear me? Fifteen minutes from the time you cross the doorstep."

He turned back on the jeep and we started speeding towards Forks.

"Emmett?" Bella asked.

"Oh, sorry."

A few minutes passed, where none of us spoke.

I focused on keeping my mind closed.

I knew I couldn't be mad at Bella. This wasn't her fault, but I was angry with Edward.

"This is how it's going happen," Edward said, breaking the silence. "When we get to the house, if the trackers not there, I will walk her to the door. Then she has fifteen minutes." He glared at Bella through the rearview. "Emmett, you take the outside of the house. Alice, you get the truck. I'll be inside as long as she is. After she's out, you two can take the Jeep home and tell Carlisle."

"No way," Emmett said. "I'm with you."

"Think it through, Emmett. I don't know how long I'll be gone."

"Until we know how far this is going to go, I'm with you."

Edward sighed. "If the tracker is there, we keep driving."

"We're going to make it there before him," I said.

Edward accepted this answer. His anger with me seemed to have faded away, but mine was still as strong.

"What are we going to do with the Jeep?" I asked.

"You're driving it home."

"No, I'm not." My voice stayed calm.

Edward started cursing much like he had when we started driving out of Forks.

"We all can't fit in my truck," Bella said quietly. Edward didn't answer. "I think you should let me go alone."

Edward responded this time. "Bella, please just do this my way, just this once."

"Listen. Charlie's not an imbecile. If you're not in town tomorrow, he's going to get suspicious."

"That's irrelevant. We'll make sure he's safe, and that's all that matters."

"Then what about this tracker? He saw the way you acted tonight. He's going to think you're with me, wherever you are."

"Edward, listen to her," Emmett urged. "I think she's right."

"Yes, she is," I agreed.

"I can't do that," Edward said. His voice was icy.

"Emmett should stay too," Bella continued. "He definitely got an eyeful of Emmett."

"What?" Emmett asked turning on her.

"You'll get a better crack at him if you stay," I said turning to face the back.

Edward stared at me. "You think I should let her go alone?"

"Of course not," I said. "Jasper and I will take her."

I couldn't think of being away from Jasper now. Not when I knew that James had finally found me.

I opened my mind for a small minute.

 _Think about it. I've escaped James before. I can help her._

I made eye contact and looked into his mind.

 _You didn't do it alone. You escaped James with help from Helen and Tobias,_ he said, before breaking off his eye contact.

I glared at him, but then stopped before Bella noticed.

"I can't do that," he repeated.

"Hang out here for a week." When she looked at his expression, she changed her words, "a few days. Let Charlie see you haven't kidnapped me, and lead this James on a wild-goose chase. Make sure he's completely off my trail. Then come and meet me. Take a roundabout route, of course, then Alice and Jasper can go home."

He began considering this option.

"Meet you where?"

"Phoenix."

"No, he'll hear that's where you're going." He grew impatient.

"And you'll make it look like a ruse, obviously. He'll know that we'll know he's listening. He'll never believe I'm actually going where I say I'm going."

"She's diabolical," Emmett said, chuckling.

"And if that doesn't work?" Edward pressed.

"There are several million people in Phoenix."

"It's not that hard to find a phone book."

"I won't go home."

"Oh?" he inquired.

"I'm quite old enough to get my own place."

"Edward, we'll be with her," I reminded.

"What are you going to do in Phoenix?" he asked.

"Stay indoors." I added silently, _I can feel the energy burst wearing down._

"I kind of like it," Emmett said.

"Shut up, Emmett."

"Look, if we try to take him down while she's still around, there's a much better chance the someone will get hurt— she'll get hurt, or you will trying to protect her. Now, if we get him alone…." He smiled as he trailed off.

"Bella," Edward said. His voice was soft. "If you let anything happen to yourself, anything at all, I'm holding you personally responsible. Do you understand that?"

"Yes," she gulped.

Edward turned to me. "Can Jasper handle this?"

"Give him some credit, Edward. He's been doing very, very well, all things considered."

"Can you handle this?"

I wasn't sure whether he meant in regards to my energy burst dying out, quickly for that matter, or my past with James. Either way it went, I pulled back my lips, and let out a guttural snarl.

While Bella cowered in the seat, Emmett and Edward smiled back at me.

"But keep your opinions to yourself," he added suddenly.

I nodded, and turned back, facing the front now.

 _See?_ Emmett thought, catching my attention. _It's all going to work out._

I smiled at Emmett, but I didn't smile at Edward. I glared at him instead.

 _You're angry with me,_ he thought, glancing to me as he began to drive again.

 _Of course I am,_ I thought back. _Because in the end, as long as Bella is safe, if he turns on me, it's not going to matter to you. At that point, it's out of your hands._

I don't know why I said it, but I did. I couldn't figure out whether or not I regret it either. But I saw the pain flash in Edward's eyes.

I unlocked all of my mind, and every thought I've had throughout this hit him.

 _Alice, you know that's not true. You know I love you. You're my sister._

I paused, going from angry to sad.

 _You know sometimes, more now that you've met Bella, I find that a little hard to believe. In the last few weeks, I would of thought you saw me more as an annoyance. And when you're not annoyed with me, you're gone. This is the longest we've spoken in a long time, Edward._

Edward's eyes were sad as he glanced to me.

 _You are my sister, whether you believe that or not._

I looked ahead at the passing trees as we returned to Forks.

 _Edward, even if there comes a time when you don't think of me as your sister, I will always think of you as my brother. Right now, I love you, but I am mad at you. Because I know you don't see it, but this is exactly how it was for me. He was going to go after my family. He was going to hunt me, and hurt me in every possible way until I was dead._

I glanced over at him. His eyes were just as sad as before.

 _I know, and I'm sorry. I was angry._

I sighed.

 _I know that. But so was I. I never thought I'd have to face him again. And he's back. He knows who I am, Edward. And that scares the hell out of me. All it took was a second, a split second, for me to think that you didn't care about what would happen to me._

Edward didn't respond at first.

 _When all this is over, I'm going to make this right, Alice. I promise. I don't know how, but I will do it._

 _And if it's never over?_

"Even if I have to spend the rest of my life doing it, I'm going to find some way to make it right with you," he said out loud, but too quiet for Bella to hear.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I want to talk about this chapter some. Firstly, the Legilimency. I decided to use that a lot in this chapter because it would make it so much easier for Edward and Alice to talk without Bella overhearing. So I know that a lot of this chapter is mostly Alice's thoughts, or conversations between her and Edward, but I thought it would be a nice add to the story, seeing as Alice hasn't used it a lot. Secondly, the relationship between Alice and Bella. Alice has nothing against Bella. Her biggest problem is the way Edward has acted since meeting Bella. I've noticed in Twilight and in Midnight Sun, Edward has a tendency to be rude. Thirdly, I want to talk about Alice and James. Alice understands Bella is in danger, but she is afraid. She is afraid that when James realizes that he can't get to Bella, he'll turn onto her. She's scared he's going to go after Jasper, or he's going to remember and go after Harry and George. So her response, it's not a selfish thing. It's just that she's afraid, and Edward doesn't seem to care about that at all. He only cares if Bella is safe.**  
 **So with all of this being said, I hope you enjoy the chapter, and the chapters to come!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! (:**


	60. Phoenix

_"Hide nothing, for time, which sees all, and hears all, exposes all." ~Sophocles_

* * *

Chapter 60- Phoenix Alice's POV

Edward and I didn't talk for the rest of the way back to Bella's house. I had decided that I didn't regret what I said. In many ways he deserved it. But I knew Bella was still his top priority. So I tried to push how I felt aside. For Edward. Not this Edward, but the one I knew years ago.

When we pulled up, the lights were still on. Charlie had waited for her. Edward was sure to not park where the car was visible. For a moment, it was quiet. The three of us listened for movement in the dark night.

From all around the house, there was silence. Nothing could be heard except for Bella breathing, and her loud, thumping heart.

"He's not here. Let's go."

Emmett reached over to help Bella with the harness.

"Don't worry, Bella, we'll take care of things here quickly."

"Alice, Emmett," Edward commanded. His voice was gentler when he said my name. Emmett and I both slid out of the jeep, and darted to the house. Emmett paused with me at the truck.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"Depends on what you mean."

"With him," he said. His head jerked toward the forest, and I realized that he meant James.

"Do you want an honest answer?"

He nodded.

"I'm terrified. I have a feeling that Edward was wrong. What if he isn't done with me? What if he tries to finish what he started?"

"I thought he doesn't remember."

"He remembers Mary Alice Brandon. A girl who he hunted from an asylum in 1920. A girl who was changed by the groundskeeper, and escaped him. He remembers the hunt. He just doesn't remember what actually happened."

"We're going to get him, Alice. You know Jasper will never let anything happen to you."

"I know," I said quietly.

He put a hand on my shoulder, before darting away.

I listened to everything around the house. It was still quiet.

"Leave me alone!" Bella yelled from inside the house.

Edward darted from the top of the stairs and around to Bella's bedroom. He jumped up into the tree and slid through the open window.

"Bella, are you okay? What's going on?" Charlie said between pounds on the door.

"I'm going borne," she said, her voice cracking.

"Did he hurt you?"

"No!" Bella shrieked.

"Did he break up with you?"

"No!"

"What happened, Bella," Charlie yelled, pounding on the door.

"I broke up with him!" she shouted.

"I'll be in the truck, go!" Edward appeared from the window. At the same moment, I heard movement in the trees and froze. Edward heard it too, and darted to my side.

"Alice?"

"He's here," I whimpered quietly. "It's him."

I was suddenly scared again. James was in hearing distance now, but remained covered by the trees. Edward leaned down to my ear.

"Alice look at me. He was surprised to see you there," he whispered. His voice was so low, I doubted anyone else heard it, mortal or immortal. "He still doesn't remember anything though. Right now, his focus is on Bella. Let's hurry, and then you'll be back with Jasper. You're safe, Alice. He's not coming after you."

"What's he thinking?"

"He's thinking about the hunt. He's trying to figure out whether Bella is lying about going to Phoenix."

We looked up as a flash of light hit the yard outside of the house.

"Go, Alice! Get to the jeep. Wait a few minutes, so Charlie doesn't suspect anything more than a passing car, then follow us to the house. Tell Emmett to follow us on foot. Be on the back of the truck, but leave when you do."

I nodded, before darting off to the jeep. The keys were still in the ignition, and Emmett was suddenly next to me.

"What did Edward say?"

"Wait a few minutes, then follow him. I'm going in this, he said you go on foot, leave when I do, then get on the back of the truck."

"Anything else?"

I smiled weakly. "He still doesn't remember."

"That's good!" Emmett said, grinning from ear to ear.

"He said that for right now, the focus is on Bella. He isn't coming after me."

We were both quiet for a moment. I could hear James moving in the woods.

"Just let me go, Charlie. It didn't work out, okay? I really, really hate Forks!"

Charlie stopped in the doorway, letting Bella go across the lawn.

"I'll call you tomorrow," Bella swore as the ran to the truck.

When she started her truck, I took the opportunity to start the jeep, I backed up a bit where I was further hidden by the trees.

Emmett and I waited until the truck was a good amount of ways ahead before I flipped on the headlight.

"Now," I said to Emmett. "Go!"

Emmett took off on foot, while I sped forward. Chief Swan, was still standing frozen on the doorstep. Emmett fell behind me as I sped past the house, quickly catching up with the truck. Bella stared out at me, horror in her eyes. She was afraid too.

"It's just Alice," Edward reassured.

"The tracker?" she asked after a moment.

"He heard the end of your performance."

"Charlie?"

"The tracker followed us. He's running behind us now."

My eyes immediately flashed up to the rear view mirror. I could see Emmett jump, but I didn't see James. I figured that he was running in the trees where he could remain hidden.

Bella was still staring back at me when Emmett landed on the back of her truck. I heard the bloodcurdling scream that didn't last longer than a second before Edward stopped her.

"It's Emmett!"

He pulled Bella closer to him.

"It's okay, Bella. You're going to be safe."

I stopped listening. I couldn't pull myself from my thoughts.

Edward said I was not James's target. So Jasper was safe. But I wanted him with me. I couldn't be without him, and he helped in making me not so afraid. Without him here, I was completely terrified. Edward's words didn't help. Only Jasper could help me now. Would this be the end? Would James be gone? Could I finally go home and see my family. Or would he escape? A piece of me, would like to think that if he escapes, I'd go after him, breaking my promise to Helen, Tobias, and Jasper. Would they understand why I had to do it? Why I felt the need to make everyone safe again?

I was pulled out of my thoughts only when we pulled into the driveway.

Inside the house, the light were shining brightly. Emmett jumped off the truck and sped to Bella's door, and pulled her out, holding her closely to him.

I quickly cut off the jeep, and sped to Edward's side, and we sped after Emmett who ran Bella through the door to the living room.

Everyone had stood when they heard us coming. In the middle of everyone, stood Laurent.

"He's tracking us," Edward announced. He glared at Laurent.

"I was afraid of that," Laurent said unhappily.

Once I spotted Jasper, I flew to his side.

"We're taking Bella to Phoenix," I whispered in his ear. "We have to go pack."

Jasper and I turned and darted up the stairs to our room.

"Are you okay?" he asked me.

"Edward said he's not coming after me. But Jasper I'm afraid."

Jasper pulled me into a hug. "I'm not leaving your side."

I smiled up at him. "Thank you."

"Of course."

In the back of my closet sat a leather bag that I had put a charm on a long time ago.

"Can you pack the clothes?" I asked Jasper, tossing him the bag. "I need to get a few things."

He nodded, as he began taking clothes off their hangers.

"Do you want me to pack you long sleeves?" he asked me as he moved to my shirts.

"If you would. I don't know whether or not I'd have much time to cover up my mark."

I grabbed another small bag, then ran from the closet to my bedside table. I pulled open the drawer and grabbed the key to my potions cabinet and quickly opened it.

I pulled the large bottle of the calming potion, and well as the equally large bottles of several energy supplements and Pepper Up potions.

I relocked the cabinet as Jasper came from the closet.

"You're energy is going down, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Are you ready?"

He nodded.

He grabbed my hand, and pulled me into a hug.

"Don't be afraid," he whispered. "I have you now. I'm going to keep you safe."

I made sure that my wand holster was still secure on my arm, and I took the bag from Jasper, and placed the small bag in the front pocket where nothing else was.

"Go downstairs. I'll be there in a minute," I said, kissing his cheek.

He headed out of the room, and down the stairs. I paused at the top, as Esme and Bella came out of a room at the end of the hall.

Esme and I each grabbed one of her elbows and darted down the stairs. I returned to Jasper's side, and he put an arm around my waist.

Carlisle turned and gave me a small silver phone.

"Esme and Rosalie are taking your truck, Bella," he said as he passed by. Bella nodded, and Rosalie glared at Carlisle. Carlisle ignored her and turned to Jasper and I. "Alice, Jasper, take the Mercedes. You'll need the dark tint in the south."

Jasper and I nodded.

"We're taking the jeep," Carlisle continued. He turned back to me again. "Alice, will they take the bait?"

Jasper's arm tightened around me, one hand holding onto my elbow, and I focused.

James appeared from out of the trees at the driveway, as Edward sped down the road in the jeep. James grinned and followed.

Victoria, came out of the trees behind him. As he sped away, she watched the driveway. A few moments later, the truck whined as Esme tried going over it's limits. Victoria smiled and sped after the truck.

I opened my eyes, and looked at Carlisle. "He'll track you. The woman will follow the truck. We should be able to leave after that."

"Let's go," Carlisle said, walking towards the kitchen.

Edward darted to Bella, and pulled her into a tight hug. Then he and Emmett disappeared in the same direction Carlisle went.

As we waited, I buried my face in Jasper's side.

"Don't be afraid," he said quietly. "I've got you."

Esme's phone vibrated, and it flashed to her ear.

"Now," she said. Rosalie stalked out of the room, and Esme touched Bella's cheek.

"Be safe," she said, she said to me, offering a weak smile.

The truck started outside, then the sound faded away.

I put the phone up to my ear before it buzzed.

"Alice, the woman is following Esme. You're safe to go. Don't forget to feed her, Alice."

"I know, I know," I said.

"Keep her safe."

"Yeah. I got it."

I closed the phone.

"Edward says the woman is on Esme's trail. I'll get the car."

Jasper let me go, and I disappeared in the same direction everyone else had gone.

I threw my bag in the passenger seat as I slipped into Carlisle's Mercedes. I pulled it up to the front of the house, then quickly ran inside, leaving the car running.

"You're wrong, you know," I could hear Jasper saying quietly.

"What?" Bella gasped.

"I can feel what you're feeling now — and you are worth it."

"I'm not," she mumbled again. "If anything happens to them, it will be for nothing."

"You're wrong," he repeated, smiling kindly at Bella.

I stepped into the front door then, glancing at Jasper who watched me sheepishly.

"May I?" I asked Bella, holding out my hands.

"You're the first one to ask permission."

I picked her up, and held her protectively to my chest. Jasper followed behind as we got out to the car. I slid into the backseat before setting Bella down on the seat next to me.

Jasper got into the front, and then we were off. The lights in the house left shining.

We didn't talk for a while. I stayed in the back with Bella while Jasper drove. His eyes kept flickering to me in the rearview mirror.

Bella ended up with her head against my neck as we left Washington. The cold didn't seem to bother her any. She didn't sleep, but she did however cry, causing the front of my shirt to become cold and damp.

I soothed her the best that I could, and Jasper tried helping.

"Are you okay?" Jasper asked me too quiet for Bella to hear.

"Yes."

"Are you still afraid?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"A little," I admitted.

"It's going to be okay."

"I know, my angel," I murmured, closing my eyes. My energy was dropping quickly, and I couldn't do anything about it. Not with Bella nearby.

"Rest now," he said.

Sometime later, early Monday morning, we made it to Phoenix.

"Which way to the airport, Bella?" Jasper asked. She flinched at the sound of his voice. It was the first sound, besides the purr of the car, that she had been heard all night. A few times, I had tried getting Jasper to stop so she could eat, she allowed me to stop once. I used a credit card under the name of Rachel Lee.

"Stay on the I-ten. We'll pass right by it."

She was quiet for a few moments, then she turned to me.

"Are you flying somewhere?"

"No," I said, "but it's better to be close, just in case."

When we were going through the loop of Sky Harbor International, Bella fell asleep.

"Finally," I whispered.

Jasper smiled, but made sure he didn't speak.

"There's the hotel," I said, pointing to the end of the loop.

He pulled the car into the closest parking spot to the hotel.

"Do you want me to take her?" Jasper asked, as I pulled Bella out of the car. I pulled her arm over my shoulder, and then I wrapped an arm around her waist.

"I got her," I said. "Can you get the bags?"

He nodded and pulled our bag from the front, as well as Bella's duffle bag from the back.

I dragged Bella into the hotel, and into the lobby.

"I'll go check in," Jasper said. "Go sit with her over there."

He pointed to a couch that sat against the wall near the desk

I nodded, and pulled Bella with me to the couch.

I watched Jasper approach the desk. The girl turned and looked Jasper up and down.

"Hi," she said, flashing him a smile.

"I'd like to get a room."

"One bed?"

Jasper looked over to me, and the girl followed, her smile fading with she saw me hold up two fingers.

"Two."

She looked down at Jasper's hand, and she blushed as she saw the wedding band.

"Of course. How many people?"

"Three adults."

"How long will you be staying?"

"Two days."

"Okay, the room itself will be $513.63. I need to see a driver's license and credit card."

Jasper pulled out both, and passed them to the girl. She studied his driver's licence, and her eyes flickered over to me.

She shook her head, and swiped the credit card.

"Now if you'll sign here, you'll be good to go."

He quickly signed his signature as she slid the key across the counter.

"Okay, room 230 is yours, here's your key, and enjoy your stay!"

Jasper took the key and walked quickly to me.

"Are you sure you don't want me to take her?"

I nodded. "I've got her."

I stood up, gently pulling Bella with me.

"Come on Bella," I said, putting her arm around my shoulder.

I managed to get her to the room without attracting too much attention. Once Jasper got the door open, I flashed to the bedroom.

I gently laid her down and covered her up before pulling the door shut behind me.

Jasper was already sitting on the couch, our bags, sitting on the floor next to him.

"I'll take her bag in there," I said, reaching for it.

I felt completely drained.

"Come lay down," he said. "I'll take it."

I shook my head. "No, Jaz, I can do it."

I took the bag and walked at a human speed to the bedroom. I placed the bag on the dresser before turning and walked out the room, quietly pulling the door shut behind me.

I walked back to the couch, and laid down, my head in Jasper's lap.

"Are you ready for your potions?"

"I'll take them in a minute," I said, a little breathlessly.

"It's okay, sweetheart," he said. "Just relax."

"Jazz?"

"Hm?"

"I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I'm being selfish. We should be focused on Bella."

"Alice, you're not being selfish. Why would you even think that?"

"Edward and I got into an argument this when we were leaving the field," I said, shakily.

"Did he tell you that you were being selfish?"

I shook my head.

He pulled me to where I was cradled against his chest.

"So why would you think that about yourself?"

"Because, I was to trapped in my own fear, that I couldn't think of Bella," I said, my voice cracking.

"Alice," Jasper, murmured against my forehead. "You are not selfish. You are one of the most selfless people I've ever met."

I told him more about the argument between Edward and I. What I said to him about not feeling like his sister anymore.

Jasper sighed.

"You do have a point," he said. "He has been rude since he's met Bella."

I closed my eyes.

"I shouldn't have said it. But I don't regret saying it."

"Maybe you should take your potions, and go rest in the bed for a while."

"I don't want to be alone," I said, hanging onto his shirt.

"You won't, Darlin'," he said, pulling the bag onto his lap. "I'll come with you of course."

I slid off of Jasper's lap, in front of the coffee table.

"Do you need a cup?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"No. I have everything I need."

I pulled out small medicine cups and the potions I needed.

"Can we stay out here and rest?" I asked Jasper.

He nodded.

"Of course."

The potions I took helped to bring back some of the energy I had lost.

"How are you doing?" he asked me, once I began placing the potions into the bag.

"Depends on how you mean," I said, closing the bag, and crawling up to the couch next to him.

"Just everything," he said, pulling me onto his lap but leaving me laying down. "You're still afraid, but you're worried, and several other things. Tell me why you're afraid."

"What if he isn't done with me? Edward said his focus is on Bella. But what if that's just for now?"

"Alice, we're going to catch him. James will never come near you. I won't let him."

I closed my eyes, and Jasper kissed my forehead.

"Jaz, I don't want you going near him."

"If he comes near you—"

I cut him off. "No. You don't know him. Not like I do. His plan now is to come at Bella directly. His plan for me, was he tried targeting the ones who meant the most to me. If he does come after me, I don't want you near him. He'll come after you. I can't let him kill you."

This made him angry. "Well I'm not going to let you—"

I covered his mouth. "Shhh. You'll wake Bella."

He was quieter now, but he was still angry. "I not going to let you go after him by yourself."

"I never said I was going to. I just can't let him take you from me."

"He can't take me away from you. I'm not going anywhere."

I pulled him into a hug.

"Promise me you won't go after him."

"Alice—"

"Promise me."

He sighed. "Fine. I promise."

"Thank you, Jazz."

I pulled myself from his tight hug, and kissed him. "Thank you."

He kissed me again. For a second, it felt like we were back home, in our room. It felt like nothing had changed. But then it ended, and I was back in the hotel in Phoenix, in hiding from the man who tried killing me. I guess in someway, some strange, sick way, I owed him. If he had never hunted me, I would have never found Jasper.

"Rest now," he said. "It's all okay. Here in a few hours, we'll take your energy potion."

"Okay," I said, closing my eyes.

A few hours passed. The thing about being a vampire, was that I could close my eyes, but I was still fully conscious. So I listened along to the news with Jasper. It was peaceful. Even when Jasper regained my attention, by speaking quietly into my ear.

"Hey, come on, beautiful. Time for your potion."

My eyes fluttered open, gazing into his face.

I sat up and moved to the floor, pulling the potions bag into my lap.

I set out the medicine cups again, and quickly went through the potions.

"What time will Bella be waking up?" he asked me. I closed my eyes, and focused. Bella would sleep until three in the morning.

"She won't be up for a while. But maybe I should order her some food in a little bit."

It was nearing six in the evening. I hadn't thought that we had gotten here so late.

"Room service is open until midnight."

"I'll order it at eleven," I said moving back up to the couch with him. He held me close, rocking side to side.

We stayed like that for a long time, I could feel my energy coming back to it's normal range with the help of the potions.

"Maybe I should go ahead and order," I said, looking at the clock. It was nearing eleven now.

I got up and moved towards the phone, picking up the menu, then walking back to Jasper.

"What should I get her?" I asked. None of it sounded appetizing, but Bella would need to eat when she woke up. I had given her a few snacks on the way to Phoenix, things we had around the house to keep our charade up. It had been a while since she had eaten though, and if James didn't kill me, Edward would.

Jasper looked at the menu with me.

I looked at the pictures accompanying some of the foods. "Can you believe we once at this stuff?"

"Hard to believe, isn't it."

I nodded. "I remember back in Hogwarts, there was always anything you could ever imagine. I always loved eating there."

"What was the first thing you always went for?" he asked.

"The first thing I went for was roast beef."

"There it is. It comes with roasted potatoes, and mixed vegetables."

"Should I get that?"

"I think so."

"I'll order some fruit to go along with it. I liked fruit."

I got up and moved quickly through the room to the phone, and punched in the number for the front desk.

I heard Bella starting to move around at about three o'clock, like I had predicted.

"I'm going to go talk to her," I told Jasper, kissing his temple. He was focused on the news, but it didn't look to be interesting him. "Oh, and please, don't mention anything of our talk earlier. She doesn't know about me. She thinks the same thing James does, that I don't remember my human life. I'm not ready for her to know. Not just yet."

"Of course," he said, his eyes flashed to mine, then he leaned forward to kiss my cheek.

I smiled, and moved to the door.

I knocked once.

"Can I come in?"

"Sure," she said hoarsely.

I walked in, my eyes immediately went to her face.

"You look like you could sleep more."

She shook her head. I looked over and saw that the curtains were opened. I quickly went to them, and pulled them shut.

"We'll need to stay inside."

"Okay," she said, in the same hoarse voice as before, but this time it cracked.

"Thirsty?" I asked.

"I'm okay. How about you?"

I smiled. "Nothing unimaginable." This was true. My energy was worse than my thirst. "I ordered some food for you, it's in the front room. Edward reminded me that you have to eat a lot more frequently than we do."

When I said Edward's name, her face lit up. "He called?"

"No," I said. Her face fell, and I instantly felt bad. "It was before we left."

I took her hand, and guided her to the living room. She sat down at the tray on the table.

I sat on the other side of the couch, closer to Bella than to Jasper, sitting crisscrossed. I stared blankly at the TV like Jasper. I looked over occasionally at Jasper, but Bella didn't see that.

I glanced down at Bella, who stared back at me.

"What's wrong Alice?"

I was confused by her question. "Nothing's wrong."

"What do we do now?"

"We wait for Carlisle to call."

"And he should have called by now?"

I turned away from Bella, and looked to the tiny silver phone that sat on top of my bag.

"What does that mean?" she asked, in a quivering voice. "That he hasn't called yet?"

"It just means that he has nothing to tell us."

Jasper was next to me in an instant. This was the closest I'd ever seen him to Bella.

"Bella," he said in the same soothing voice he always used on my when I was afraid. "You have nothing to worry about. You're safe here."

"I know that."

"Then why are you frightened?" he asked, as he slid an arm around me.

"You heard what Laurent said," she whispered. "He said James was lethal. What if something goes wrong, and they get separated? If something happens to any of them, Carlisle, Emmett… Edward…If that wild female hurts Esme…" her voice was rising higher and higher. "How could I live with myself when it's my fault? None of you should be risking yourselves for me —"

"Bella, Bella, stop," he interrupted. His words spilled out so quickly I wasn't sure if she heard him. "You're worrying about all the wrong things, Bella. Trust me on this — none of us are in jeopardy. You are under too much strain as it is; don't add to it with wholly unnecessary worries. Listen to me!" he ordered, when she looked away from him. "Our family is strong. Our only fear is losing you."

His eyes flashed to me when he said the last part. As a family, our greatest fear was losing Bella. However, individually, Jasper had admitted to being terrified of ever losing me. I felt the same way towards him.

"But why should you —"

I stopped her, pressing a cold hand to her cheek. "It's been almost a century, that Edward's been alone. Now he's found you. You can't see the changes we see, we who have been with him for so long. Do you think any of us would want to look into his eyes for the next hundred years if he loses you?"

I don't think I could live with myself if I was one of the contributing causes to Edward's happiness being taken from him. I was still angry with him, but everything I told Bella was true.

The little bit of fear I had left inside of myself quickly faded as Jasper spread a overpowering of calm through the room. He pulled me closer to him, and I relaxed in his arms.

As the day went on, Bella seemed to be getting more and more restless, and I was getting more and more drained. I couldn't take my potions, not with Bella there. Early in the morning, I called down to the front desk and asked to cancel our maid services for now.

I returned to Jasper's side, where he kept Bella and I calm.

There came a point when Bella went back to her room, and I followed behind. Jasper looked at me worried as I went to follow her.

"I'm going to be okay. I'll be back soon."

Bella laid across the bed, and I sat next to her, my legs folded. She ignored me at first, looking like she was about to go to sleep.

"Alice?" she asked suddenly.

"Yes?"

"What do you think they're doing?" she sounded like she was slightly panicked, but who could blame her. I was panicked now that I was away from Jasper.

"Carlisle wanted to lead the tracker as far north as possible, wait for him to get close, then turn and ambush him. Esme and Rosalie were supposed to head west for as long as they could keep the female behind them. If she turned around, they were to head back to Forks and keep an eye on your dad. So I imagine things are going well if they can't call. It means the tracker is close enough that they don't want him to overhear."

"And Esme?"

"I think she must be back in Forks. She won't call if there's any chance the female will overhear. I expect they're all just being very careful."

"Do you think they're safe, really?"

I sighed. "Bella, how many times do we have to tell you that there's no danger to us?"

I didn't blame her for not believing it though. I said it to where it sounded convincing, but even I didn't believe it. As long as James was alive, my Jasper, my angel, would always be in danger. James knew where I was now. One day, after his hunt for Bella was through, I was sure he was going to come back for me.

"Would you tell me the truth, though?"

"Yes. I will always tell you the truth."

This wasn't true either. I had lied to Bella about my past. I will tell her I didn't remember it until I was ready. Then I would tell her the truth.

"Tell me then….how do you become a vampire?"

I hadn't expected her question. I stayed quiet, and Bella rolled over, but I didn't meet her eyes.

"Edward doesn't want me to tell you that."

I didn't agree with Edward's decision to not tell Bella. He had told me once, not long after the events in Port Angeles, that when the time came for me to meet Bella, I wasn't aloud to tell her anything about how to become a vampire, or anything to that effect. I think that was the exchange for him keeping my secret.

"That's not fair," she said. "I think I have a right to know."

"I know that."

Bella watched me. I could tell she wouldn't let this go.

I sighed again. "He'll be extremely angry with me."

He already was angry with me from our argument.

"It's none of his business. This is between you and me. Alice, as a friend, I'm begging you."

I wasn't sure whether or not Bella actually considered me to be her friend. I knew that one day she would, but whether or not she did now, I wasn't too sure. I watched her.

I contemplated it. In one way of looking at things, Bella deserved to know. Becoming a vampire would be a possibility of her future whether Edward liked it or not. In the other way at looking at things, I'd be betraying my brother.

"I'll tell you what I know, but I don't remember it being done for me, and I've never done it myself."

Edward must have did what I asked and not tell her the real story behind my past, as she seemed to believe that I didn't remember my transformation.

"As predators, we have a glut of weapons in our physical arsenal — much, much more than really necessary. The strength, the speed, the acute senses, not to mention those of us like Edward, Jasper, and I, who have extra senses as well. And then, like a carnivorous flower, we are physically attractive to our prey."

I looked down at Bella. She sat quietly, looking up at me. I smiled down at her before continuing.

"We have another fairly superfluous weapon. We're also venomous," she said, her teeth glistening. "The venom doesn't kill — it's merely incapacitating. It works slowly, spreading through the bloodstream, so that, once bitten, our prey is in too much physical pain to escape us. Mostly superfluous, as I said. If we're that close, the prey doesn't escape. Of course, there are always exceptions. Carlisle, for example."

"So….if the venom is left to spread…" she said quietly, trailing off.

"It takes a few days for the transformation to be complete, depending on how much venom is in the bloodstream, how close the venom enters to the heart. As long as the heart keeps beating, the poison spreads, healing, changing the body as it moves through it. Eventually the heart stops, and the conversion is finished. But all that time, every minute of it, a victim would be wishing for death."

I remembered my transformation only taking a little bit of time, a day at most. Tobias theorized that was because of my size, seeing as I wasn't over five feet, and because of how closely the venom entered my heart.

Bella shivered.

"It's not pleasant you see," I finished.

"Edward said that it was very hard to do… I don't quite understand," Bella said.

"We're also like sharks in a way. Once we taste the blood, or even smell it for that matter, it becomes very hard to keep from feeding. Sometimes impossible. So you see, to actually bite someone, to taste the blood, it would begin the frenzy. It's difficult on both sides — the blood-lust on the one hand, the awful pain on the other."

"Why do you think you don't remember?" she asked.

"I don't know. For everyone else, the pain of transformation is the sharpest memory they have of their human life. I remember nothing of being human," I said, my voice was wistful.

This was the part I had thought about when Helen, Tobias, and I discussed why I couldn't remember my past. By the name, it wouldn't be hard to guess that shock treatments would hurt. In that time, in an asylum, having visions would have given the shock treatment. From what I had heard, a shock treatment would have caused you to forget. The pain of the transformation would have the same effect. While the transformation of becoming a vampire was painful, I always thought the Cruciatus curse was worse.

Neither one of us talked for a while. Suddenly, I couldn't see the room in front of me anymore. Instead, I saw James in another room, almost like he was with me.

"Jasper!" I breathed trying to get his attention. "Something's changed."

I stumbled off the bed, struggling to keep the vision there.

When I finally got to the door, Jasper was already there. He put his hands on my shoulders, and I grabbed them as he guided me back to the bed. He sat me on the edge, then his hands disappeared from my shoulders, then they reappeared on my knees. I assumed he was squatting in front of me.

"What do you see?" he asked, intently. His hands didn't leave my knees.

"I see a room. It's long and there are mirrors everywhere. The floor is wooden. He's in the room, and he's waiting. There's gold….a gold stripe across the mirrors."

"Where is the room?"

"I don't know," I said in a strained voice. "I don't know. Something's missing. Another decision hasn't been made yet."

"How much time?"

"It's soon. He'll be in the mirror room today, or maybe tomorrow. It all depends. He's waiting for something. And he's in the dark now."

Jasper's voice was soothing. He tried keeping me calm the best that he could the more I became panicked.

"What's he doing, Al?" he asked me.

"He's watching TV… no, he's running a VCR, in the dark, in another place."

"Can you see where he is?"

"No, no, it's too dark."

"And the mirror room, what else is there?"

"Just the mirrors, and the gold. It's a band, around the room. And there's a black table with a big stereo, and a TV. He's touching the VCR there, but he doesn't watch the way he does in the dark room. This is the room where he waits."

The vision faded. Panicked, as my sight began to return I searched for Jasper's face.

"I'm right here, Al," Jasper said to quietly for Bella's ears.

I was slightly more relaxed when I had found his face. He gave me a small smile, and I could see he was working to make sure that I was calm.

"There's nothing else?"

I shook my head, and kept my eyes on his face trying to keep the panic from resurfacing.

"What does it mean?" Bella asked.

Neither one of us answered for a moment. Then Jasper's eyes tore away from mine and he turned to Bella.

"It means the tracker's plans have changed. He's made a decision that will lead him to the mirror room, and the dark room."

"But we don't know where those rooms are?"

"No."

"But we do know that he won't be in the mountains north of Washington, being hunted. He'll elude them," I said bleakly. Jasper pulled me a bit closer to him.

"Should we call?"

At the same time Bella spoke, the phone rang. I flashed across the room, snapping the phone open.

"Alice? It's me," Carlisle said.

"Carlisle," I breathed.

"Are you out of earshot of Bella?"

"Yes," I said, glancing up at her.

"Have you seen anything on the tracker? He just got on a plane."

"I just saw him." I quickly explained the vision I had seen. "Whatever made him get on that plane… it was leading him to those rooms." I paused as the phone shuffled.

"Alice," Edward said. "Firstly, I want to apologize again for yesterday. I was angry."

"I understand," I said, quietly. "But I don't think now is the time."

"Of course. Is Bella awake?"

"Yes."

"Can you please pass the phone to her?"

"Bella?" I asked, holding the phone out to her. She jumped up and ran to the phone. Jasper walked over to me.

"What's going on?"

"James, he got on a plane. Whatever caused him to get on the plane, it's going to lead him to the mirror room. They've lost him."

"Alice, please calm down. It's okay. We're going to find him."

The panic had started spiking again. He led me to the couch, and pulled out a sheet of stationery from the desk, along with a pen.

"Here, draw me a picture of the mirrored room."

I sat down on the floor, Jasper sat next to me, not moving his arm that had wrapped around my waist.

"It's okay. We're going to get him. Edward will work on making Bella safe, and I'm going to work on making you safe."

I thought about his words for a moment. I loved Bella. I already thought of her as a close friend. Edward would do anything to make Bella safe again. Even if that meant risking me or Jasper, or anyone in our family. Maybe that was a bad way of looking at things, but I guess it was the only way I could look at it. But how could I blame him? I would do the same thing if it was Jasper. I couldn't live without Jasper, so I guess it was the same thing for Edward. He couldn't live without Bella.

I knew I shouldn't think such awful things about my brother, but I was still angry. The question I couldn't shake was, would he care if I was hurt? I quickly shook that from my head. I needed to focus on the picture for Jasper.

The more I thought about James, the more I thought about my human life. I could remember the look that went across George and Harry's faces when they saw what they thought was my body lying across a couch in McGonagall's office. I could remember Harry wondering why I had left him. I could remember George telling me the same thing that I had told Remus when I learned of his death.

I suddenly realized how much I wanted to be the one to kill James. It was just the matter of Jasper letting me get to him. If I could pinpoint the location, then I could go alone. Jasper would stay safe. If I couldn't make it out, then maybe I would turn the attention away from Bella. But would Jasper be okay without me? Maybe he could go to Britain, and tell my family my story, and to tell them that I loved them.

The more I began to think, the faster my hand flew across the page. I was more ready than anyone else for this to be over.

"It's a ballet studio," Bella said suddenly. I hadn't realized she came back. My hand came to a stop as I looked up at her.

"Do you know this room?" Jasper asked.

I turned my attention back to the drawing. Jasper would talk to her.

"It looks like a place I used to go for dance lessons," Bella said. "When I was eight or nine. It was shaped just same."

She reached down and touched the picture.

"That's where the bathrooms were — the doors were through the other dance floor. But the stereo was here" — she dragged her finger to the left corner — "it was older, and there wasn't a TV. There was a window in the waiting room — you would see the room from this perspective if you looked through it."

Jasper and I stared back up at her.

"Are you sure it's the same room?" Jasper asked, calmly.

He was easier to keep calm right now. My emotions were over the place. Even Jasper didn't seem to be able to calm the panic. It was too strong. No matter how much calm and ease he pushed to me, the panic still clawed at the edges, looking for a blind spot to creep back up.

"Not at all," Bella said, regaining my attention. "I suppose most dance studios looks the same. The mirrors, the bar," she traced her finger along the picture as she spoke. "It's just the shape that looked familiar."

"Would you have any reason to go there now?" I asked, struggling to keep my voice calm. Bella didn't seem to notice.

"No, I haven't been there in almost ten years. I was a terrible dancer — they always put me in the back for recitals."

"So there's no way it could be connected with you?" I asked.

"No, I don't even think the same person owns it. I'm sure it's just another dance studio, somewhere."

This calmed me, and I let the calm that Jasper was pressing onto me consume me entirely, relaxing in his arms.

"Where was the studio you went to?" Jasper asked in a casual voice.

"It was just around the corner from my mom's house. I used to walk there after school…"

Jasper and I looked at each other.

"Here in Phoenix, then?"

""Yes. "Fifty-eighth Street and Cactus." Her voice didn't go above a whisper.

We all sat in silence, each of us staring at the picture.

"Alice, is that phone safe?"

"Yes," I said, as reassuring as I could. "The number would just trace back to Washington."

"Then I can use it to call my mom."

"I thought she was in Florida."

"She is — but she's coming home soon, and she can't come back to that house while…"

She trailed off.

"How will you reach her?"

"They don't have a permanent number except at the house — she's supposed to check her messages regularly."

"Jasper?" I asked, turning to study his face.

He sat and pondered it for a moment.

"I don't think there's any way it could hurt," he said finally. "Be sure you don't say where you are of course."

She reached down for the phone, and moved a little bit away from us as she dialed the number.

"It's okay, Alice," Jasper said, and he rested his face on the side of my head. "He won't hurt you."

"I know," I said.

"Stop worrying," he said into my ear. "It's all going to be okay. You're safe."

When Bella finished the voicemail that she left for her mother, she grabbed a plate of fruit that I had called up for when I ordered her dinner, and she moved to the couch behind me. I spent some time drawing the outline of the dark room. There wasn't much I could see from the dim light of the TV in the said room. When I finished, I stared at the wall, trying to keep myself calm. As far as Bella knew, I had never met James before last night. I had to pretend that that's how it actually was. I still wasn't ready for her to know the truth, so this was the way it had to be. I just hoped Edward would keep my secret until I was ready.

At some point, Bella fell asleep on the couch. I moved her to the bed, and covered her up as I had done last night.

I moved back out to the living room, and began taking my potions. When I finished, I crawled back onto the couch, putting my face in my hands.

"What's wrong?" Jasper asked, rubbing my back.

I shook my head. "Earlier, I was thinking. Edward would do anything to keep Bella safe, you and I both know that because we'd do the same for each other."

"Yeah," he said, pulling me into his lap. "What's your point?"

"What if he lied to me?"

"About what?"

"James coming after me. What if he lied so I'd be focused on protecting Bella?"

"Then you'll see when or if James decides to come after you. Then we'll be ready."

I sighed and closed my eyes. I knew I shouldn't tell Jasper about my wish. I think that was the one thing in the world that he would never give me. Not without him being there at least. I couldn't put him in that kind of danger. I would never forgive myself if he had gotten hurt or killed because of me.

Helen's words from all those years ago rang in my ears:

"You must not seek James out. It is dangerous. He will recognize you, and he will begin the hunt again."

Could I really break my promise to all of them?

"Can I ask you a question?" Jasper asked, bringing me back to reality.

"Sure."

"It's an understandable thing, it really is. But if you trust that I won't let James hurt you, why are you so afraid of him?"

I thought about it. The answer occurred to me, when I saw George and Harry's face fill my memories. I saw the faces of my family the day that they thought that I had killed myself. I saw meeting Jasper, him proposing, and us getting married.

"Because he tried to take the people who meant the most to me away once. If he does it again, I lose you. I lose my family. That's why I'm afraid of him coming back for me. I can't lose you, Jasper."

Jasper pried my hands away from my face.

"He'll never take me away from you. Nobody will ever take me away from you, and if you need me too, I will tell you that for the next century."

"How are you so sure James won't come for you?"

"Because we're going to catch him before he has the chance."

I closed my eyes, and he held me closer.

'I told you already, Darlin'. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me forever."

I laughed, and pulled him closer.

"Can you promise me that?" I asked, smiling widely. "Can you promise me forever?"

"Of course. I promise that I am not going to go anywhere. Ever."

He leaned down and kissed me.

I finally felt safe again.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! We are so close to being back to where we were, and that's good, but that also means chapters will be coming slower. As I have said, I have been using the original story I wrote as a bases. In a few chapters, I won't have that base, so it will take me awhile to get the chapters to sound the way that I want them to. I can't express what the support I get from this story means. I know to some, this doesn't seem like much, but to me, it's the world.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapters!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	61. Bella's Great Escape

_"Throw it away, forget yesterday, we'll make the great escape."~ The Great Escape by Boys Like Girls_

* * *

Chapter 61-Bella's Great Escape

In the early hours of the next morning, a new vision crept up on me.

Jasper and I had been chatting quietly about the pros and cons of me attempting the sleep potion like Carlisle had suggested. He was doing everything he could to bring my focus away from James, but no matter what he did, he couldn't take the vision away from me.

The room with the TV was bright now. It looked less like a waiting room, and more like a room in a house.

"Alice?" Jasper asked, panic in his voice. "Alice what is it?"

"The room with the TV, he's back. I can see more."

I held the vision of the room clear in my mind. I felt Jasper press a pen or maybe a pencil into my hand and then guided it to a sheet of paper.

I leaned against Jasper as I sketched. He had put a book underneath the sheet. I flipped between the view of the paper and the vision.

The ceiling hung low, and the walls were paneled in a dark, out of date, wood. There was a carpet on the floor that was dark, with a pattern in it. On the south wall, there was a large window, and on the west wall, there was an opening to another room.

"Did she see something more?" Bella asked as I finished drawing a small stand with a TV and a VCR.

"Yes," Jasper said, calmly. "Something's brought him back to the room with the VCR, but it's light now."

I moved on to quickly drawing an old sofa that sat with a round coffee table in front of it.

"The phone goes there," Bella whispered, pointing to a spot on the paper.

I looked up at her, wide eyed.

"You know this place?"

"That's my mother's house."

I jumped off of the couch, the paper and book falling to the floor. I grabbed the phone and began dialing Carlisle's number. He answered quickly.

"Alice?" he asked, surprised. "Is everything okay?"

"Carlisle, it's James, he's at Bella's mother's house," I said.

"Slow down, Alice. How do you know it's Bella's mother's house?"

"I had a vision of the room with the VCR in it. It was lighter, so I began sketching what I could see in it. Bella came in, she started watching me draw. She pointed to where the phone went, and she was right. Carlisle, she recognizes this place." My voice began to rise with fear as I spoke. "He's here in Phoenix!"

Carlisle didn't answer, but I heard the shuffling of the phone.

"Alice, calm down," Edward said. "Carlisle, Emmett, and I are coming to get Bella. We're going to take her somewhere to hide her. We're getting on the first flight out of Seattle. You need to get to James. You have to kill him."

"Edward I don't think that I can—"

"Listen to me, Alice. You've got this. James has to die. If anyone can do it, I know you can. You're strong, Alice. You've always been strong. I need you to show me that now."

"He's playing the same game he played with me," I said, my voice breaking. "He's targeting the ones she loves first."

"Which is why you have to stay there. Keep her mother safe, Rosalie and Esme will keep Charlie safe, and Carlisle, Emmett, and I are going to hide Bella and keep her safe."

Edward was convinced that James wouldn't come after me. Suddenly, I didn't feel so safe. I wondered whether Edward would rather me die if it meant that Bella got to live. Would he be able to look into Jasper's eyes for the next century if James killed me?

I shook my head, snapping myself out of it.

"Alice? Can you do this for me? Can you help keep Bella safe?"

"Edward, don't pretend like your giving me a choice," I said quietly.

"I'll call you when we're boarding."

I snapped the phone shut without saying anything else.

"Bella?"

She looked at me in the same amount of numbness that I felt.

"Bella, Edward is coming to get you. He and Emmett and Carlisle are to go take you somewhere to hide you for a little while."

"Edward is coming?" she asked. I saw a little bit of light spark behind her eyes.

"Yes, he's catching the first flight out of Seattle. We'll meet him at the airport, and you'll go with him."

"But, my mother….he came here for my mother, Alice!"

"Jasper and I will stay until she's safe," I said.

"I can't win, Alice. You can't guard everyone I know forever. Don't you see what he's doing? He's not tracking me at all. He'll find someone, he'll hurt someone I love… Alice, I can't —"

"We'll catch him, Bella," I assured.

I would do this for Bella and Edward, and to keep Bella's family safe. But I would also do it to keep my family safe.

"And what if you get hurt, Alice? Do you think that's okay with me? Do you think it's only my human family he can hurt me with?"

I couldn't find it in me to care if I got hurt. It didn't matter what happened to me now. I needed Jasper to be safe. Edward wanted me to keep Bella safe. I now understood that this was the cost. My safety was the cost.

I looked at Jasper, who was looking right back at me. He understood my unspoken request, and I watched as Bella's eyes began to close.

Bella stood, and stumbled away from Jasper.

"I don't want to go to sleep," she snapped.

She walked to her room and slammed the door shut behind her, at the same time that I sunk to the floor.

Jasper darted to my side. "What is it?"

"He wants me to kill James."

"Absolutely not."

I looked up at him, sheepishly.

"I want to be the one to kill him, Jazz."

"Well you're not going anywhere near him. Not alone."

"I never said I'd go alone," I said, frowning at the floor. "I just wish Edward made it to where I felt that I had a choice."

He pulled me to him.

"What did Edward say?"

"Carlisle, Emmett, and himself are going to keep Bella safe. Rosalie and Esme are going to keep Charlie Swan safe. You and I are to keep her mother safe. But in the end, he wants me to kill James."

"He doesn't think there's a possibility the tracker will come after you is there?"

I shook my head. "His focus is on Bella. That's where he wants mine and your focus."

Jasper picked me up, and began carrying me to the couch.

"Well let's focus on the tracker," he said, sitting down, and sitting me on his lap.

"Are you going to let me go after him?"

He studied my face for a moment.

"Does it really mean that much to you for you to be the one to kill him?"

I nodded.

"It's the only way I can keep all of my family safe."

"If it truly means that much to you, I'll let you. But I'm going with you."

"Fine."

"Now, let's think about this tracker. He's going to be at Bella's mother's house. So we should probably relocate closer to the house."

I nodded. "I think that's safer. The second I see something, we could be at the house and get him."

Jasper nodded. "So when Edward, Carlisle, and Emmett come to get Bella, we can relocate closer to the house."

"Okay, so we have a plan."

He leaned forward, staring into my eyes.

"Are you sure that you can do this?"

"I know I can do this. James has to die."

"If you can't do it, tell me, and I'll take care of it."

"Thank you, Jaz," I said, laying my head on his shoulder.

"Of course. It's why I'm here. I'm going to do anything I have to, just to make you safe."

I could see that he was thinking the same thing I was. I couldn't help myself now. Edward didn't care if I got hurt doing this. As long as Bella was safe, it wouldn't matter. He would get what he wanted in the end.

Time seemed to move too quickly. At five-twenty-five, Jasper moved me off of his lap, and stood up.

"I'm going to go check out. I'll be back soon."

He kissed my forehead before he turned and walked out the door.

I smiled, and stood as well. I walked to my bag, pulling out the stronger energy supplement. I moved quickly, pouring it into the medicene cup, and downed it quickly. Over the years, I learned that I had to make potions stronger. They had better effects for vampires.

The phone rang from it's spot on the desk. I darted across the room and in a second, the phone was to my ear.

"Edward?" I asked.

"Hey, Alice. We're about to board our plane."

"What time will you land?"

"At about nine-forty-five."

"So you won't be too much longer," I said, more to myself.

"Have you seen anything else on the tracker?"

"Nothing other than what I saw before."

I turned slightly as the door to Bella's room closed. She stood at the door, looking as shy as she had when I first met her.

"Keep us updated if you see anything."

"Okay," I said quietly. "I'll see you when you get here."

The phone went dead and I turned to Bella.

"They're just boarding their plane," I said to Bella. "They'll land at nine-forty-five."

"Where's Jasper?" she asked, looking around the room.

"He went to check out."

"You aren't staying here?"

I shook my head. "No, we're relocating closer to your mother's house."

The phone rang again. This surprised me. I hadn't seen anyone calling. Nobody made a decision to call.

"Hello?"

"Bella?" the panicked voice of Bella's mother asked. "Bella?"

"No, she's right here."

I held the phone out to Bella.

"Your mother," I mouthed.

"Hello?"

The sounds through the phone were muffled. I couldn't hear anything on the other end, only what Bella said.

"Calm down, Mom," Bella said, as she turned away from me. "Everything is fine, okay? Just give me a minute and I'll explain everything, I promise."

Bella paused for a moment.

"Mom?" she asked, when I suspected no one answered.

She still had her back turned to me, but she looked as if she had stiffened a bit. Something her mother said on the other end must have frightened her.

"No, Mom, stay where you are," she whispered.

This began to worry me. I watched her back as she listened to what her mother was saying to me.

"Mom, please listen to me," she pleaded as she began walking to her room. She shut the door behind her. She paused for a moment. "Yes," she said a few moments later before pausing again.

When she came out, she looked empty. All the happiness that had been in her before seemed to be gone now. I didn't need Jasper to tell me that.

"My mom was worried, she wanted to come home. But it's okay, I convinced her to stay away."

Her voice sounded lifeless.

"We'll make sure she's fine, Bella," I said, offering a small and weak smile. "Don't worry."

She turned away from me. She looked at the other desk, and didn't face me.

"Alice," she asked slowly. "If I write a letter for my mother, would you give it to her? Leave it at the house, I mean."

"Sure, Bella."

I was cautious. She seemed to be on the verge of falling apart, but she looked like she was fighting to keep it together. She looked very similar to me. I assumed it was because she had to say goodbye to her family.

Bella wasn't gone for more than five minutes before the vision came. I had been standing by the desk, then suddenly I was bent over it, holding tightly to the sides, keeping myself from falling from shock, because of what I had seen.

Bella was in the ballet studio now. James bent over her, with her arm against his mouth. He was grinning maniacally behind the arm. The longer her arm stayed there, the more lifeless she became. I suddenly realized that he was draining her blood, causing her to go from her traditional ivory skin to a grey color that was usually associated with death.

"Alice?" Bella called. She sounded far away.

James dropped her arm once she was completely drained, looking over her corpse. She looked like she had been tortured before he drained her.

"Alice?" It was Jasper this time. I felt his hands curl around mine, and he pulled my fingers from the desk. I tried to find him.

The vision was fading, I could see Bella's shirt coming into view. Jasper had pulled me closely to him, keeping one hand it mine.

"What is it?" Jasper demanded. I turned quickly from Bella, hiding my face from her.

"Bella," I said into his chest.

"I'm right here," she said.

I twisted my head around, locking eyes with her.

"What did you see?" Her voice was flat, and uncaring. I think she already knew the answer to her question.

Jasper looked from Bella back to me, then studied my face. I was angry. I shouldn't have seen Bella in the ballet studio unless she decided to go there. It didn't make sense to me. Why would Bella go to the ballet studio when Jasper and I were bending over backwards to make her safe again? Why would she go, when she knew that Edward was coming for her to take her away? I was finding it harder and harder to stay calm while I looked at Bella. Why would she risk her life, when we were fighting so hard to save it?

Suddenly, the anger slipped away from me, leaving too quickly for me to hang on too. It was replaced with tranquility.

"Nothing really," I lied, glaring into Jasper chest. "Just the same room as before."

The last part wasn't a lie, but I didn't tell the full truth either. I looked into her eyes again, as I twisted myself in Jasper's arms, which had tightened before he sent the calming waves through the room. He loosened his hold, not entirely, but enough to me to move around.

"Did you want breakfast?" I asked.

"No, I'll eat at the airport."

I didn't argue. If I was being honest with myself, I was afraid that if I continued to talk to Bella, I would snap.

She left to take a shower, and I began moving around the room.

"Al?" Jasper asked me quietly. "What is it?Why are you angry?"

"I saw Bella in the ballet studio. Why would she be there?"

He put his hands on my waist. "Maybe she's just thinking of what she thinks is the right thing to do? Or, maybe, it was something James has done. Al, it's a possibility Bella didn't make that decision. He knows how you visions work. It could be a trick."

The last possibility seemed likely. I shrugged. "I don't know, but until Edward gets here, she doesn't leave one of our sight. He'll have my head if we let her put herself in any danger."

He pulled me into a hug. "You know best."

We left the hotel at around seven that morning. I sat in the front, leaning against my door, watching Jasper. I occasionally glanced over to Bella, who sat quietly in the back.

"Alice?" Bella asked, gaining my attention. I turned to her.

"Yes?" I asked warily.

"How does it work? The things that you see?" I wasn't so sure that she was truly interested in it. She sounded bored, but maybe that was just Jasper. "Edward said that it wasn't definite….that things change."

A fresh wave of serenity filled the car.

"Yes, things change," I said, hopeful that she would change her course. "Some things are more certain than others… like the weather. People are harder. I only see the course they're on while they're on it. Once they change their minds — make a new decision, no matter how small — the whole future shifts. The future isn't set in stone. Little decisions can alter your path greatly."

"So you couldn't see James in Phoenix until he decided to come here?"

"Yes," I agreed wairy again. Jasper reached over, and patted my knee.

"It's alright," he said to quickly and quietly for Bella to hear. "Everything will be okay."

His voice was as soothing as ever, but it did little to comfort me now.

Jasper pulled into a parking spot on the fourth floor in a large parking garage. Bella led us through the airport to the third floor.

Jasper and I stayed there for a while, discussing the pros and cons of places like New York, Chicago, and Atlanta. Bella stood quietly with us, tapping her toe.

"But James could trace them back to Edward's house in Chicago," I pointed out as we moved to a set of chairs next to the metal detectors.

Bella moved around alot when we sat down. Every time she adjusted herself, I was scared that she was about to make a run for it. If she had, we wouldn't of been able to chase after her at vampire speed. Even the slightest mistake could result badly.

"Are you okay?" I asked Jasper, noticing that he had been holding his breath.

"I'm okay," he said quietly into my ear.

I took his hand, and began tracing one of the many scars on his hand. This made him relax a little bit more.

Bella pulled the envelope out of her pocket, laying it on my bag.

"My letter," she said, when I turned and looked at her. I nodded and tucked it underneath the top flap, letting it fall into place, at the bottom I'm sure.

Several times I offered to go get breakfast with Bella. Each time I offered, she turned me down, until about ten minutes before Edward's flight was supposed to land. But the numbers had switched, announcing the flight had arrived early. Edward would come at any moment now, along with Carlisle and Emmett.

"I think I'll eat now," Bella said quickly. I automatically stood.

"I'll come with you."

"Do you mind if Jasper comes instead? I'm feeling a little…." she trailed off, not finishing her sentence. I looked in her eyes, and I could see the panic.

Jasper stood, kissing my hand. I hadn't realized that I hadn't let go of him.

"We'll be back," he said.

I nodded, and watched their backs as Jasper placed a hand on the small of Bella's back. To anyone else, it would have looked like he was guiding her through the crowd of people. Then before too long, they were gone, ducking around the corner.

Ducking through the crowd probably took around five long after they disappeared, I could see flashes of Bella running through a set of doors, and out of the airport. It was another decision made.

"No," I gasped quietly.

I stood up, looking over the crowd of people. I still couldn't see Jasper and Bella.

I grabbed my bag and looked away from the terminal. Edward, Carlisle, and Emmett would be here any minute.

I started to duck my way through the people, following the direction where Jasper and Bella had disappeared. I eventually came across Jasper, who stood outside of the women's bathroom.

"Jasper!" I called, stepping towards him. He turned and looked at me in surprise.

"Alice? I thought you were waiting for Edward, Emmett, and Carlisle."

"Where's Bella?" I asked, looking around.

"She had to go to the bathroom."

"God damn it," I said, stepping forward.

"Al, what's going on?"

"I saw Bella escaping. She ran through a set of doors, and out of the airport."

I looked back in the way I came. Carlisle, Edward, and Emmett wasn't there yet.

"Wait here. I'm going to check and see if she's ran yet. If you see the others, go get them, bring them here. Don't let Edward get into your head. Think of something else. Think of me."

He nodded as I ducked into the bathroom door.

"Bella?" I hissed. "Bella come on, Edward will be here soon."

Nobody answered. I was the only one in that bathroom. Bella was gone. I snarled loudly, but not loud enough to where it would be carried outside of the bathroom.

I charged forward, heading through the other door. On the other side, there was nothing. Only the floods of people.

I headed back in the bathroom.

"God damn it," I growled in frustration before hitting a stall door.

It bounced back before falling off of it's hinges.

When I stepped out, a few people had turned. Edward, Carlisle, and Emmett had turned too. They began to make their way over to us.

"What do I tell him? She gone!"

"Tell him the truth. I am so sorry Al. I shouldn't have let her out of my sight."

"You couldn't know. I should have come with you guys. It's my fault either way it goes. I wasn't paying enough attention."

"Where's Bella?" Edward asked looking around. "Is she in the bathroom?"

I shook my head, not meeting his eyes.

"Surely you didn't let her out of your sight."

"I'm so sorry, Edward," I said. "She got away."

"You let her get away?" Edward hissed through clenched teeth. "How could you be so stupid, Alice!"

"It was my fault," I said, leaning against the wall, sinking to the ground. "I shouldn't have invited her to the game, then we wouldn't be on the run, and then she wouldn't have gotten away."

"That's besides the point," Edward growled, as Jasper pulled me into his arms. "How did she get away?"

"She told me that she was ready to eat. I went to go with her, but she wanted Jasper to go instead. I assumed she was feeling panicky because of the way she was acting. I told them I'd wait for you guys. A couple minutes passed then I saw Bella running."

"Did she say anything before she left?" Carlisle asked.

"She left a letter for her mother."

"Give it to me," Edward ordered.

I pulled the bag off my shoulders and began digging through it. At the bottom, the envelope laid flat out. I gave it to him before covering my face.

"Don't blame yourself," Emmett said, squatting down in front of me. "You couldn't have known."

"It's not for her mother," Edward said, in an expressionless voice.

"What?" Jasper asked, looking up.

"It's for me."

"What does it say?" Emmett asked.

"Edward, I love you. I am so sorry. He has my mom, and I have to try. I know it may not work. I am so very, very sorry. Don't be angry with Alice and Jasper. If I get away from them it will be a miracle. Tell them thank you for me. Alice especially, please. And please, please, don't come after him. That's what he wants. I think. I can't bear it if anyone has to be hurt because of me, especially you. Please, this is the only thing I can ask you now. For me. I love you. Forgive me. Bella." He choked when he said her name.

"We have no time to waste," I said, jumping to my feet. "If James has her mother, then it won't be long before he starts using that against Bella."

"Alice, think," Carlisle said. "When James was hunting you, did he go after anyone specifically?"

I shook my head. "He never got the chance. I was changed before he had the chance. Then Helen and Tobias went and changed him memories."

"Who would he have went after? Your parents and Remus were dead," Emmett said.

I nodded. "I figured out later that he would have went after Harry or George."

"How'd you learn that?"

"Helen and Tobias went to watch over me at some point in the late 70's. Helen took them to 1998, about three months before I was changed. They overheard James and Victoria talking a few blocks from my father's house."

"Did you ever find out where this ballet studio is?" Edward asked.

I nodded. "It was around the corner from Bella's old house."

Edward walked quickly through the floor with all of us following quickly.

When we got to the car, I pulled out my wand as Carlisle got inside.

"Point me!" I said, as I thought of Bella's old ballet studio. I didn't know the name, but my wand began spinning to the west. "Edward, if we run it'll be quicker."

"Emmett and I will follow behind with the car, assuming Jasper is running with you guys."

"She's not going near him without me," Jasper growled.

"Come on," Edward said, tugging my hand. "We have to hurry."

"We'll follow behind you guys."

Edward pulled my free hand, and he, Jasper, and I broke into a run.

We followed the wand, but I let my mind wander.

Maybe if I had spent less time focusing on whether or not James was going to come for me, and more time focusing on Bella, I could have stopped this. Maybe if I had just went with them, I could have prevented her from walking out the door. If I hadn't spent time being angry at Edward for various different things, then I could have focused more on James, and I would have been able to see James taking Bella's mother.

The more I thought about it, the more I thought about what I could have done. If Bella died, it would be my fault. And I could never live with myself. What would I do if she died though? Chances are I would leave the Cullens. Jasper could come with me if he wanted. But would all of them forgive me?

"Alice, stop, please," Edward groaned.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

He didn't say anything more. I couldn't find it in me to be angry with Edward. When we got to Bella, maybe I would be angry again. But right now I was only angry with myself. Nothing Jasper, or Emmett, or even Edward said would help that now.

Staying hidden was an issue, but I was suddenly thankful for the cloud coverage that seemed to take effect.

"How much longer, Alice?" Edward asked as the wand spun from West to North.

"Not much, I'm sure."

He began to pick up the speed.

"Edward, it's okay. We're going to get to her," I said. When he didn't answer, I turned to Jasper. "Remember, we had a deal."

"I know, Al. I haven't forgotten."

"Deal?" Edward asked.

"I get to kill James."

He turned and looked at me, surprise evident in his face.

"You want to kill someone?"

"Don't forget, Edward. I've killed several people, both for blood and during my human life."

"Yes, but you never wanted to kill those people," he said.

"No. However, James, he's a different case. While he brought me to where I am now, he has to die. My family back in Britain, and my family here in America, are not safe while he's alive. Whether or not he remembers. I have to protect my family. Both of them."

I wasn't worried about myself anymore. If he were to come for me, and me alone, I'd let him. If it meant that Jasper or anybody else that I loved got to live, dying didn't sound so bad. If I could, I would try to get James to let me take Bella's place.

 _I know you're listening_ , I thought to Edward. _If I can get James to let me take Bella's place, you take care of my angel. Make sure he's happy. Should James turn up dead, have him go to Britain. Find my family. Tell them I love them. Tell our family that I love them. And tell Jasper that I love him so much more than he could ever know._

Edward's eyes flickered to my face, but he returned his focus to the did however, open his mind to me.

 _You're going to be okay, Al. You and Bella are both going to be okay. James is going to die, and I am going to make all of this up to you. I promised you that. I'm going to keep my promise. It's not just Bella I'm afraid to lose. I know you're still angry with me, and you have the right to be. But I would fall apart without my favorite sister._

I smiled, and didn't answer.

We didn't talk much after that. There came a point when we ran off the road as cars began to head to work. Emmett called to make sure that they were going the right way.

"Keep on the Piestewa Freeway," I said quickly into the phone. "We'll get there quicker if we do it that way."

"When do we turn?"

"Stay on the right side. In about two miles it will merge onto 58th. If we keep going for about two miles after that, it will go to Cactus. Bella will be in the dance studio there. We're going to end up going right past her house. Depending on how long ago she was there, we may be able to catch her scent."

"You got all of that from a wand?"

"No. I got all of that from visions."

When we got in front of her old house, we paused. Carlisle and Emmett parked the car across the street, and stepped out.

"He was here," I said quietly, as I picked up on his scent mixed with Bella's. "It wasn't that long ago."

"Do you think Bella would still be here?" Edward asked. I shook my head.

"The trail goes that way."

I pointed to the same direction as my wand. Edward took off.

"It's okay Alice," Jasper said, taking my hand. "She's going to be okay. You're going to be okay. This will be over soon."

Jasper and I took off with Emmett and Carlisle behind us in the car.

Edward was already inside when we got there. Emmett flew out of the door before Carlisle stopped the car. The three of us ran into the studio, following Edward's growls from the next room.

Edward had James pinned against the wall by the throat. The four of us ran over to him, Carlisle grabbing his arm.

"Edward, go to Bella. Emmett, Alice, and Jasper will take care of him."

Jasper took one of James's arms while Emmett took the other.

"Oh no, Bella, no!" Edward cried from behind me.

James grinned as he turned to me.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't little Mary Alice Black."

I looked at him, wide eyed with horror.

"What did you call me?"

"Mary Alice Black. I remember everything now. How's George? Even better, how's little Harry?"

I grabbed him by the throat, and pushed him back against the wall.

"How long have you remembered?"

"Only a few minutes. As soon as I realized I was going to die here today, my memories came back. It's a shame really. After I finished this hunt, I was going to come back for you. It seems like you have something so much greater to fight for now. Seems like this one means a great deal to you, Mary Alice. "

He grinned as his eyes flickered to Jasper. I snarled, and his eyes snapped back to mine.

"Are you going to kill me, Mary Alice?"

"Yes," I growled. "To protect my family. You will never hurt me, or them. Ever."

"Are you so sure that it's not to protect yourself?"

"I don't care about me. If I get to protect my family, it's worth it. I would die a million times over to keep them safe."

"I wonder if your so called family actually loves you," he said, turning to Emmett this time. "Maybe, just maybe, they only keep you around for those visions of yours."

He went to reach his hand up to touch my face, but Emmett pinned his arm down. I could hear it crackling as Emmett squeezed tighter.

"Of course we love her," Emmett growled in his ear. "She's our family."

"Family, huh? What is she to you?"

"She's my sister," Emmett said, looking over to me. "I will always fight for her."

"And you?" he asked,chuckling as he turned to Jasper.

"She's my wife."

"Wife," James repeated with a smile. "Look at you, Mary Alice. You've made a nice life for yourself here."

I watched him for a moment. His eyes didn't leave my face.

"Well, Victoria doesn't remember anything. So you're human family back in Britain will be safe. However, I'm sure she'll come to avenge me. So I wonder how much longer you have with this family." His eyes flickered to Jasper again. "I'm willing to bet she will destroy you all."

"I can promise that she won't be that far behind you," I growled. "She will never touch a hair on their heads. I will personally rip her to shreds. Just like I intend to do to you."

"We'll see about that," he said grinning.

My grip on his throat tightened, and I could see cracks forming on his face.

"Goodbye, Mary Alice. Good luck to you and your family," he said, laughing maniacally. "I'm willing to bet that you won't last much longer now. All of this running you did, was all for nothing."

I didn't say anything more.

Jasper and Emmett pulled him forward, and I swung onto his back. I swiped my teeth on the back of his neck. After a small high pitch whine, his head rolled from his shoulders, and I jumped from his back, sinking to the ground, looking wide eyed at the body.

Jasper pulled me into his arms.

"You're safe now," he said.

"It's over now," I whispered. "He's gone."

"You did it, Al!" he said, grinning at me.

"Bella!" I exclaimed, twisting in his arms.

"I'll finish up here. You go to Bella," Jasper said kissing my forehead.

"Thank you, Jaz."

I darted away from Jasper, over to Bella, Carlisle, and Edward. There was blood everywhere. There was a burning in my throat, that felt like I was a newborn again.

"My bag, please….Hold your breath, Alice, it will help."

I grabbed his bag from the side, and held my breath as I stepped closer.

"Alice?" Bella groaned.

"She's here, she knew where to find you," Edward said, looking at me, offering a small smile.

"My hand hurts," she whimpered.

"I know, Bella. Carlisle will give you something, it will stop."

Bella's face twisted in pain. "My hand is burning!" she screamed, her eyes fluttering open but not focusing on anything.

"Bella?" Edward asked, frightened.

"The fire! Someone stop the fire!"

"Carlisle, her hand!"

Carlisle looked appalled as he looked at her hands. "He bit her," he said, no longer calm.

"Edward, you have to do it," I said. The fire in my throat raged as I breathed in. I brushed the tears that were falling quickly from her eyes.

"No!" he bellowed at me. He still didn't accept the possibility of her becoming one of us.

"Alice," Bella moaned.

"There may be a chance," Carlisle said quietly.

"What?" Edward begged.

"See if you can suck the venom back out. The wound is fairly clean."

"Will that work?" I asked, strained.

"I don't know. But we have to hurry. She won't have very much time left."

"Carlisle, I…" Edward hesitated. "I don't know if I can do that."

"It's your decision, Edward, either way. I can't help you. I have to get this bleeding stopped here if you're going to be taking blood from her hand."

His face twisted in pain and indecision.

"Edward!" Bella screamed.

"Alice, get me something to brace her leg."

I looked around, and darted to a far side of the room, pulling up a piece of wood from the floor boards.

As I came back over, Edward pinned Bella's arm down and leaned his head over her, starting to suck out the venom. She began to thrash and scream beneath him.

"Shh, Bella, it's okay," I said, holding her shoulders to the ground. "It's okay."

After a few minutes, she relaxed.

"Edward," she said, her voice was quiet.

"He's right here," I said, patting her shoulder.

"Stay, Edward. Stay with me…." she said, her voice trailing off.

"I will," he promised in the same strained voice I seemed to have.

"Is it all out?" Carlisle asked.

"Her blood tastes clean," Edward said. "I can taste the morphine."

"Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"Mmmm?"

"Is the fire gone?"

"Yes. Thank you Edward."

"I love you," he answered.

"I know," she breathed.

Edward gave a weak, and quiet laugh.

"Bella?"

"What?" she asked, frowning.

"Where is your mother?"

"In Florida. He tricked me, Edward. He watched our videos."

She paused for a moment.

"Alice. Alice, the video — he knew you, Alice, he knew where you came from."

I looked at Edward, suddenly worried about what James had told her. He said that it wasn't until he realized he was about to die that his memories came back to him. I made a mental note to call Tobias once Bella was safe.

"I smell gasoline," Bella said suddenly.

"It's time to move her," Carlisle said to Edward.

"No, I want to sleep."

"You can sleep, sweetheart, I'll carry you," Edward said. "Sleep now Bella."

The three of us walked from the room, Bella cradled in Edward's arms. Jasper and Emmett had left the room some time ago because of all the blood.

As soon as I stepped outside, Jasper pulled me to him.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"He's dead," I said. "Harry, George, you, and everyone else. They're safe now."

"He can never hurt you again."

"I love you," I said, tightening my grip.

"I love you too," he said. He put a finger under my chin, and pushed my face up, meeting his eyes. "Never forget that. You are now, and you will always be loved, Mary Alice Black Whitlock Cullen. You will be loved forever."

For the first time in fifty-five years, I was finally safe. He leaned down and kissed me, causing my small world to come to a skidding halt.

* * *

 **Hey guys. I have something I want to talk to you guys about. It's not good, but it's nothing severely bad.**

 **In the late hours of yesterday, (June 25) a review was brought to my attention. It was from an anonymous guest that had reviewed on the first chapter. They had said that the timeline of my story made no sense, and told me to quit writing. I will own up to it, and say that I removed the review, and in case the person notices that, I'd like to explain why. It was not because the comment hurted me in any way. It was because to me, the comment was ignorant. If this person had read further into the story, the timeline would make sense. Instead, they based my entire story, and my entire writing career off of one chapter.**

 **I understand that to some, time travel is confusing. The timeline in this is very simple. It starts in 1998. Around chapter 7, Alice is sent back in time to 1948. From there, she moves forward in time, to where we are now, which is 2005. During 1976-1998, Alice was very careful to not be in Europe to make sure she would not cross paths with herself.**

 **I know that the review means nothing, and I know that not everyday will like this story. But I wanted to explain why I deleted the review before the person says something like I can't handle criticism or something like that.**

 **So now I will take another moment to thank you all for the support that you have given me this far. In two chapters, we will be at the same point that we were when I pulled the story the first time.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapters, and all of the chapters to come!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)**


	62. Phone Calls and Video Tapes

**"It's frightening how one day, one moment, one event, can change your life completely." ~Unknown**

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Chapter 62-Phone Calls and Video Tapes

The public story that we came up with to explain Bella's injuries was that she fell out of a window. Edward, Carlisle, and I had come to Phoenix to talk Bella into coming back to Forks. We convinced her to come to the hotel the three of us were staying at, then on her way up the stairs to our room, she fell down the stairs, and out a window.

"What's sad is that actually sounds like Bella," Renée said,chuckling slightly, as I explained the story to her over the phone.

I laughed. "It does sound like her."

Not long after leaving the dance studio, I watched the tape that James had left behind. Jasper saw the camera and had grabbed it on his way out. I was still in shock of what had happened there. Even though I was the one who killed him, I couldn't wrap my head around the fact James was dead. He was the entire reason I was here.

"You don't have to watch it, Darlin'," he said as we sat in a hotel room. I was finally getting the chance to rest after my energy burst. This one would take longer to recover from. When we went back to Forks, we would tell the school that because of what happened it Phoenix, it took a toll on my health.

"I want to watch it," I insisted. "I have to know what Bella knows so I can prepare for any questions. Remember how many questions you asked me when you learned?"

"Are you sure you want to watch it?"

I nodded. "I'm positive."

He went to stand, but I grabbed his arm.

"Jaz, can you please stay with me?"

"Of course." he said, as he put his arm around my shoulders, and pulled me closer to him.

I hit play on the remote and the sounds of a panicked and scared Renée filled the room.

 _"Bella? Bella?"_

 _From where the camera sat, you could see the hazy picture of a TV could be seen._

 _"Bella, you scared me! Don't ever do that again!"_

 _As Renée spoke again, Bella came running into the room with the high ceiling. She spun around to find the source of her mother's voice, which was now laughing. Her eyes finally landed on the TV. The TV screen went blue, and Bella turned again._

 _James was underneath an exit sign, his hand outstretched, with a remote. He smiled at her, then started walking forward. He walked straight passed her, setting the remote down next to the VCR before turning back to Bella._

 _"Sorry about that Bella," he said in a strangely kind voice. "But isn't it better that you're mother didn't really have to be involved in all this?"_

 _"Yes," Bella said in relief._

 _"You don't sound angry that I tricked you," he noted._

 _"I'm not."_

 _"How odd. You really mean it."_

 _His eyes flickered to the camera, but Bella didn't seem to notice. "I will will give your strange coven this much, you humans can be quite interesting. I guess I can see the draw of observing you. It's amazing — some of you seem to have no sense of your own self-interest at all."_

 _He stared at Bella in wonder._

 _"I suppose you're going to tell me that your boyfriend will avenge you?" he asked, hopefully._

 _"No, I don't think so. At least, I asked him not to."_

 _"And what was his reply to that?"_

 _"I don't know. I left him a letter."_

 _"How romantic, a last letter. And do you think he will honor it?" he asked. He was still polite, but there was a hint of sarcasm._

 _"I hope so."_

Jasper paused the video.

"Ali, we don't have to watch all of it."

"It's fine Jaz. I'm okay."

He looked at me with worried eyes.

I pressed my forehead against his cheek.

"I'm going to be okay," I whispered.

He sighed. "I know."

He hit play, and James began to speak.

 _"Hmmm. Well, our hopes differ then. You see, this was all just a little too easy, too quick. To be quite honest, I'm disappointed. I expected a much greater challenge. And, after all, I only needed a little luck."_

 _Bella waited in silence. James noted the silence and he continued._

 _"When Victoria couldn't get to your father, I had her find out more about you. There was no sense in running all over the planet chasing you down when I could comfortably wait for you in a place of my choosing. So, after I talked to Victoria, I decided to come to Phoenix to pay your mother a visit. I'd heard you say you were going home. At first, I never dreamed you meant it. But then I wondered. Humans can be very predictable; they like to be somewhere familiar, somewhere safe. And wouldn't it be the perfect ploy, to go to the last place you should be when you're hiding — the place that you said you'd be. But of course I wasn't sure, it was just a hunch. I usually get a feeling about the prey that I'm hunting, a sixth sense, if you will. I listened to your message when I got to your mother's house, but of course I couldn't be sure where you'd called from. It was very useful to have your number, but you could have been in Antarctica for all I knew, and the game wouldn't work unless you were close by. Then your boyfriend got on a plane to Phoenix. Victoria was monitoring them for me, naturally; in a game with this many players, I couldn't be working alone. And so they told me what I'd hoped, that you were here after all. I was prepared; I'd already been through your charming home movies. And then it was simply a matter of the bluff. Very easy, you know, not really up to my standards. So, you see, I'm hoping you're wrong about your boyfriend. Edward, isn't it?"_

 _Bella still didn't talk._

 _"Would you mind, very much," he said as he stepped back beside the camera, "if I left a little letter of my own for your Edward?"_

 _James adjusted the camera a few times, widening the screen. Bella stood back, watching in horror._

 _"I'm sorry, but I just don't think he'll be able to resist hunting me after he watches this. And I wouldn't want him to miss anything. It was all for him, of course. You're simply a human, who unfortunately was in the wrong place, at the wrong time, and indisputably running with the wrong crowd, I might add."_

 _He stepped towards Bella._

 _"Before we begin, I would just like to rub it in, just a little bit. The answer was there all along, and I was so afraid Edward would see that and ruin my fun. It happened once, oh, ages ago. The one and only time my prey escaped me. You see, the vampire who was so stupidly fond of this little victim made the choice that your Edward was too weak to make. When the old one knew I was after his little friend, he stole her from the asylum where he worked — I never will understand the obsession some vampires seem to form with you humans — and as soon as he freed her he made her safe. She didn't even seem to notice the pain, poor little creature. She'd been stuck in that black hole of a cell for so long. A hundred years earlier and she would have been burned at the stake for her visions. In the nineteen-twenties it was the asylum and the shock treatments. When she opened her eyes, strong with her fresh youth, it was like she'd never seen the sun before. The old vampire made her a strong new vampire, and there was no reason for me to touch her then." He sighed. "I destroyed the old one in vengeance."_

I paused the video again.

"She doesn't know," I said.

"Is that good?"

I nodded.

"Yes. That means that I can tell her when I'm ready. She can get to know me for me."

"Ali, that is you. It's a part of you. It's where you came from."

"Maybe so. But I just want her to know when I'm ready."

He kissed the top of my head.

"Do you want to finish?"

I nodded. "I want to see if he told Bella about his plan to finish the hunt."

I pressed play again.

 _"Alice," Bella breathed._

 _"Yes, your little friend. I was surprised to see her in the clearing. I was even more surprised to see that she has a mate now. So I guess her coven ought to be able to derive some comfort from this experience. I get you, but they get her. The one victim who escaped me, quite an honor, actually. And she did smell so delicious. I still regret that I never got to taste… She smelled even better than you do. Sorry — I don't mean to be offensive. You have a very nice smell. Floral, somehow…"_

"He lied?" I said surprised.

"Well, I guess that would have been some comfort to Bella."

"Jaz?"

"Hmm?"

"What do you think would have happened if this played out differently? If Bella and I ended up dead?"

"You know I would never let that happen."

"But say that it did happen."

"Well, if it did happen, I guess Edward and I would have been complete wrecks. I can't live without you."

I looked up at him. "I'd want you to."

"Reverse the tables for a moment her, Al. If I died, would you be able to live without me?"

"No. I don't think I could," I said. "You're all I've got."

I felt a lump growing in my throat.

"No, no, don't be sad," he said, hugging me tighter. "There's no need to be sad."

"Don't leave me, Jaz," I begged.

"I'm not going anywhere," he promised. He switched off the TV. "You've seen what you needed to see."

I buried my face into his side.

"I was going to try and take her place," I said quietly.

"What?"

Jasper shot up, jumping off of the bed.

"I was going to try and take her place," I repeated. "I was going to see if James would exchange. Me for her."

"Why would you do that, Alice? Why would you try to take yourself from me?"

"Because I was guilty," I admitted. "I was so scared that James was going to come for me that I wasn't watching Bella properly. All of this is my fault."

Jasper looked at me. I couldn't quite tell what he was feeling.

"Did Edward know about this?"

"Yes," I whispered.

"What did you tell him?"

"I told him that I was going to try and bargain with James. My life for Bella's. If I could pull it off, and I died, I wanted him to make sure that you were happy. I wanted him to make sure you had a life after I was gone. I told him that when I was gone, and you felt that you could finally do it, to go to Britain. I wanted you to tell my family my story. That I loved them. Most importantly, I wanted him to tell you that I loved you so much."

Jasper turned away from me, sitting on the edge of the bed.

"So it would be that easy for you?" he asked quietly. "It would be that easy for you to leave me?"

"No Jasper, of course it wouldn't. I was trying to keep you all safe!"

He chuckled hollowly.

"And what was I supposed to do if you got yourself killed?"

"You would carry on with your life," I said. "Just like you wanted me to do when Maria came for you."

Jasper put his head in his hands.

I moved to where I was behind him. I laid my head on his back.

"Jazz, I'm sorry. I just wanted you to be safe. You did the same thing once. You wanted me to be safe, so you were going to let Maria take you away from me. Please don't be angry with me."

"I'm not angry," he said, turning to face me. "I just can't even think about losing you."

I saw now that his eyes were filled with tears that would never fall.

"Oh, Jasper," I murmured pulling him to me. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise. It's all going to be okay."

He pulled me to him.

"Alice?"

"Yes?"

"I know why you did it. It was very brave of you to do that. But I don't understand. If you were so afraid of James, why would you give yourself to him?"

"Because Edward deserved to be happy, and Bella makes him so happy."

"What about you?"

I sighed.

"I don't know, Jazz. I am happy. But I'm scared that, that happiness, is going to come at a price."

"That's why you're so afraid of losing me," he said.

I nodded.

He pulled me back up to the top of the bed and laid down next to me.

"Alice, don't worry. I'm not going anywhere. You're happiness is not coming at a price. You deserve to be happy too."

"I am happy."

"Good."

I rested for an hour or so. I couldn't find it in me to leave Jasper's side.

"Are you going to call Helen and Tobias?"

I hadn't called them yet. They knew nothing of my encounter with James. They had no idea that James was dead.

"Later. I think I'm going to see Bella first."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"I'm not going yet."

"When you go, do you want me to come?"

"You're supposed to be back in Forks, remember?"

"Ahh. That's right."

We sat there quietly for a moment. I thought about everything before the game. I remembered mine and Carlisle's conversation about trying a sleeping potion instead of energy supplements. Over the five days that I spent in Phoenix, I had thought about it off and on. I was willing to try it.

"Jasper?"

"Hmm?"

"I want to try the sleeping potion."

"Al, we don't know the side effects of it."

"So I'll have several antidotes. I think I have bezoar left from the energy supplement trials, and I still have different antidotes that I've made."

"During those you got it on the first try."

"So why should this time be any different?"

"Alice, I just don't think it's a good idea."

"Why not?"

"Because," he answered simply.

"I'm going to need more than that, Jasper," I said, pulling away from him.

He looked at me. I could feel his irritation as his hand slipped from my shoulders to my leg as I pulled away.

"Alice—"

"Just one good reason," I pressed. "Please?"

"What if it goes badly?" he said, loudly. His voice was harsh, which caused me to flinch back. "What if I lose you?"

I couldn't meet his eyes.

"I just told you that I could live without you. What if this takes you away from me forever?"

"That's what the antidote is for, sweetheart."

"What if it doesn't work?"

"But what if it does?"

His eyes softened when he looked at me again.

"Jaz, I don't want to argue. Especially not with you. I just want to you think about it."

"But if it doesn't work—"

"The antidote will bring me back. Vampire or not a vampire, antidotes work."

"If it doesn't work, and I bring you back with the antidote, no tweaking. We just go back to the energy supplements."

"If that makes you feel better," I said, pushing my forehead against his cheek like I had done earlier. "Please, Jaz?"

"One try?"

"One try."

He sighed, and pulled me into his lap.

"Fine. One try."

I pulled his face to mine, and gave a quick kiss.

"It won't be right now. Carlisle and I still have to do research, like we did with the energy supplements. We're probably do the actual test in May."

He rested his forehead on mine.

"I'll be with you the entire time."

I pushed his hair out of his eyes, not moving my head from under him.

A few hours later, I went to the hospital, with a bouquet of arum lilies. Renée was in the hallway, closing her phone.

"Alice!" Renée said, pulling me into a one armed hug, careful not to crush the flowers. She shivered when she hugged me.

"Hi, Renée! Is Bella awake?"

"I think she might be. I'm sure Edward is in there with her. He never leaves."

I laughed.

"Give him some time. I'm sure Carlisle will come for him eventually."

"Well go in, I'll give you two...three a little bit of time. All the other times you came, she's been asleep."

"Thank you," I said, before quickly ducking into the door.

Bella and Edward turned to me. Bella grinning.

"Alice!" she exclaimed.

"Hi, Bella. How are you feeling?"

"I've had my better days."

"I brought you flowers," I said, laying them on the table next to her bed before pulling up a chair.

"Edward said you watched the video," she said, watching my face.

I nodded.

"I did. Not that long ago actually."

I had called Edward not long after watching it, so it didn't surprise me that Bella knew.

"Where's Jasper?"

"He's back at the hotel. But as far as anyone else knows, he's in Forks."

"But he's not actually going to be in school, so wouldn't that raise questions?"

"I think Esme set up the story that Jasper was at home, sick. So he's not really expected to be seen around."

"And Emmett?"

"He actually did go back to Forks."

"Why didn't Jasper go?"

I smiled. "He didn't want to leave me alone."

"How are you doing about James?"

"I know why I can't remember now. But that's okay. I've made plenty of memories here that match up to any human life."

"Tell me about your life before now."

"Edward hasn't told you?" I asked, my eyes flickering up to him.

"He's told me bits and pieces," she said, also looking at Edward.

"My first memory of this life was Jasper. When I opened my eyes, he was the first thing I saw. I already loved him, and I knew that someday, he'd love me. I thought he was an angel. I still think he's my own personal angel."

"How long did you wait for him?"

"Many, many years," I lied. The six days that I did wait for him though, did feel like years. "I had to wait until he was ready to meet me."

"When you guys eventually meet?"

"1948. We were in Philadelphia. We met in a diner. I told him about the Cullens, and their life, so we set out to find them together. We found the Cullens two years later, and we got married on June 20 of 1950."

I showed her the wedding band on my hand. -

"Why did you guys only get married once? Emmett and Rosalie get married every couple of years."

"We never felt like we needed to. Although I'm sure if I really wanted to, I could convince him to marry me again. He's the same way to me that Edward is to you. He does anything I ask."

"Edward won't do anything I ask," she said, glaring at him as she spoke.

"Now look what you've done."

I smiled, and Bella turned back to me.

"Do you have any pictures of your wedding?"

"I made a scrapbook. Next time you come over, I'll show it to you."

"When will that be?"

"I'm not sure," I said looking at Edward.

"Soon," he said, kissing her hand.

I had heard talk that Bella would be moving to Jacksonville with Renée and Phil, I looked before I came, and saw that Bella planned on returning to Forks.

"When will we be going back home?" I asked Edward.

"Soon," he said again. "Although, I suppose you and Jasper could leave whenever you want."

"If Jasper wants to leave, we will. Otherwise, we stay until you guys leave."

Sometime passed, and Bella turned to me again.

"Alice?"

"Yes, Bella?"

"What's one thing you wish happened in your human life?"

I thought about it for a moment. I tried to take something from my human life.

"I wish that I had a family who loved me despite my visions."

"Why do you think you were in the asylum?"

I shrugged "I don't know."

Edward gave me a small smile when Bella wasn't paying attention.

About an hour or so later, I stood to leave.

"You'll come back, won't you?"

"I'll be back before you leave."

She smiled at me as I walked to the door.

"Rest now, Bella," Edward said as I was walking out.

"Are you leaving, Alice?"

I nodded.

"Jasper is home sick. I told him I'd call him before he goes to sleep, and I expect that won't be much longer."

"How sweet," she said, giving a small smile. "Tell Jasper I hope he feels better."

Renée like mostly everyone else found mine and Jasper's relationship odd. However she seemed to keep her opinions to herself better than most other people.

"I will," I said, as I turned for the long hallway. "Have a good night Renée."

"Sleep well, Alice."

I smiled and began to walk away from her.

Jasper and Carlisle were sitting on the couch when I walked back into the hotel room.

"How was it?" Jasper asked, as I sat on the couch next to him.

"Well Renée said she hopes you feel better."

"Using Esme's story for her?"

I nodded.

"When I was leaving I told her you were sick and I promised to call before you went to sleep."

He smiled and kissed my temple.

"I do however, need to call Tobias."

I pulled my own phone from my pocket. Carlisle had collected the small silver ones already, and he had brought my phone along with him.

"I'll leave you two alone," Carlisle said. He stood and walked to one of the three bedrooms.

"Did you tell him?" I asked.

Jasper nodded. "He's excited about it."

I smiled. "That's good."

I dialed the all too familiar number, and put the phone on speaker.

"Hello?" Helen said.

"Hey, it's Alice. Is Tobias around?"

"Yeah he's right here. Do you mind if I stick around?"

"No, not at all. I'm sure you'll want to hear this too."

"Toby!" Helen called in a slightly louder voice than normal. "Alice is on the phone!"

It didn't take long before Tobias was there.

"Hey, Alice!" he exclaimed. "What's up?"

"James is dead," I said quietly.

"What?" Helen gasped. "When? How?"

"Wednesday. I killed him."

"Did you hunt him?" Tobias asked in a hard voice.

"Not exactly," Jasper said.

"What happened?"

"Remember how I told you about Edward finding his mate?"

"A girl named Bella was it?"

"Yeah. Well Sunday we were playing baseball, and James, Victoria, and a vampire named Laurent came."

"Laurent? He just got here a few days ago. He mentioned that he met you. But he never mentioned James and Victoria."

"So he did go to Denali?" I asked.

"Yeah. He's taken a liking to Irina."

I smiled.

"So they showed up to the baseball game," Tobias pressed.

"Right, well we had invited Bella to come watch. When they showed up, James recognized me, but then he smelled Bella. He started a hunt, So Jazz and I took her to Phoenix and sure enough he followed. He lured Bella out by claiming he had her mother. She found a way to get away from Jasper and I, and she ran to meet him."

"Sounds like a brave girl," Helen commented.

"Where was Victoria during all of this?"

"In Forks," Jasper answered.

"Well when we got there, James had broken several of her bones, Edward pulled him off her, and had him pinned against a wall. Emmett and Jasper held him, but before I killed him, he called me Mary Alice Black."

"He remembers?" Helen gasped.

"That's not possible."

"He said the second he realized he was going to die and the second that became true, he remembered."

"What about Victoria?"

"She still doesn't remember."

"You're positive about this?"

"James was sure. But soon, I do plan on going back to Britain. Check up on my family there. I just don't know when."

"I think it'd be great to go see them," Tobias said.

"Except for the fact that they think you're dead."

"Well Victoria isn't a risk to them. So I can explain what happened."

"Alice, you know the Volturi's rules. The Volturi will want them dead."

"But we knew about the existence of vampires even before I was changed. We learned about it in Hogwarts."

"She's got a point," Tobias said.

Helen sighed.

"I guess if you really want to go see them, I'm can't stop you."

"You don't agree with it," I guessed.

"It's not that, Alice. Just give it some time before you go. Just to make sure that Victoria isn't following you."

"Of course," I said.

"Will Jasper be coming with you when you do go?"

"Yeah, I'm definitely going," he said. "She promised me years ago that she would take me to Britain."

Helen turned serious again.

"Where is Victoria now?"

"She ran. We don't know where she is. She isn't making any set decision. But James is sure that she'll come back to avenge him."

"Will she target you?" Tobias asked with worry.

"I don't think she will. But I'm not for sure."

"Alice, if she does start to come after you, please call us, and we'll be there. You've worked too hard for this," Tobias said.

"If I see her coming, I'll call you."

"Jasper, make sure she calls."

"I will. Speaking of her doing things, has she told you about Carlisle wanting her to try a sleeping potion?"

"No," Helen said slowly. "She hasn't."

I glared at Jasper.

"It was a suggestion to see if it helps rebuild energy better after an energy burst."

"Are you going to do it?"

"I plan to. Carlisle and I should be starting our research soon. But we haven't really talked about it."

"Please be careful, Alice."

I groaned.

"I'm always careful."

Helen and Tobias sat quietly for a moment.

"How are you holding up?" Tobias asked, breaking the long silence.

"Holding up about what?"

"James."

"I'm doing just fine actually. I mean he's gone. My family as a whole is safe."

"You're safe now," Helen said in a voice that reminded me of Esme.

"I didn't care whether I was safe. I just wanted to make sure everyone else was."

Helen sighed.

"That will always be your biggest problem, Alice. You never worry about your own safety."

"That's what she has me for, Helen," Jasper said, kissing my forehead.

"You've done a good job of keeping her safe so far," Helen said. "But that doesn't mean that she should be running face first into danger to make sure everyone else is safe."

"Of course not," Jasper said, pulling me a touch closer than I had already been.

"Tobias?" I asked, thinking back to James.

"Hmm?"

"Why do you think it is his memories came back as soon as he realized he was going to die?"

"I'm not sure. I've only altered a few other memories. All of those people have died since then. So I wouldn't imagine I ever got word back from them."

"So you never knew this about your gift?"

"No I can't say that I did. But they say when you die, your life flashes before your eyes. Maybe once you've been sentenced to die, it works in that type of sense."

"James was never sentenced to die, Toby," Helen said.

"But think about it. It was decided that he would die. In a way, he was sentenced to die."

"But he didn't remember until he was about to die."

"Maybe you have to admit that you're going to die."

"But then why doesn't Victoria remember?"

"Maybe because it has to be true."

"So Victoria doesn't remember, because Victoria doesn't think she's going to die."

"It's just a theory. Besides, I don't want you seeking Victoria out to kill her. So for now, she's not going to die."

Jasper looked at me, and I could tell in his face that he agreed. His eyes didn't leave my face for a long time. I stared back into his dark eyes. We would definitely need to hunt soon. My eyes, I had noticed earlier, were just as black. I traced below his eyes.

"I never said I was going to hunt her out," I finally said.

"But we know you, Alice. Right now, she is no threat to you. Right now, you leave her alone."

I sighed, and laid my head on Jasper's shoulder.

"Fine."

"Good. Now, Helen and I were about to go hunting, so we will call you soon."

"I would have waited to call if I knew you were going hunting."

"No, no, no, we're glad you called."

"Well I think we're going to go talk to Carlisle about going hunting."

"Enjoy your hunt," Helen said. Her tone was more joyful than it had been the entire conversation.

"You too," I said.

As soon as I finished talking, the line went dead.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! So the next chapter is the epilogue for the first Twilight book. So in a few chapters, we'll be moving on to New Moon. Alice's prom dress isn't going to be the one Stephenie Meyer described. I saw a picture of it once, and I don't think it fit the Alice in my story. It will be the same color though, and I don't want to stray that far from the original. But I do hope you enjoyed the story so far, and the chapters to come.**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)**


	63. Prom

_"Sometimes you will never know the true value of a moment until it becomes a memory." ~Unknown_

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Chapter 63-Prom

The next time Bella came over, I did show her the wedding scrapbook. We were up in mine and Jasper's room. I had hidden all of my books in Carlisle's study where he was still researching things for the sleeping potion.

"Who's that?" she asked, pointing to Helen and Tobias who stood on either side of me.

"That's Helen, and that's Tobias. They're old friends of mine. I met them before I met Jasper. They stayed with me until I found him."

"Do you still talk to them?"

"They stay up with the Denalis now. They moved in with them after Jaz and I got married. I actually talked to them a few days ago."

"So they were vegetarian vampires to?"

"Not when I first met them. But neither one of them liked it. They didn't think of going the other way."

"How long did it take for Jasper to realize he loved you?"

"I'm not sure. I know in the beginning, we wanted to take things slow. We were going to just be friends for a little while. We ended up dating not long after we met. But on the first day that we met, I told him I loved him."

"I think that's nice," she said, looking out into the hall where Jasper had just passed. "How long did you guys wait before you started dating?"

"A month," I said, with a smile. "Although that month felt like a lifetime."

I showed her the pictures of mine and Jasper's adventures before finding the Cullens.

After I returned the books to their spots on the shelf, she and I went downstairs with everyone else. She sat between Edward and Emmett. I sat on Emmett's other side, with Jasper next to me. He had his arm wrapped around my shoulders. I leaned onto his arm. With Edward, I focused on the Food Network. I remembered how to make some foods, but I don't think it would taste any good if I tried making it now. Emmett on the other hand, wasn't watching the TV. He was telling Bella a story. The story of his human life, and how he came to be how he is.

I listened to Emmett and Bella more than the TV that held Edward and Jasper's focus.

"He was finished playing with me then, and I knew I was about to die," Emmett remembered, quitely. He was at the end now. The story of Emmett and the bear. "I couldn't move and my conscious was slipping away, when I heard what I thought was another bear, and a fight over which would get my carcass, I supposed. Suddenly it felt like I was flying. I figured, I'd died, but I tried to open my eyes anyway. And then I saw her," Emmett smiled at the memory of Rosalie. Just like he had the first time he told it to me, "and I knew I was dead. I didn't even mind the pain. I fought to keep my eyelids open. I didn't want to meet one second of the angel's face. I was delirious of course, wondering why we hadn't gotten to Heaven yet, thinking it must be farther away than I had expected. I kept waiting for her to take flight. And then she brought me to God."

Emmett laughed, and I hid a smile in Jasper's arm. When I first saw Carlisle, I couldn't blame him for thinking he was God. Nor could I blame him for thinking Rosalie was an angel. From the first time I saw him, I thought Jasper was an angel. He was more beautiful than anyone I had ever seen before.

"I thought what happened next was my judgement," Emmett continued, pulling me out of my thoughts. "I'd had a little too much fun in my twenty years, so I wasn't surprised by the fires of hell." Emmett laughed again, but I lost my smile. I remembered the fires of my transformation. I remember wishing I was dead. I noticed Bella shiver, and Edward pull her closer. "What surprised me was the angel didn't leave. I couldn't understand how something so beautiful would be allowed to stay in hell with me–but I was grateful. Every time God came to check on me, I was afraid he would take her away, but he never did. I started to think all the preachers who talked about a merciful God might have been right after all. And then the pain went away, and they explained things to me. They were surprised at how little disturbed I was over the vampire issue. But if Carlisle and Rosalie, my angel, were vampires how bad could it be? I had a bit more trouble with the rules. You had your hands full with me at first, didn't you?" Emmett asked Edward, playfully nudging his shoulder.

I couldn't agree with them. I hadn't known Emmett, or any of the Cullens then. When we joined, about fifteen years later, he was doing better.

"So you see, Hell's not so bad if you get to keep an angel with you," he assured Bella.

My eyes flickered up to Jasper, who was looking back down at me. I turned back to Emmett when he spoke again.

"When he ever gets around to accepting the inevitable, you'll do fine."

Edward reached around, and punched Emmett, sending him sprawling over the back of the couch.

Jasper pulled me into his lap, putting his arms protectively around me.

"Edward!" Bella scolded, while her face was completely horrified.

"Don't worry about it, Bella," Emmett said, jumping back into his seat. "I know where to find him. You'll have to put her down sometime," he threatened.

When Edward snarled in response, Jasper sat me on the other side of him, completely shielded from view of everyone on the other side of him.

"Boys!" Esme called sharply, from upstairs.

"Emmett wasn't wrong you know," Jasper said, later on that night after I came back to the room from working with Carlisle on our research. We had nearly finished.

"About what?"

"Hell isn't so bad if you get to keep an angel with you," he said, pulling me closer to him.

"I'm hardly an angel," I said, repeating the words he had said to me so many years ago. I laid my head on his chest.

"I think you are. Apparently Chief Swan thinks you are too."

When Bella had returned to Forks, I had helped her with her morning routine and nightly routine. Charlie had started calling me Angel since then. Edward told me one night before he went to join Bella, that Charlie had thought I was an angel, because of the way that I looked, but also because to humans, when I walked, it looked like I danced.

"I've always thought you were the angel," I said quietly. "From the moment I first saw your face."

"Tell me again," he said softly. "Why do you think that I am the angel?"

"Because," I said simply. "You were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. I knew I was going to love you, but I didn't understand how something so beautiful could ever love me back. It was never about looks though. When I looked at you, even before we dated, I felt at home. I felt safe, and loved."

I lifted my head, and his gold eyes were staring back down at me.

"How could I not love you?" he asked, pulling my face to his. "You're beautiful, kind, patient, creative, strong, special, and everything anyone could ever hope for. To me, you'll always be an angel."

I smiled, as he leaned down to kiss me.

When we broke apart, I traced the scars on his face.

"How did you think I was an angel?" he asked, with closed eyes.

"Like I said. You were beautiful."

"Even with the scars?"

"Especially with the scars. They're what make you special. I've told you this for the last half a century."

I kissed a scar that sat on his jaw before settling back into his arms.

"Well, either way you look at things, you'll always be my angel," he said, not opening his eyes.

I grinned, and I too closed my eyes.

A few weeks later, towards the middle of May, prom arrived again. Edward had asked me to help with Bella, but none of us were aloud to tell her that he was taking her. Bella and I had spent Saturday in Port Angeles, getting everything. Her dress, shoes, manicures and pedicures, and everything like that.

"I want to see if she can figure it out," he told me.

Edward and I had been doing better since everything with James. He stayed true to his promise. He was trying to make things better between us.

 _I don't want you to ever feel like I don't think of you as my sister,_ Edward thought one day as the two of us were walking. He was waiting for Charlie to go to sleep. _Even if you leave the Cullen clan, you will always be my sister._

I drove Bella's truck back to our house. I didn't like how slow it moved, but I had learned from Edward to not talk bad about the truck.

"When are you going to tell me what's going on, Alice?"

"You'll see, be patient," I said grinning. Memories of helping Hermione and Ginny get ready for the Yule Ball, flashed through my mind. I had been speaking with Dumbledore about my father in the cave, and going to stay with him for a few days, and he insisted that I stayed for the ball. Somehow he managed to get me a dress at the last possible minute.

"Alice, are we going home now?" she asked after a while.

"Yes. But Edward's not there."

"Where is he?"

I smiled. "He had some errands to run."

"Errands," she repeated blankly. "Alice, please tell me what's going on."

I shook my head. "I'm having too much fun."

When we got to the house, we went straight up to mine and Jasper's bedroom, and to the bathroom. Rosalie was already there waiting for us.

"Sit," I said, pointing to the chair. She glanced between me in the chair before finally sitting.

"I don't suppose you'll tell me what this is about?" she asked Rosalie.

"You can torture me," she murmured, "but I will never talk."

I chuckled quietly as Rosalie moved Bella's head into the sink as I grabbed the shampoo and conditioner. Rosalie held her head still while I washed through it. When we finished, both Rosalie and I took a hair dryer, and began working on drying it.

It seemed that each time a spot was dry, a new spot would turn up dripping.

"She's got an awful lot of hair," Rosalie said, her voice was anxious, and my face matched her voice.

"Jasper!" I called, not loudly, but still clearly. "Find me another blow dryer!"

Jasper appeared with two more hair dryers and helped Rosalie and I blow dry Bella's hair.

"Jasper," Bella started hopefully.

"Sorry, Bella. I'm not aloud to say anything. My wife and my brother will kill me."

His eyes met mine, and Bella looked at the two of us in the mirror. He smiled and returned to his work.

"Thank you, Jaz," I said, kissing his cheek when her hair was completely dry.

"Anytime, Darlin'."

He gave me one last kiss on the forehead before ducking out of the bathroom, I saw him pause at the bookshelf, as I turned back to Bella and Rosalie.

"What have you done to me?" Bella asked, mortified.

Neither Rosalie or I answered her as we moved towards the hot rollers.

"My hair doesn't curl," Bella insisted, time and time again. Each time, I rolled my eyes, but focused on what I was doing.

"Did you find shoes?" Rosalie asked while we worked.

"Yes, and they're perfect."

Rosalie nodded, and Bella watched her in the mirror.

"Your hair looks nice," Bella said.

"Thank you," Rosalie said, smiling back at her.

Rosalie still didn't like Bella, but in the time Bella had been hanging around, Rosalie hated her less. Rosalie knew Bella wished to become like us. To her, that didn't seem like a happy ending.

"What do you think about makeup?" I asked, looking in the mirror.

"It's a pain," Bella offered. I looked up to Rosalie.

"She doesn't need much," Rosalie, said, studying Bella's face in the mirror. "Her skin looks better bare."

"Lipstick though," I decided.

"And mascara and eyeliner. Just a little."

Bella sighed loudly, which caused me to laugh.

"Be patient, Bella. We're having fun."

"Well as long as you are."

"Let's get her dressed," I said, scooping her out of the chair, running to Emmett and Rosalie's room.

Bella's dress laid on the white snowy bed.

"What do you think?" I asked Bella.

"Alice," she wailed after a few moments of looking at it. "I can't wear that!"

"Why?" I demanded, my voice harder than I intended.

"The top is completely see-through!"

"This goes underneath," Rosalie said from behind us.

"What is that?"

"It's a corset, silly," I said, growing more and more impatient. "Now are you going to put it on, or do I have to call Jasper and ask him to hold you down while I do it?"

Somewhere down stairs, I heard Jasper and Emmett laughing.

"You're supposed to be my friend," she accused.

"Be kind Bella," I sighed. "I don't remember being human, and I'm trying to have some fun here. Besides, it's for your own good."

I had learned that by telling Bella I didn't remember my previous life, allowed her to give in to what I wanted. I figured that I would use that to my advantage to make this night special for her and Edward.

Bella complained, and blushed a lot as Rosalie and I worked on getting the dress on.

"Wow," Bella said, looking down after we finished. "I have cleavage."

"Who would have guessed?" I chuckled.

"Don't you think this dress is a little too…I don't know, fashion forward…for Forks?"

"I think the words you're looking for are haute couture," Rosalie said, laughing.

"It's not for Forks," I insisted. "It's for Edward. It's exactly right."

We returned to the bathroom, pulling the rollers from her hair. Rosalie finished her hair, while I worked on her makeup.

I finished and darted from the bathroom to the closet where I kept Bella's shoes hidden. When I returned I held up the shoes to Rosalie.

"Perfect," she breathed.

I tied the shoe on Bella's foot and looked at the cast.

"I guess we've done what we can," I said, shaking my head. "You don't suppose Carlisle would let us…." I glanced at Rosalie, and jerked my finger to the cast.

"I doubt it," she said dryly.

From downstairs, I could hear Edward talking quietly to Jasper.

"He's back."

Bella's face perked up. She knew who we were talking about.

"He can wait. There's one more important thing," I said firmly. I picked Bella up, returning to the bedroom, and setting her down in front of the mirror.

"There. You see?"

"Okay, Alice. I see."

"Don't forget it," I said.

I carried her to the top of the stairs before pausing again.

"Turn around and close your eyes!" I ordered down the stairs. "And stay out of my head-don't ruin it!"

I closed my head, trying to keep him from prying.

I walked slowly down the staircase, checking to make sure he had listened to me. Once I saw he had, I flew down the rest of the stairs, and sat Bella down. I smoothed out her dress, moved a curl into place, and moved to the piano bench. Rosalie followed, sitting next to me.

"Can I look?" he asked, full of anticipation.

"Yes, you can look now."

The second Edward turned around, his eyes widened. He walked slowly to her, pausing when he was a foot away.

"Alice, Rosalie….thank you," he breathed. I grinned, and chuckled.

I watched as the two of them exchanged a small private moment.

"Watch the lipstick!" I said, when I had fully focused. Edward was leaning in to kiss her. After a small laugh, he moved the kiss to her collarbone.

"Are you ready to go?" he asked her.

"Is anyone ever going to tell me what the occasion is?"

Edward laughed and turned to Rosalie and I.

"She hasn't guessed?"

I giggled, before shaking my head. "Nope. She tried to get Rosalie and Jasper to tell her. Jazz said he was afraid you and I might kill him if he did."

"What am I missing?" Bella scowled.

"Don't worry, you'll figure it out soon enough."

"Put her down, Edward, so I can take a picture," Esme said. She had a small silver camera in hand.

"Pictures," Bella muttered. "Will you show up on film?" she asked sarcastically. We all knew that she knew the answer to that.

I watched as Esme took several pictures of the two until Edward started laughing, insisting they were going to be late.

"We'll see you there!" I called, before darting up the stairs.

Jasper was laying on the bed when I got back up to the room. He had a book in hand, and barely glanced up at me as I entered the room. I crawled onto the bed next to him, and curled up by his side. He closed the book, and looked down at me.

"How was it?"

"He loved it! She looks incredible, Jaz."

"I'll have to see what you and Rose made of her tonight."

"I think we did a good job. She was beautiful before, but now...well she definitely fits in with the Cullen clan."

I closed my eyes, and laid with my head against his shoulder.

"Come on, Al," he said after some time passed. "We've got to go get ready."

My dress was black, strapless, and the back was cut out. Rosalie agreed to help me cover up the scar that trailed down my spine.

"I think it looks fine," Jasper said, as Rosalie began to cover it.

"Bella will ask questions," I said, shaking my head.

Jasper didn't press it, and moved to where he was starting to get ready. While Rosalie worked on my back, I began to work on covering the scar of my Dark Mark.

"There you go," Rosalie said, patting my shoulder. "All done."

"Thank you, Rose," I said, smiling at her.

Jasper smiled as Rosalie left the room.

"Can you help me with this?" Jasper said, pointing to the container of Sleekeazy's Hair Potion that sat on the counter.

"Fifty-seven years and you still can't do it?" I teased, as I finished putting on my shoes. They were a pair of strappy black heels, that made me come up to just below Jasper's chin.

"I can. You just do it better."

I smiled, but began to slick his hair back out of his eyes.

"You look incredibly beautiful," he said, as I moved around his head. "But you always do."

"And you look very handsome. But you always do. Tonight's no different."

He grinned.

"Is Esme getting pictures of this one?"

I nodded.

"She gets pictures every year."

I always took pictures. In case I ever got to the chance to go back to Britain and see my family. This was I could show them my adventures over the years.

In the next half hour, after a flood of pictures from Esme, and then Rosalie, Emmett, Jasper, and I left in Rosalie's BMW.

"How much longer until you try that potion?" Emmett asked, turning around in his seat to face Jasper and I.

"Carlisle thinks the energy spike should hit in the next week or two. So at the end of that, we're going to try it. I'll be better before graduation."

"Is it supposed to be like actually sleeping?" Rosalie asked, looking at me in the rearview mirror.

"The potion will actually put me to sleep."

"For how long?"

"We're not sure."

"Are you okay with this?" Emmett asked, pointing at Jasper.

"She insists she's going to be okay," he said, putting an arm around my waist. "I trust her."

We made it to the school before Edward and Bella got there. Rosalie pulled into a spot with a few open spaces.

The second the four of us left the car, people stopped and stared. Jasper wrapped an arm around my waist, and looked around.

"Are you okay?" I asked, leaning my head on his shoulder.

"I'm fine. Tonight, my focus is you."

When I turned to look at him, he was smiling down at me. I kissed his cheek and pulled him to the gym with Emmett and Rosalie behind us.

"Well there's plenty of places to get fresh air, should you need it," I said, as we passed under the balloon arch.

"I'm going to be okay," he said. "I've got you here with me."

I smiled as he pulled me closer to kiss my cheek.

Jasper paid for our tickets, and pulled me to the dance floor.

People moved out of our way quickly, most people ducking to the walls.

Jasper chuckled, and I looked at him curiously.

"What?" I questioned.

"People are envious," he said quite enough for only me to hear.

I turned and looked at Rosalie, before turning back to Jasper.

"I don't necessarily know if it's me they envy."

"I think you have a lot to do with it."

"Are you sure it's not Rosalie they envy?"

He shrugged.

"I know I'd be jealous if you were with somebody else."

He pulled me close to him as he spoke, and his fingers brushed against my cheek.

"I think that's sweet, but also biased."

He grinned, put a hand under my jaw, and pulled my face to his.

"Maybe just a bit," he whispered in my ear.

I peeked over his shoulder at the people who stared. I made direct eye contact with Angela Weber, who gave a small smile, which I returned.

The song went from an upbeat song, to a slower song. I wrapped my arms around Jasper's neck, and we began to whirl around the gym.

"Will you be brewing later?" Jasper asked.

I shook my head. "Not tonight. Tonight is for us."

"But you're sleeping potion. You'll need it soon."

"And it takes all of a couple hours to do. For tonight, my concern is us."

He smiled.

"How are you doing, Darlin'?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's May 14. Your mother's death anniversary is in three days."

The smile fell from my face.

"Every year I think I'm going to be okay. Each year, I'm stuck with the memories."

"Like every year, I'm going to be with you. I'm sure Esme would let us skip school if you really wanted to."

"I think that may be for the best."

"We could spend the day in the field. Just us."

"That sounds great," I said, resting my head on his chest.

"We'll talk to Carlisle and Esme about it later. I'm sure they'll be fine with it."

"Jazz?"

"Hmm?"

"What were your parents like? You never talk about them."

"Growing up, they were great. They were supportive when I told them I wanted to join the Confederacy. I always wanted to be a soldier."

"I never wanted to be a soldier," I said. "It just happened. When the war started, I knew Remus and Dad were going to fight. Harry was destined to fight. From the moment he was born. I guess I wanted to prove I could be something too."

"But you are something."

I smiled against his chest.

"Again. Sweet but biased."

Over his shoulder, I could see Edward and Bella. Bella was standing on Edward's feet, and they began dancing.

When Jasper spun me, I gave Bella a quick smile, which was returned.

"You did a great job on her," Jasper said looking over my head.

"I think it was great to see her and Rosalie getting along."

"That was a shock for all of us," he said, smiling over my head.

"She'll warm up one day," I said, smiling.

Edward came rushing up to Jasper, Emmett, Rosalie, and I, and the five of us herded together in a corner.

"Billy Black sent the child to try and convince Bella to break up with me," He growled.

"What does the boy think?" I asked, looking over to Bella.

Billy's son, Jacob, was tall with long hair that was pulled into a ponytail. He and Bella swayed awkwardly from side to side, but it was hard to hear their conversation over the thumping music and yelling people.

"He thinks nothing of the stories. He thinks that that's all they are. But Billy is convinced that I had something to do with Bella's injuries. Jacob however believes the story that she fell."

"You don't really think Bella will leave you, do you?" I asked, glaring up at him.

"No."

"Then why are you concerned about it? Bella loves you more than anything else in the world. No matter what Billy Black, Jacob Black, Charlie or anyone else says, Bella isn't going to leave you."

Edward looked back at Bella, then back to me again.

"You're right," he sighed.

"Of course she's right," Emmett said, as the gestured towards me. "She's Alice. Alice is always right."

I beamed, and the others smiled too.

"Thank you, Alice. And speaking of Charlie, he asks that I tell you hello. Well...he never asked per say. But he thought about it."

"Does he still call her Angel?" Jasper asked, still grinning as he rested his chin on my head, wrapping both arms around my shoulders.

"Of course he does. He's still convinced that she is an angel," Edward said grinning.

"She is," Jasper said, kissing my temple.

"I'll see you guys in a bit," he said, turning back to the direction of Bella and Jacob. "Jacob is about to take his leave."

We waved before he walked away from us.

There came a point in the night where Jasper had gotten very tense, so we went for a walk outside.

"What's wrong?" I asked once we were outside.

"There was a lot of people. I'm sorry Al. I thought I'd be okay."

"It's perfectly okay," I said, squeezing his hand. "I told you at the beginning, that if you needed air, we'd go outside for a bit."

He chuckled.

"Listen," he said pausing, and dropping my hand. "We can still hear the music."

The current upbeat song was ending, and a slower song took its place.

"Dance with me?" he asked holding out his hand again.

I grinned, and placed a hand in his.

"You look incredible tonight," he said, as I laid my head on his shoulder.

"You've told me that already."

"I know. But that doesn't mean I can't tell you again."

He kissed my forehead, when I lifted my head and stared into his eyes.

"You look very handsome tonight," I said, pushing one of his hairs back into its place.

He laughed, and looked down at me.

"You think so?"

"I do."

Jasper smiled as we whirled around the sidewalk. We were lost in our own world.

"I forgot how much I loved to dance," I said, smiling.

"I always promise that we'll dance more, and then something comes up," Jasper laughed.

He wasn't wrong. Something did come up.

"So," he asked, watching me carefully. "How are things with you and Edward?"

"Better," I said, shrugging. "He's trying. That's all I can ask."

"I think that he sometimes loses sight of how much you do for him...for all of us really."

"I don't do that much," I disagreed.

"But you do. You were willing to give up your own life to make sure that we were safe. You were going to take Bella's place to make sure that Edward had a happy ending. You make sure that the rest of us are happy, even if you are not fully happy, yourself."

I shook my head.

"That's not that much. I could always do something more."

Jasper sighed and leaned down to kiss my collarbone.

"You know, Edward told me earlier that Bella reminds him of you in a way. Neither one of you see yourself clearly."

I didn't answer. Instead, I looked down at the ground.

"Come on," Jasper said when the song ended. "Let's go back inside."

When we went back inside, Emmett, Rosalie, Bella, and Edward were sitting at a table.

Emmett at a table.

"There you guys are," Emmett said, grinning as he spoke.

"You just disappeared on us," Rosalie said.

Bella looked up at us, as Jasper pulled out a chair for me.

"Where did you go?" she asked.

"Jasper needed air, so we went outside for a while."

"Are you better now?" she asked, turning to Jasper.

"I am," he said, taking my hand as he sat next to me.

The six of us sat there for a couple of the faster songs. Mike Newton, despite being there with Jessica Stanley, kept looking over at Bella. He was deciding between coming over, and asking her to dance, and just staying with Jessica. She never seemed to notice his glances though. They never lasted more than a couple seconds before one of us caught his eye, causing him to quickly look away again. Bella never noticed either.

"Why does Mike Newton keep looking over here?" Jasper asked me quietly.

"He's trying to decide whether or not he wants to ask Bella to dance."

Edward glanced over to me.

"Although," I continued, glancing back over to Mike, "I think he'll soon come to the conclusion that Edward would never let that happen."

Jasper chuckled, and glanced around the room.

"I'm going to miss this school," he said with a smile. "It was nice here, and it was certainly a memorable time."

"You'll be back," I assured him with a smile. "Afterall, I still have to graduate."

He smiled at me, and kissed my forehead.

Emmett looked over to me and held out a hand.

"Al, come dance with me."

I turned to Jasper who gave a smile.

"I'll be back," I said with a smile.

Emmett guided me to the floor for a mostly slow song.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, as a few people turned their heads.

He nodded.

"Edward and Jasper told me and Rose about what happened that day with James."

"What?"

"About you wanting to bargain with James."

I sighed, looking down at the ground.

"It seemed like the right thing to do," I said.

"What would we have told the people of Forks?"

I thought about it for a moment.  
"The public story is that I'm sick. You could tell them that I had gotten sick, and my body couldn't fight it off, and my heart gave out."

Emmett looked at me sadly.

"I would have missed you."

I nodded.  
"I know," I said as the lump in my throat grew slightly. "But Edward would be happy."

"And Jasper?"

"I'd like to think that he'd be happy without me."  
Emmett sighed.

"When do you and Rosalie leave for Africa?" I asked, quickly changing the conversation.

"We decided on the day after graduation."

"If you look closely, you may find a phoenix. They're native to Africa."

Emmett smiled.

"I think we'll mostly be in Muggle Africa. We can't get into the Wizard community without you with us."

I sighed.

"I wish I could go. But you'll take pictures for me, right?"

Emmett nodded.

"Of course. Just be sure to be careful while we're away. I'd hate to come back to you being gone."

"I'm always careful," I said, with a smile.  
The song ended then, and Emmett led me back to Jasper.

Before we knew it, the last song was playing. We all were dancing with our partner, and had been for the past couple songs.

"Did you enjoy yourself tonight?" Jasper asked.

"I always do."

"I just wanted to make sure you had some fun tonight before….you know."

"That's very thoughtful of you," I said, kissing his jaw.

"It's nothing. You're my wife. I have to make sure you're happy."

"I'm happy with you."

He grinned and rested his cheek on the top of my head.

"I love you, Al. More than you'll ever know."

"I love you too. I'm going to miss you when you're no longer in school."

"But you'll have every morning and every night with me, and all of the sunny days. Then of course the days when your energy is lowest, and we have to tell the school that you're severely sick."

"Are you sure you don't want to go to college?"

"I'm sure. I want to stay home, with you."

I smiled.

"What did I do to deserve you?" I asked, leaning back to look in his eyes.

"I ask myself the same question every time I look at you," he said, before leaning down to kiss me.

* * *

 **Hey guys! By technicality, this is the last chapter I uploaded before pulling the story the last time. I was in the middle of writing the 55th chapter, and I realized that I was unhappy with it. I had gotten to the last chapter of the Twilight book, and then I pulled the plug. I am so happy with how this version has come together. And in case there is any confusion, I want to clear this up.**

 **During Harry's fourth year at Hogwarts, Alice was flipping between helping Severus and staying with Sirius. I also was looking back, and I noticed that Alice had mentioned Cedric to the Cullens once before the Calgary chapter. He was a minor character, so they didn't remember him as clearly.**

 **I think that is all for this chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)**


	64. Sleep

_"So shut your eyes,kiss me goodbye, and sleep. Just sleep." ~Sleep by My Chemical Romance_

* * *

Chapter 64- Sleep

On the day of my mother's death anniversary, Jasper and I stayed home. I stayed in mine and Jasper's room, and despite the beginning of my energy starting to incline, I didn't move very much. I just couldn't find it in me.

I still wasn't sure why I reacted so different to death than the rest of my family did. Carlisle thought maybe it was because I could remember it more clearly than the others could. No matter the cause, each year, I would stay in the bedroom. I would talk when I was spoken to, but I was never focused on starting a conversation on my own.

Edward dropped by before he went back to Bella's.

"What should I tell her?" he asked, crouching next to the bed. "Bella is going to miss you today. You were right. She does love you."

"Tell her we went hunting yesterday, and we weren't coming home until later today," I mumbled. I was looking at him, but my eyes didn't focus on his face. "Just don't tell her why I'm actually home."

"Of course not," he said, ruffling my hair as he stood. "I'll see you later."

"Bye Edward," I mumbled again.

He and Jasper exchanged a look, before he walked out the door.

I rolled over, and Jasper pulled me into a tight hug.

"It's okay," he murmured. "I'm here."

He kissed my forehead, before putting the blanket over me.

"Jasper?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Hmm?"

"I think she would have liked you," I said, putting a hand against his cheek. I told him this often. Each time I said it, I meant it. I honestly thought that my family would love Jasper.

"Your mother?"

I nodded.

"She used to tell me stories about how her and Dad fell in love. She said she would always want that for me. I thought I found it in Remus. But when he left me, I knew that he wasn't who I was looking for. Then, I saw you. I instantly fell in love. I knew I loved you, and that one day you'd love me."

"What about your father?"

"Dad was….complicated. I think he would have liked you. I think his biggest issue with Remus was that it was his best friend, and his best friend started dating his daughter. I think about it now, and I guess it's understandable why he didn't like it."

"I think he'd like the age gap between you and Remus a lot more than between you and I. You and Remus had a sixteen year age gap. I was 132 when you were born. Do you remember when you used to tell me that whenever I told you that Remus was too old for you?"

I chuckled quietly.

"I do remember that."

I closed my eyes, but opened them quickly when I began to see the green flashed.

"Can I get a smile?" he said, about midday.

I shook my head.

"Please?" he asked kissing my cheek, and making a line to my lips. He stared into my eyes, as his fingers grazed lightly across my cheek.

Staring into his pleading eyes made it hard not to smile. It was a small grin, but that seemed to be enough for Jasper.

"Thank you," he said, beaming.

"You're welcome," I said, closing my eyes. "Anything for my angel."

Carlisle and Esme stepped in a bit before the others returned from school.

Esme sat on the floor by my head, and Carlisle sat beside her.

"How is she today?" Esme asked.

"She smiled. That's something."

Carlisle rubbed my arm.

"How are you now?"

"Better. I just don't understand why it bothers me more than everyone else."

"I stand by my theory. You watched them die, and because your memories are so much clearer than ours, it takes a stronger emotional toll. You've also said it yourself. You feel like you never got the time to mourn."

He wasn't wrong, and the more he said it, the more it made sense to me. I pushed myself to where I was sitting up.

"Alice," Esme said, calling my attention to her. "Just remember, sweetheart, you lost your parent, but you gained two new ones who love you very much."

She gave me a warm smile and this caused me to grin slightly. This caused Esme to beam proudly.

"I have pretty good parents too," I said, with the same small grin that was on my face.

"You've also gained two brothers and a sister," Carlisle offered.

"And you have a husband who loves you more than anything in the world," Esme said, smiling up to Jasper. "He will love you forever, and that is a beautiful thing."

My smile grew as I looked back at Jasper.

"Just remember, Al," Jasper said, brushing his fingers gently across my face, "while you've lost so much, you've gained so much more. You are loved. I don't want you to ever forget that."

I pulled him into a tight hug. "I know that I'm loved. I just need that reminder sometimes."

"Bella is coming over," Esme said, resting a hand on my back. "If you're feeling up to it, I'm sure she'd love to see you."

I looked back to Jasper, who nodded encouragingly.

"I'll try it," I said, not looking away from Jasper.

"I'll be with you," he said.

"I'll be down as soon as I cover this," I said, gesturing to the mark.

"None of the others are back yet. So you have time."

I ended up changing my clothes too. I changed into white skinny jeans, a loose, short sleeve, black shirt that hung off one of my shoulders, and black hair wasn't spiked. Instead it laid flat, but appeared to be more slicked back.

Jasper, Carlisle, and Esme sat on the white couch waiting. All three smiled when I appeared next to Jasper.

"You look beautiful," Jasper said, pulling me onto the couch next to him.

Jasper read, running his fingers through my hair as I laid my head on his shoulder. I was wrapped in a blanket that Jasper held tightly around me.

Rosalie and Emmett came home about five minutes later.

"Edward and Bella will be here in about an hour," Emmett said.

He and Rosalie both paused, when they spotted Jasper and I.

"Alice," Emmett said, grinning. "How are you?"

I smiled. It was weak, but it caused Emmett's smile to grow, and Rosalie to gain one herself.

"Today is different. Today, I feel just a touch better."

"What changed?" Rosalie asked, sitting at my feet.

"I was just reminded of what I have."

I looked between all of the faces in the room, lingering on Jasper's the longest. He kissed the top of my head, and rested his cheek on the spot he kissed.

When Edward and Bella came, Edward was just as surprised to see me as Emmett and Rosalie was.

"Alice!" Bella said, smiling. "Edward said you were hunting, and he wasn't sure that you'd be back yet."

"We decided to come back early."

I played through the moment of Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, and I through my head for Edward, who smiled.

"It's good to know you're feeling better," he said, too quickly, and too quietly for Bella to hear, or notice for that matter.

Bella and Edward ended up at the dining room table doing homework. Carlisle moved closer to me, and we started discussing the sleeping potion.

"I think you'll be at your lowest point Saturday, if going by the previous months. That works, you won't be missing school, and you'll be good to go to Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper's graduation the following week."

"Do you think he'll be okay with keeping her away from the house?" I asked, jerking my thumb to Edward and Bella at the table.

"I will talk to him. This is a far different situation than today."

I nodded.

"Thank you, Carlisle."

He nodded, and patted my arm.

"As far as Bella knows, magic doesn't exist. That is different from me supposedly not remembering my past. Today, we could pass off my sadness, as me being upset with not being able to remember. I can't explain how a vampire, who can't sleep, suddenly being asleep. That's not as easy."

I glanced up to Edward and Bella. Edward met my eyes, and I quickly looked away.

"It's perfectly understandable," Esme said. "He can be respectful of that."

"Jasper, do you still plan on being with her?" Carlisle asked.

"Of course," Jasper said, pulling me into his lap. "That was our agreement. She does it, but I stay with her."

I shook my head, as I leaned back again.

"Overprotective," I mouthed to Emmett, whose booming laugh caused Bella to jump.

Jasper glared at us both, but soon the glare rested solely on Emmett when I smiled up at him.

That night, I did cry. Jasper held me the entire time.

"It's okay," he murmured. His voice was soothing, but I could hear the sadness in his voice.

"I don't want them to think I replaced them," I said, when I could speak again.

"You didn't replace them, Darlin'. You found just found a family."

He held onto me tightly.

"It's all okay," he said, rocking me, side to side.

By midday the next day I was better. Time began moving quickly, and before I knew it, it was the Thursday before I would take the potion.

Carlisle and I had planned that on the Thursday before, I would brew the potion. I went to school that day, and once I got home, I began brewing. I'd also be brewing the antidote, but that I'd be doing that later, and I'd be using Severus's brewing instructions, rather than the traditional book.

Jasper, Emmett, and Rosalie all kept me company, while Esme worked on floor plans, and Carlisle worked at the hospital. Edward kept Bella away from the house. She would come tomorrow after school, then return again Saturday, after I've confirmed that I woke up.

For the most part, I used the book, but the ingredients were in greater increments than they were for a regular sleeping potion. We thought about using the Draught of Living Death, but Jasper was dead set against it.

"Does this not weird you completely?" Emmett asked, as I added in Flobberworm Mucus.

"Does what weird me out?"

"These ingredients, he said, picking up the Flobberworm Mucus. "Flobberworm Mucus," he read the bottle before looking at me in disgust. "Do you have a bottle of unicorn spit somewhere around here?"

I laughed and shook my head. "No but if you look in there I have Unicorn hair and unicorn horn."

Rosalie looked at me mortified, then in wonder.

"Unicorns exist?"

I nodded.

"There was one that stuck around mine and Remus's house. I used to sneak it out food every few days. I used to like to think of it as my pet."

"Why would you kill it?" she demanded.

"We didn't actually. Most of the time, we waited until they were already dead. And their hair sheds, so we gather it. Wands are also made from Unicorn Hair, well their cores are."

"Do you know anyone with a unicorn hair core?" Jasper asked, staring at me with wonder.

"Remus's was. Ron's is, Charlie's–that's another one of Fred and George's brothers–, and Cedric Diggory."

I began to measure the Standard Ingredient.

"What next? People drink the unicorn's blood?" Emmett asked, still looking disgusted.

I shook my head. "Definitly not. That's horrible luck. Slaying a unicorn, and drinking it's blood causes great consequences. You will be powerful and it will keep you alive, but you will live a cursed life. The Ministry of Magic banned using unicorn blood."

Rosalie look mortified again.

I added in the ingredient and turned to the cupboard where I kept my potion ingredients.

I pulled out Unicorn horn, and Unicorn hair, and gave them to Rosalie.

"This," I said, pointing to the horn, "will be used in the antidote. This," I pointed to the hair, "is used for several different things."

She quickly shoved them back to my hands.

I laughed, set them on the table, and moved back to the potion, after adding in some crushed ingredient, and waving my wand, I set a timer. I was using a brass cauldron, so it shouldn't take any more than 64 minutes.

I moved over to the bed, and sat on the far side. Jasper moved next to me, and put an arm around my shoulders. The energy, was still at a high point, but I knew I couldn't move far from my cauldron.

"What now?" Rosalie asked, glancing to the potion.

"Now we wait."

"Do you know how long you'll be asleep for?"

I shook my head.

"At midnight, on Saturday, I'm going to drink the potion, and I should be asleep within five minutes of drinking that. I'd think I'd be asleep for a while. I can't pinpoint it though."

"But you think it's going to work?"

"I see it working. But Jasper has his doubts. He thinks I may be wrong this time."

Jasper growled.

"I don't think you're wrong. I just want to make sure that you don't get hurt."

"I'm not going to get hurt, Jazz. I'm going to be okay."

He looked at me, then rested his head on the top of mine.

"I know you're going to be okay. You always are."

Once both potions were finished, it was nearing four the next morning.

"I'm going to put these in Carlisle's office," I said, after labeling each bottle. "They're safe there."

Jasper nodded, but didn't look up from his book.

Carlisle was sitting in his office when I walked in. He appeared to be working on paperwork, and he had a book open.

"Here's the potions. This is the Sleeping Draught, here's the antidote."

"Thank you, Alice. How's your energy?"

"I can feel it going down. I plan on taking one of the energy supplements. It should hold me through the school day, and it should wear off a bit after Bella leaves, assuming she still leaves at 9:30."

"We've already talked to Edward when he dropped by earlier. He said he'll make sure she's left at 9:45 at the latest."

I nodded.

"Sounds like a plan."

Carlisle placed a bookmark inside of the large book, and pushed the papers to the side.

"Are you sure you don't want to try another way, Alice?" he asked.

This confused me. Carlisle had come up with the idea. I didn't understand why it was he would want to change his mind. Not after the countless hours of research and the hours of planning how the day would go. Then I put the pieces together. I could only think of one person who was set against the idea.

"Jasper wants you to change my mind, doesn't he?" I asked, turning towards the door.

Carlisle looked up at me sheepishly.

"I'm sorry, Alice. He wanted me to try. I said I'd ask."

"I'm certain I want to try this," I said, glaring at the door. "It's not a bad idea."

"Jasper means well, Alice. He doesn't want to lose you."

"He won't. I've made sure of it. This considers as a common poison. Should something go wrong, make sure that all of this gets down my throat, and it will fight against the poison."

I turned, and headed for the door.

When I got back in the room, Jasper hadn't moved from his spot. Although, his book did sit on the table now, and his face was hidden by his hands.

"Jasper," I said, sitting next to him, and pulling him into a hug. "I've told you before. This is going to work. I am going to be okay. You have to trust me, sweetheart."

He didn't answer me. I kissed the small part of his forehead that wasn't hidden by his hands, before resting my head on his back.

He uncovered his face, and pulled me into his lap.

"You're not angry with me," he stated. "Why is that?"

"Because I know you only want what's best for me."

I smiled at him. His eyes were guilty.

"I'm sorry," he told me.

"I know," I said, pressing a hand to his cheek.

He closed his eyes, and became still.

I smiled, and pushed myself up, and pressed my lips to his.

When I pulled back, he was smirking, but his eyes were still closed.

"Come on," I said, after a while. "We have to get ready for school."

His eyes opened, and he looked up at the clock on his nightstand.

"Are you sure you want to go today?"

"You have a little under a week before you graduate. You're not missing school. Let's go."

He looked at me with a smirk, before picking me up, and scooting off the bed. He didn't set me down until we made it into the closet.

The day seemed to pass quickly. Before I knew it, it was time for gym.

"I'll be here when gym is over," Jasper said, kissing the top of my head.

"I'll see you then."

He stared into my eyes for a moment before turning away.

"Hey," Edward said, coming up behind me.

"Edward, can you tell me something?" I said, starting at Jasper's back.

"What?"

"What's he thinking?"

Edward turned me, and pushed me into the gym.

"He's trying to convince himself you're going to be okay."

I sighed. I can understand why he thought this way. This is something he's not familiar with.

"Are you positive this is going to work?" he asked, turning me to him.

"As far as I can see, it will."

"Alice if this doesn't work, he is going to lose you. You are the thing he loves the most. He can't live without you."

"I know that," I growled. "This will work. And we have an antidote."

"And if that doesn't work? Then what, Alice? What are we going to do if this kills you?"

"Then you take care of him. Make sure he knows that I love him."

"And you think it's going to work?"

"I've seen it, Edward. I will wake back up."

When he didn't answer, I stepped back from him.

"You don't believe I can do it?"

Edward looked at me.

"It's not that I don't believe you can it. I just don't know how any of us are going to be able to look at Jasper if you fail."

"Edward, I need a straight answer from you. Do you think I can do this?"

He hesitated, and then looked away from me.

"I'm sorry, Alice. But this doesn't sound like something that you can see. You can't make the decision of whether or not you're going to pull through this. I don't think your visions are reliable."

"So no," I said in a hard voice. "You don't think I can."

"I'm truly sorry, Alice."

"And here I thought that you beleived in me just a little bit more, Edward."

I turned away from him, and began walking to the locker room.

Gym was a quiet affair. Edward and I partnered up, but I didn't speak to him. He didn't press me.

Instead of talking, I ran the conversation over in my head again and again.

The second the bell rang, he was gone. He didn't look back at me.

When I stepped outside, Jasper was already there. I couldn't bring myself to look into his eyes, so I pulled him into a hug, and buried my face in his jacket instead.

"Alice, why are you upset?"

"Edward and I got into an argument."

"What about?" he asked, pushing my chin up with his finger.

"He doesn't think I can do this."

I met his eyes, and I could feel his guilt mixing with my sadness.

"Come with me," he said,adjusting his arm to where it was around my waist, and began pulling me in the opposite direction of the cafeteria.

"Jaz where are we going?"

"To the car."

"Why?"

"Just trust me," he said, with a weak smile.

When we made it to the car, he opened the passenger door, and helped me inside before moving around to the driver's side, and jumping in.

"What are we doing out here?" I asked. "Em and Rosalie are expecting us."

"I want to talk. Just me and you."

"So talk," I said, taking his hand.

"Alice, you know I love you, and the only thing I want in life is for you to be happy and safe."

"You're right. I do know that."

"Because of my want to keep you safe, I haven't supported you as much as I should. I haven't believed in you as much as I should either."

He pulled my hand to his face, and kissed it.

"Jasper, look at me," I said, twisting in my seat. He turned to face me. His eyes were full of guilt and sadness. "I need for you to believe me. If I need anybody on board with this, I need you. Please, Jasper. Believe in me."

Pain flashed across his face as I pleaded with him.

"Alice I want to believe in you. I just can't lose you."

"And so you won't."

He stared into my eyes.

"I believe you can do this Al."

I smiled, and pulled his face to mine.

"Thank you," I breathed before pressing my lips to his.

After school, we rode home with Edward and Bella. Edward was quiet, and Jasper glared at him the whole ride home.

"Have I missed something?" Bella asked me as we got out of the car.

"Edward and I had a small argument in gym today. Nothing to worry about."

I dropped my bag on a chair in the dining room.

"Chess?" Jasper asked, motioning to the boards.

I grinned. I loved anytime he agreed to play with me.

"No cheating," he teased as I sat on the opposite side of the table.

Bella came and sat next to me, and Edward wandered to the piano.

He began playing the song he played at mine and Jasper's wedding.

 _Are you trying to make up for earlier?_ I thought, making my first move.

"Just a touch," he answered. Bella raised an eyebrow, but neither one of us answered.

When the time came for Bella to leave, Jasper and I took our leave upstairs.

"I'll see you later Bella," I said, halfway up the stairs.

"Bye Alice, bye Jasper."

"Sleep well, dear," Esme said, pulling her into a hug.

I made my move up the stairs.

"How's your energy?" Jasper asked, keeping a hand on my back.

"Fading," I said. "Quickly too."

"Don't worry, Al. It's almost time."

When I got to the room, I went to the closet to change. Esme had went with me last Saturday to get clothes to sleep in. I had gotten a pair of grey night pants, and I used one of Jasper's button up shirts to go with it. The shirt came to just above my knees, and the sleeves hung off my hands.

Jasper laughed when he first saw me, and I moved my arms up and down like a bird's wings.

"Come here, Darlin'."

I crawled onto the bed next to him, where he rolled up the sleeves on the shirt.

"How do I look?" I asked.

"Very, very comfortable," he said, putting an arm around me, as I laid down.

"I wanted something that smelled like you," I said, looking down at the shirt. "I thought maybe that would help me sleep better."

"That's okay," he said,pulling the blanket over me, and put his other arm over the blanket, and pulled me to him.

I laid on his arm, and looked into his eyes.

At around 11:50, Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, and Rosalie stepped inside.

"Okay, Alice," Carlisle said, setting both bottles on Jasper's nightstand. "I have to go into the hospital soon, so Jasper will be watching you, and Esme will be coming in to check on you every half an hour until I get home."

"Edward sends his luck," Esme said, sitting on the edge of the bed. "He says he feels bad about your argument earlier. He does believe in you, but none of us could bare to lose you. When he comes home to change, he's going to come check up on you."

"Emmett and I can come keep you company, Jasper," Rosalie said.

"I'll be fine, I think. I have my books. However, if you want to come talk, feel free."

They both nodded and stepped back.

"Alice," Carlisle said, picking up the sleeping potion. "It's time."

I looked up to Jasper, who was smiling back down at me.

"You'll be here when I wake up, right, Jazz?"

He nodded.

"Of course I will. I won't leave your side."

I opened the bottle, and took the bottle from Carlisle, and drank its contents before settling back down in Jasper's arms. Carlisle switched off the light.

"Come back to me, Ali," he whispered in my ear.

"Always," I said, pressing my hand to his face.

"I love you," he said, before kissing me.

When I pulled away, I could feel myself starting to get drowsy.

"I love you too," I mumbled, scooting closer to him.

"Sleep now, love," he said.

My vision started to blur, then suddenly, I saw nothing.

As I slept, I began to dream. They started out as hazy shapes, and from there the picture grew much more clear.

 _Jasper and I were walking through a graveyard. It was very familiar to me, and it took me a moment before I realized that I had been there before._

 _"There I am," I said to Jasper quietly, pointing to one of the graves._

 _Jasper looked around, and his eyes landed on the grave to the right of mine._

 _"Remus John Lupin," he said quietly._

 _"Over here is Fred," I said, pointing to the grave on my other side. I pulled him to another row of graves. "Up here in my mother and my father."_

 _"Why are you not buried next to them?" he asked, looking down at my father's grave._

 _"Well nobody thought I was going to die as soon as I did. That and people remembered that Fred, George, and I always said we wanted to be buried together."_

 _I turned back to my grave and sat down, cross legged._

 _"You know, I used to believe that if you talked to them, they could hear you. On Remus's funeral, I came early to talk to them."_

 _"Do you still believe that?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"I think they can hear me still."_

 _"So talk to them," Jasper said, smiling encouragingly at me. "You haven't been home in a long time."_

 _I turned back to graves, and rested a hand on Fred's._

 _"Hey, Freddie," I said, smiling at the grave. "I've missed you. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come see you. I had to make sure that our family was safe. But I'm home now. I'm going to be staying here for some time."_

 _I paused when Jasper came behind me, resting a hand on my back._

 _"I want you to meet Jasper. My husband. You would have loved him so much, Freddie. He is everything that you ever wanted for me, and so much more."_

 _I smiled up at Jasper, and he grinned back at me._

 _I stood up and walked over to Remus's grave._

 _"I'm not angry anymore, Remus. I understand why you had to leave me now. If you hadn't left, I would have never met my Jasper. I owe everything to you. I'm sorry that I never got the chance to tell you that I'm sorry for everything. I just couldn't understand why you couldn't love me."_

 _I turned to Jasper._

 _"Now I do. And I thank you for all that you did for me."_

 _Jasper smiled and kissed my cheek._

 _I stood, and walked back to my parents grave. Jasper followed behind me. I sat down between them._

 _"Hey, Mama. Hey, Dad. I think you guys would have liked Jasper too. I remember you guys telling me stories of how you met. Love at first sight. I saw him in a vision, and I loved him for the first moment I saw him."_

Before I said anything more, the scene faded. The way it disappeared reminded me of a Pensive. It swirled, and then it was gone.

A new scene replaced the old.

 _Jasper and I were sitting in the sand on a beach. The sun beat down on us, but neither of us glittered like we usually did in the sun. We were human. We had to be. But Jasper was still covered in the scars that he had received during his time in Maria's newborn armies. His eyes were still the brilliant gold that they had been for some time now._

 _My hair was longer. The same length that it was before I cut it down to the layered pixie cut that it is now. It sat in a french braid that trailed down my back. I noticed now that down my arm, were the scars from when I tried to claw and cut the Dark Mark off of my arm. I could only assume that the scars on my face were there too._

 _The more I focused, I could feel a weight in my arms. I looked down, and it was a face I immediately recognized._

 _Wrapped tightly in a bright blue blanket, was a baby. This baby was all too familiar to me. I'd been seeing this baby in my dreams since I was 16 years old. I saw this baby every night. Every night until the night before Remus's funeral._

 _He was small, with Jasper's wavy honey blonde hair. His face looked like an angel, and after a few years, I had started calling him my baby angel._

 _The baby's eyes were closed, but his mouth formed a little 'o' as he yawned. His eyes opened. The only part of me this baby held, was the same wide brown eyes that I had in my human life. Everything else, was clearly Jasper's face._

 _"Someone's awake," I said, smiling down at the baby._

 _Jasper leaned over, resting his chin on my shoulder to look at the baby in my arms._

 _"Let me hold him," Jasper said, holding out his hands._

 _I tucked the baby away in Jasper's arms before standing. Like the speed of light, I was in my animagus form._

 _As I jumped up, the baby in Jasper's arms shrieked with laughter, and reached back for me. I stepped closer to them, before nudging the baby's hand._

 _"You're mama's a pretty doggy, isn't she?" Jasper said, patting my head._

 _The baby reached too, and patted next to my eye._

 _I shifted back and sat next to Jasper._

 _"Pretty baby," I said, kissing his forehead._

 _"What about me?" Jasper asked, pouting._

 _I laughed._

 _"You're very, very pretty, Jazz," I said, leaning in to kiss him._

 _The baby laughed again, and reached up for our faces._

 _Jasper raised the baby, and we kissed each one of his cheeks._

 _"Go back to your Mama," he said, giving me the baby. "I've got to go make dinner."_

 _He kissed me again before standing. He turned to the house that I hadn't noticed before._

 _I turned back to the ocean, and looked down at the baby._

 _"My little baby angel," I whispered._

 _I pulled up my knees, and rested the baby on them._

 _I studied the baby's face._

The more I studied the face, the more I began to understand why I continued to see the baby even after Remus and I had broken up. I always thought it was Remus's child. I have now realized that the baby was Jasper's. I've been seeing Jasper's child in my head since I was 16. Somewhere inside of me, my brain was trying to tell me that Remus and I weren't meant to be. That someone else was waiting for me. I also realized that this baby didn't have a name. Not one that Jasper and I had mentioned anyways. In the time that I saw it before my death, I had never given it a name.

 _"Sirius Carlisle Whitlock," I said, as if answering my own thoughts._

 _I watched the baby as his eyes began to flutter closed. Even once the baby fell asleep, I watched him for what felt like hours._

 _Jasper didn't come back. Not even when the moon began hanging in the sky._

 _I took the baby off of my knees, and pushed myself up, and began walking to the house, not taking my eyes off his face._

 _"Such a pretty baby," I whispered again. I began singing an old nursery rhyme. "Mary, Mary, quite contrary, how does your garden grow? With silver bells and cockle shells, and pretty maids all in a row."_

The sleeping baby and my voice began to fade. For a while, it was black and silent, and for that bit of time, my sleep was dreamless. Sleep was peaceful.

 _When a new dream began, I was in mine and Jasper's room, but Jasper was gone. I walked into the room, and on the bed sat my mother and my father._

 _"Mom?" I said, looking at her in surprise. I turned to my father. "Dad?"_

 _"You found us," Dad said, as the two of them raised and pulled me into a tight hug._

 _"I don't know how," I whispered._

 _"You wanted to see us. So here we are."_

 _"Alice, you're father and I are so proud of you. You protected your family."_

 _"I know I never told you, Alice, but I do love you. And you made me so proud. I wish I told you."_

 _"I'm sorry," I told him. "I wish I was kinder to you."_

 _He shook his head._

 _"I deserved it. I wasn't a very good father."_

 _"That's not true. You used to be a good father," I said, shaking my head. "But when James and Lily died, and you got arrested…."_

 _I shook my head again._

 _"I was trying to rearrange my will you know," Dad said, smiling at me. "I was trying the make everything an even split between you and Harry. But that didn't work out so well, did it?"_

 _He tapped the Slytherin choker around my wrist._

 _"I don't even know why you had your will set up like that in the first place," Mom grumbled._

 _"I was angry," he said throwing his arms up._

 _I laughed at the two of them._

 _"How's Remus?"_  
 _"He says he's proud of you, and he does love you," Mom said. "He wanted us to tell you that he loves you. He always loved you."_

 _The way Mom said it, made me very curious._

 _"In what way?" I asked._

 _"The way he loved you when you were seventeen," she said pressing a hand against my cheek._

 _"If he loved me that way, then why did he leave me?"_

 _"Because he wanted to give possibilities. He wanted you to be able to have children. Like the boy you used to dream about. He's so glad you've found love. He likes Jasper a lot."_

 _I smiled. "He likes him?"_

 _Mom nodded._

 _"We all like him. He's kept you safe and happy for all this time. Remus wishes you a lifetime of happiness."_

 _I turned to Dad._

 _"Were you angry with him when he got there? To where ever you guys are?"_

 _Dad laughed._

 _"I was happy to see him at first. But then I was angry. Do you remember the day I died? Remus had been acting weird, and I told you that if he hurt you I'd kill him?"_

 _I laughed and nodded._

 _"I told him that if he wasn't already dead, I would have killed him."_

 _I laughed again, and Mom and Dad smiled at me._

 _"It's so good to see you laugh," Dad said, smiling._

 _"How's Freddie? And Lily and James?"_

 _"Fred says he loves you. So did James and Lily. They want to thank you, for watching over Harry. For becoming the thing you never wanted to be to save him, and to say thank you for giving your life to give Harry a chance at his."_

 _"The life I have now, it's not a bad life. What do you guys think of Carlisle and Esme?"_

 _"They're the parents you deserve," Dad said. "We're so happy you found them."_

 _"I'm sorry I couldn't save you. Both of you."_

 _"It wasn't your job to save us," Mom said._  
 _I could feel the tears pulling in my eyes._

 _"I could have saved you," I said to Dad._

 _He shook his head._

 _"No, Alice. You couldn't have."_

 _I sighed, shaking my head._

 _"Tell me more about Fred. I miss him a lot."_

 _"He misses you and George. He misses seeing you together. But he knows why you had to do what you did. He says that you always knew the right thing to do."_

 _I smiled weakly._  
 _"Why aren't they here? James, Lily, Fred, and Remus."_

 _"Because you needed us the most."_

 _"Can I ask you guys a question?"_

 _"Anything," Dad said._

 _"I've went through the transformation, but I've never felt what it's like to die. Does it hurt?"_

 _They both shook their heads._

 _"It's like falling asleep."_

 _"So you weren't in pain?"_

 _They shook their heads again._

 _I stared at them both, and dazed out. I couldn't believe they were here with me._

 _"Alice," Mom said, calling my attention back to her. "It's time to wake up, dear."_

 _I felt my throat begin to tighten._

 _"Wake up?" I felt the tears well up in my eyes. But they would never fall. I began to understand. "You're not really here," I said, as I began to dry sob._

 _"Not physically. But we're here," Dad's said, putting a hand over my heart._

 _I had forgotten that I was dreaming._

 _"I don't want to leave you."_

 _"We'll all be watching over you. Like we always have."_

 _I met their eyes. Both had tears running down their cheeks._

 _"Before you go, I want you to do something for me," Mom said, scooting closer._

 _"Anything."_

 _"Don't cry for us anymore. We're okay. Go on, and live your life. You can see us when you sleep."_

 _I nodded. I could feel myself being pulled from this place._

 _"I'm waking up," I sobbed, my voice breaking._

 _"It's okay, Alice. We'll come back to you soon."_

 _"I love you," I said, hugging them both._

 _"We love you too, Alice," Dad said. "Now it's time to wake up. It's time to go back to Jasper."_

 _"Jasper," I repeated._

 _"Goodbye Alice," Dad said._

 _"Bye Dad, bye Mama."_

The two faded away, and I felt nothing holding me here anymore.

I didn't fight as I began to come back to consciousness. I knew that being conscious would bring me to Jasper.

"Jasper?" I mumbled, not opening my eyes.

"Good morning, Sleeping Beauty," he said, before leaning down to kiss the top of my head.

"What time is it?"

"It's nearly noon."

That would explain why I felt sort of groggy.

"How are you feeling?" he asked.

"I saw my mom and my dad."

My voice sounded far away.

"Really?"

"Mama doesn't want me to cry for her anymore."

He pulled me closer to him.

"Alice?"

"Dad said he's proud of me."

"Darlin', can you open your eyes for me?"

My eyes were heavy, but I opened them anyways. Jasper's golden eyes were staring back down at me.

"I saw my baby angel again."

"Your baby angel?"

I reached my hand up, and pushed his hair out of his face.

"I told you about him once. The baby that I dreamed about from the time I was sixteen until the night before Remus's funeral."

"I remember now. It was your's and Remus's child."

I shook my head.

"No. It was mine and yours."

"You've been seeing us with a baby since you were sixteen?"

"Well you were never in the dream before now. I think it was my subconscious trying to tell me Remus and I weren't meant to be together. That I had someone expecting me."

"What's his name? You keep saying 'he', so I'd like to think we have a son."

I nodded.

"We named him Sirius Carlisle."

"Cullen or Hale?"

"Whitlock."

His eyes brightened.

I smiled and leaned over to my nightstand, grabbing my sketchbook and a pencil.

Jasper watched me as I began to sketch out the scene of the three of us on the beach.

"Edward came to see you," Jasper murmured while I drew.

"What'd he say?"

"He wanted to apologize. He knew he should have believed in you."

I shook my head.

"Maybe it's just me, but everytime Edward and I take a step forward, we take three steps back."

"He's coming to see you before he brings Bella over."

I looked up at him.

"Where are the others?"

"Carlisle will be up to check on you here in a few minutes. Rosalie and Emmett are getting everything ready for their trip to Africa. Esme is working on blueprints, and Edward is at Bella's."

I nodded.

"And she's coming today?"

He nodded.  
"Edward is going to come in about a half an hour, and then he's going to go back for Bella."

As soon as Jasper was finished talking, there was a knock on the door.

"Come in," I said, in a normal voice.

Carlisle came through the door, and Esme followed behind him.

"You're awake," he said with a smile.

I nodded.

"How long?" Carlisle asked glancing at Jasper.

"I'd say about twenty minutes," Jasper said, turning to look at the clock.

"How do you feel?"

"Still a little tired," I said with a shrug.

Esme sat on the bed at my feet.

"What are you drawing?" she asked.

I passed down the notebook.

"While I was sleeping, I had this dream of Jasper and I. We had a baby."

"Boy or girl?" she asked me with a smile.  
"A little baby boy," I said, grinning. "His name was Sirius Carlisle Whitlock."

Carlisle smiled.

"Did you dream about anything else? "

I nodded.

"Jasper and I were visiting my grave in Britain."

"Do you plan to go back anytime soon?"

I nodded.

"I'm not exactly sure when though," I paused. "I saw my mother, and my father."

Esme and Carlisle looked at each other, then back to me.

"They say that they like you very much. The two of you are the parents that I deserve to have."

They both smiled at me.

"So overall, the sleeping potion worked?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded.

"I feel less tired than I usually would, but I'm still tired."

"Well I think that we should go with energy supplements, and we'll see how you're doing tonight."

"Will she be okay to go to school tomorrow?" Jasper asked.

"We should be able to see tonight. I'd recommend taking an energy supplement before you leave."

Carlisle wrote down a few things in the little notebook.

"If it is okay with the two of you, I want to try a few more trials. These don't necessarily have to be during an energy decline. Maybe we can alter it to where you don't sleep as long if you'd want."

I turned to Jasper.

"I like the way this one worked," Jasper said. "If she makes it this way again, I know she'll wake up."

Carlisle and Esme turned to me.

"I'm okay with doing more trials, but I want Jasper to be comfortable with how we do them."

I looked up at him.

"Jazz?"

"I think it's a good idea, but I really don't want to mess with how the potion is made."

Carlisle nodded.

"I can understand that."

"What exactly were you thinking of doing?"

"Well mostly I want to see if the sleep times are the same. I want to see whether or not she recovers from the energy burst quicker if she takes it a few times a week, or only at the lowest part of her energy."

"Is that something you're okay with?" Jasper asked me.  
I nodded.

"It would be nice to not be stuck in bed for a week."

"We would tell the school that they are working on a new treatment, which will take some time to adjust," Carlisle said. "That way in case you are groggy in the morning, you would be able to get by with it."

"I think that sounds like a plan," I said.

"Great. So I'll start planning out times for the testing, and then you can brew according to that."

"Maybe brew a few antidotes," Esme suggested. "I think it would help put everybody at ease knowing that they're there just in case something does go wrong."

"I think that sounds like a great idea," Jasper said as soon as Esme finished her sentence.

I smiled, and looked up at Jasper.

"I'll be sure to have several antidotes."

Jasper nodded, and kiss my temple.  
"Okay," Carlisle said, as he finished scribbling some notes down into his notebook. "Edward is going to be here soon, and I know he wants to see you. So I am going to go and try and find a plan for these trials."

I looked up at Carlisle and gave a smile.

Esme moved up to my head, and kissed my forehead.

"When you're feeling more awake, we'll all be happy to see you downstairs."

"I'll come down when Edward leaves to go get Bella."

She smiled, and patted my shoulder before following Carlisle out of the room.

Edward came a few moments later. He paused at the door and peered inside.

"Can I come in?" he asked quietly.

I waved him inside, and returned to my drawing.

He stepped inside the room, and came to sit at the foot of the bed.

"How was it?"

"It was nice," I said, pushing the cover off of me. "I dreamed."

"When I came, you weren't dreaming."

"There was time between the dreams where it was just black."

Edward looked down into is lap.

 _Alice,_ he thought, causing me to look up at him. _I'm sorry._

"What for?" I asked quietly.

 _Everything. Jasper was thinking about what you told him. Every time we take a step forward, we take three steps back. I don't want us to be like that. I want us to be okay. I want us to be better than okay. I just want us to go back to how we were._

I looked down at my lap.  
"What happened to us, Edward?"

"I don't know," he said.

I turned and looked at Jasper, before returning my eyes to Edward's face.

"It hurt when you didn't believe in me."

"I'm sorry."

I nodded.

"I know that."

I finished my drawing then, titling it: _Sirius Carlisle Whitlock_. I passed it to Jasper, who smiled widely.

"I'm going to try and do better," Edward said.

I could see it in his eyes that he was sincere. I wanted to forgive him. I was tired of fighting with Edward. He could be arrogant at times, but he was my brother.

"Okay," I said, nodding. "I forgive you."

Edward smiled and pulled me into a hug.

"Now," he said, pulling away. "What's that drawing you have there?"

"From the time I was sixteen, to the night before Remus's funeral, I dreamed of a baby. I always thought it was mine and Remus's baby, but it wasn't."

I passed the drawing to him.

"It was mine and Jasper's."

I smiled down at the picture, and as the tiredness began to fade.

For the first time, in a very, very long time, I felt human.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the story so far. I think this is one of my favorite chapters. Keep one of the dreams in mind. It will play a very important part in the story later. That however, I will leave for you to figure out which dream.**

 **I know it seems I'm bashing Edward a lot, and that is not my intent. I just kind of wanted Alice to be a character who cares for both Bella and Edward, but also doesn't want to put up with Edward's behavior since meeting Bella.**

 **Before I go, I do want to talk about some of my inspirations for this chapter, more in particular, the dreams. I knew that when I first started thinking about this story, I knew I wanted there to be a chapter where Alice and Carlisle started to experiment with sleeping potions. I knew that I wanted her to dream, because dreaming is one of the best things about sleeping. So let's start from the last dream, and work our way back. The last dream, I got inspiration mostly from the season two, episode eight of Once Upon a Time. I'm not sure who has watched the show, and who hasn't so I really don't want to get into the plot of that too much. I think to a degree, I also kind of got the idea from The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger.**

 **The second dream, I kind of took the idea from Breaking Dawn, when Bella kept seeing the baby boy. I just wanted it to show Alice that Remus is not who she is meant to be with in the long term. Her subconscious tells Alice a lot, but sometimes the message doesn't get through.**  
 **Finally the first dream that was told. If you think back to the beginning, and even now, Alice talked a lot about wanting to go home to Britain. She wants to show Jasper where she came from. So I thought of what Alice would do when she went home, and I made a dream based on the idea of her returning to Britain.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)**


	65. Graduations and Anniversaries

_"True love isn't easy, but it must be fought for. Because once you find it, it can never be replaced." ~David Nolan (Prince Charming) Once Upon a Time_

* * *

Chapter 65- Graduations and Anniversaries

I was able to go back to school Monday. I was still a little drowsy, but Carlisle called ahead, and said that I had began a new treatment over the weekend.

Time was going by quickly. Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett only had a week left. They would be graduating on Saturday.

"Are you ready?" I asked him, smiling as we walked into school Monday morning. "Only one more week left as a senior."

He chuckled.

"Last week as a senior here," he corrected, smiling.

I leaned against a wall, and folded my arms over my chest.

"Are you really not going to miss it here?"

He thought about it.

"I think I'm going to miss it," he said, smiling as he put a hand against the wall, over my head. "I'm going to miss the quietness, and some of the classes." He leaned down to where there was barely any space between us. "I think most of all, I'm going to miss my wife."

Jasper and I and become very used to the other always being there. I knew it would take some time to get used to.

I smiled, and Jasper closed the remaining space between us.

"How're you feeling?" Jasper asked.

"I'm still a little tired," I sighed, as he walked we began to walk again. Jasper was careful to keep one hand on my hip.

"You didn't have the proper time to recover," Jasper said, as we came closer to the door of my class.

"It's the last week of school. I'm not missing it, and you certainly aren't missing school before you graduate."

Jasper sighed.

He and Carlisle had spent the morning trying to convince me to stay home, just for today. I refused. I didn't regret this decision, but I could see Jasper really wished I would change my mind. Carlisle made arrangements with the school to where if I got too uncomfortable, I could go home.

"I'm going to be fine, Jasper," I grumbled.

Jasper insisted on walking me inside the classroom, just to make sure I would be okay.

It didn't take much longer for my energy to increase. I was perfectly fine by Wednesday.

Friday night, Jasper, Rosalie, Emmett, and I went on a hunting trip. It wouldn't be very long, and we'd be back a few hours before graduation would start.

"I'm going to miss you," I told Emmett. "While you're away in Africa."

"I'll email you, and send you pictures," he promised.

I grinned. I had never been to Africa, and I was excited to see the pictures. I still thought it was a shame that they would only be able to go to the Muggle side. Nevertheless, they had interesting things on the Muggle side.

"Good," I said, smiling up at him.

We began to head home around five. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper were excited, and I couldn't be happier for them. We decided that we wouldn't do anything for this graduation. Emmett and Rosalie had to finish with last minute arrangements before they left, and Carlisle was taking on a shift at the hospital later in the day. So Jasper and I would celebrate on our own.

"Hey, Alice?" Emmett asked, pulling me to the side, before we made it at the great white house.

"Is everything okay?" I asked, raising an eyebrow as I watched Rosalie and Jasper make their way out of the forest.

He nodded.

"I was just wondering if Edward was going to be there."

I tried focusing on Edward's decisions to get Emmett's answer.  
"Yes," I murmured, blinking a few times to correct my vision. "He and Bella are going to come to the house, and they'll ride with Jasper and I."

Emmett nodded.

"Thank you."

Despite how often we graduated, I was always proud when it came time to go to another graduation. I think that Edward knew I'd be very upset with him if he missed this. I think that Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper would have been too.

Emmett and I caught back up with Rosalie and Jasper as they were walking up the stairs to the back door.

"What were you and Emmett talking about?" Jasper asked, as we made our way to our bedroom.

"He was wondering if Edward was coming to graduation."

"And is he?"

"Yes. He and Bella are going to ride with us."

I thought about it for a moment.

"I suppose if you wanted, you, Emmett, and Rosalie could ride together seeing as you have to be there earlier than everyone else."

Jasper frowned.

"I want you to be there with me."

I smiled up at him.

"We can figure that out after we're ready."

Jasper smiled when we stepped into the closet.

We made small talk about our plans for afterwards. Jasper had booked us to a visit to a planetarium, so we would be spending the weekend away. We would drop Rosalie and Emmett off at the airport, and then take Rosalie's car.

I dressed in a ankle length, flowy, burgundy dress, with long lace sleeves. I put on a pair or black ankle boots.

When I stepped in front of Jasper, who seemed to be struggling with his tie, his eyes lit up.

"Al, you're not supposed to steal the show," he teased, looking at me.

"Should I change?" I asked, looking down at the dress.

"Definitely not," he grinned as he placed his hands on my sides.

I smiled, and began to tie his tie for him.

"You look handsome," I told him, smiling.

"And you look extraordinary beautiful."

I smiled again, and watched him.

"Thank you, Jaz."

I finished tying the tie, and patted his shoulder.

"There you go."

I patted his shoulder.

Jasper slipped on his gown while I moved around him, slipping bobby pins through his hair to keep the cap in place.

From downstairs, I could hear the front door open, and I could hear the faint sound of a heartbeat. We still had an hour before Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett had to leave.

"Are you ready?" I asked Jasper, smiling.

He nodded.

I pulled my camera from the shelf next to the closet door. Over the years, Carlisle made sure my camera stayed updated. I kept each camera though. They all sat on the same shelf. Every month, I take the film that I had used to be developed.

Over the years, I had gathered several scrapbooks. One, was dedicated to graduations. It was only about a quarter full.

"More pictures, Ali?"

I glared at him.  
"Pictures make a moment last forever, and I am so proud of you."

"You say that every time," he chuckled, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"And every time I mean it."

He sighed, and pulled me to the living room where everyone seemed to be waiting.

It was decided that I would ride with Rosalie, Jasper, and Emmett. Bella, Esme, Edward, and Carlisle would ride in the Mercedes and follow behind half an hour later.

"Are you excited?" I asked the three of them as Rosalie drove.

All three nodded.

"When we get here, I want pictures."

Emmett smiled.

"You always want pictures."

I frowned, looking at the camera around my neck.

"I like pictures."

Jasper and Emmett laughed, before Jasper kissed my cheek.

"Be nice," Rosalie, scolded, suppressing a smile of her own. She sounded like Esme.

Upon arriving at the school, it was the emptiest I had seen it in a long time. There was a few cars here and there, and then there were the ones following us in, but that was it.

"How long do we have before you have to be inside?" I asked, as we piled out of the car.

"About ten minutes," Rosalie said.

"Good," I smiled. "That means I have plenty of time for pictures."

Jasper laughed.

"Okay, we'll get your pictures, Al."

I smiled, and spent time taking pictures. I would have to wait to get a photo of the three of us, but I was able to get most of the pictures I wanted.

"Come on," Jasper grinned, beginning to pull me alongside him. "We're going to be late."

I smiled, and let him pull me to the cafeteria. Until everyone came into the gym, that is where the graduates would be.  
"Carlisle will be here soon," I muttered, looking at my phone. "Then I have to go."

Jasper smiled, and placed his hands on my side again.

"How long do I have?"

"I'd say about five minutes."

He smiled, and buried his face in my shoulder.

"I want you to stay," he murmured against the base of my neck.

"I know, love," I murmured. "But I'm going to sit where you can see me, and I'm going to be cheering you on."

He smiled, and kissed my collarbone.

"It's only a couple hours."

"I am so proud of you, Jasper. You've done great this year."

He pulled away to smile at me, pushing a lock of hair from my forehead.

"Don't worry, Alice," Emmett said coming behind us. "We'll take care of him."

I smiled.

"I believe that everything is going to be okay today."

The cafeteria doors opened, and I saw Carlisle step inside. He looked around before making his way towards the four of us.

"Sorry, Jasper," Carlisle apologized, with a wide grin when he approached us, "but it's time for me to steal Alice away from you."

Jasper pulled me closer.

"Mine," he growled, playfully.

Carlisle and I laughed. Jasper smiled as he buried his face in my hair.

"Always," I said, twisting in his arms to face him. I kissed him gently before stepping into place next to Carlisle. "I'll see you after the ceremony."

He smiled and waved before Carlisle and I turned to head back to the parking lot.

"He seems so happy," Carlisle pointed out, as we made it to the doors.

"I'm so proud of him," I sighed. "He's been doing so well."

Carlisle smiled.

"He has."

The five of us sat in the first row, in the aisle in front of the stage As they filed into the rows, I snapped pictures of Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper.

"Staff, school board members, graduates and parents, welcome to the end of another year," Mr. Greene announced, smiling widely behind the podium. "Today, we celebrate the achievements of our graduates. We celebrate the beginning of the rest of their lives as they end this chapter and start a new one," he paused for a moment, his eyes sweeping across the crowd. "We have watched these students grow throughout the last seventeen to eighteen years. Each and every one of these graduates that stand before me today, has spent years bettering themselves, and working hard to get to this point. I trust that the families are proud of these graduates, and that these graduates are proud of themselves."

I smiled up at Jasper, who seemed to find me over the heads of the people in front of him. All around me was the clicks and flashes of cameras, which prompted me to raise mine, and snap a quick picture.

"I can remember when many of you walked into your first day in your freshman year. This was all new and exciting. You quickly adapted, and time flew. Much like your families, the staff here are so proud of what you've become," he paused and looked down to the stack of papers in front of him.

Mr. Greene continued to speak for some time. Every now and again, I would hear the shutter of a camera, or the sound of a page changed. Around the room, I could hear simultaneous heart beats. Some were quicker than others, as everyone around us was filled with excitement.

"So now," Mr. Greene said, turning to face the graduates. "I am going to give you the last piece of advice I can offer you. When you walk out of these doors today, and you go on to live your life, make the most out of it. We only get one. If you work hard, and you don't give up, you can do anything. Congratulations, and I wish you a lifetime of luck."

The valedictorian for the year was a girl that was in Jasper's psychology class. She talked about how proud she was of them as a class, and how she was looking forward to seeing what everyone would become.

Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett won various awards. All three made the Dean's List as all of our GPAs were over 4.0. Jasper won an award in his psychology class and another in French.

After the awards, they began giving diplomas.

This was the part that took the longest. Despite there being only about ninety people in their class, we would have to wait for each one to be called individually.

"Jasper Pierce Hale," Mr. Greene announced loudly.

Jasper grinned at me as he crossed the stage, and I snapped several pictures. Between the pictures, I cheered loudly.

"Rosalie Lillian Hale," Mr. Greene continued.

The names carried on, and I could feel the excitement in the room as we grew closer and closer to the end.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Forks High School's class of 2005."

From the stage, a rainstorm of graduation caps rained down.

Jasper, Rosalie, and Emmett made their way to us as soon as they made it off the stage. When they made it to us, Jasper pulled me into a tight hug.

"Congratulations," I exclaimed.

"Thank you, Darlin'," Jasper smiled, kissing the top of my head.

He handed me the awards and his diploma which I began to flip through as he kept an arm tight around me.

"How're you feeling?"

"I'm okay."

"Just okay?"

Jasper shrugged.

"I'm excited to be graduated of course, and I'm excited for our trip, but it doesn't feel any different from the other times."

"Well I'm proud," I said, beaming up at him. "I'm proud of the two off you," I added, peering around Jasper to face Rosalie and Emmett.

Both smiled, and I returned Jasper's diploma and passed the awards to Edward.

"Hold these for a moment please. I want a picture of the graduates with Carlisle and Esme."

I didn't take many more pictures after that. I got a few with Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper. I had Edward take one of me with the three, and then Esme took a picture of the five of us, and one of the five of us and Bella.

"Come on," Jasper murmured, taking my hand. "Let's go home. Rosalie and Emmett have to finish packing."

I sighed, and the eight of us made our way to the doors.

Rosalie and Emmett stopped at the film store so I could drop off the film from today, and then they would take the camera with them to Africa. Once it was developed, it would be sent to me through the mail.

Upon making it to the house, Rosalie and Emmett immediately went up the stairs, Jasper and I followed behind to change out of our clothes, and to pack for the weekend. We wouldn't be back until Wednesday. We would come back to Forks, and then for our anniversary, we were going to go to Denali, and see Helen and Tobias. We were only going to be there for a few days, but it would still be nice to see them.

"Are we taking Rosalie's car to Denali?" Jasper asked me as I changed into a pair of white jeans and a dark grey flowy shirt.

I shook my head.

"Carlisle is letting us use the Mercedes. I thought about talking to Edward about using the Volvo, but I think he and Bella are going to be going out throughout the time that we're gone."

"Doesn't Bella have her truck?"

I nodded.

"Yes, but Edward doesn't like it."

Jasper chuckled, and hugged me to him from behind me.

"But for the weekend, we're going to have the showy car that's going to attract the crowds to wherever we are."

"I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"That's okay."

We headed back downstairs, were Bella and Edward were sitting and watching the TV.

"What time are you guys leaving?" Edward asked me.

"Emmett and Rosalie's flight is at 8:00 tonight, and it takes nearly hours to get to Seattle, so we'll probably leave here at 3:30."

It was a little after one now.

"Why did you guys decide to stay until Wednesday?" Bella asked.

I shrugged.

"I like Seattle. There's more to do than there is in Forks. We're going to the art museum tomorrow, and the planetarium on Monday."

"And it's going to be cloudy?" Bella asked.

I nodded.  
"It's supposed to rain in Seattle from tomorrow to Friday. I looked ahead before we made the plans."

Edward smiled, and refocused his attention on the news.

The weekend was a nice get away. The planetarium was fantastic. We learned about black holes.

In the time between Jasper and I returning to Seattle, to the day we would leave for Denali, we spent time with the family, and we spent time getting last minute things for our anniversary. I had to pick up, and wrap his present. It was simple, but Jasper had always liked simple, and he seemed to love everything I give him.

"Any hints?" Jasper murmured into my ear.

I shook my head.

"Nope."

He huffed, and kissed my shoulder.

"You'll find out soon enough," I said, closing the trunk to the Mercedes. We would be leaving in a few hours.

The drive up was peaceful. Jasper drove, and we made small talk.

Upon arriving to Denali, Helen and Tobias were waiting on us. The second we stepped out of the car, Helen pulled me into a tight hug.

"How are you?"

I smiled.

"I'm good. How are you guys?"

Helen grinned.

"We're doing great. We're glad you decided to come spend your anniversary with us."

"If it wasn't for the two of you, we probably wouldn't even be together," Jasper teased, as Helen hugged him and Tobias hugged me.

"You're probably right," Tobias laughed.

"I think even without Tobias and I, the two of you would have found your way to each other. But I don't know if it would of happened the exact same way."

I chuckled.  
"Back in my world, we did have time-turners. But if I'm not mistaking, most of them were destroyed in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries."

Helen and Tobias lead us up to the room that had been ours when we lived in Denali.

"We made sure we put a bed in," Tobias told us, as Jasper and I dropped our stuff beside the door. "We know that you are supposed to leave before the crash hits, but it's there just in case."

When Jasper and I came downstairs, we were greeted by Tanya, Carmen, Kate, and Eleazer.

"Where is Irina?" Jasper asked, looking around the room.

"She and Laurent went hunting," Eleazer said. "They'll be back within an hour or so."

Hearing Laurent's name sent a shiver down my spine. Despite him being useful to us in the end, I was slightly afraid of Laurent. I was afraid he could still be working with Victoria. I was afraid that he would give her the information she needed about my past.

I pulled Helen to the side.

"You didn't tell, did you?"

She shook her head.

 _We made everyone promise not to tell,_ she thought to me, making sure it was loud enough for me to hear, even without focusing on Legilimency. _I told everyone that it was your wish to keep your history private, and it was not their story to tell. Irina said she will not tell him anything about your past, but she'd like that you'd trust him._

I nodded.

"Thank you."

"Of course."

Like Eleazer had said, Irina and Laurent returned within the next hour. When I laid eyes on Laurent, I immediately began to shrink behind Jasper.

"It's okay," he murmured, wrapping his arm around my waist. "You're safe. He's not James."

Laurent looked at me with kind eyes.

"Ms. Alice," he greeted, extending his hand. "It's nice to see you again."

I shook his hand before immediately taking hold of Jasper's arm.

"Jasper," Laurent nodded, extending a hand to him as well.

"Hello, Laurent."

One thing I hadn't noticed before, was that Laurent's eyes began to vaguely resemble what Jasper's eyes had looked like when beginning his diet of animals.

Irina stepped forward, and hugged me.

"Alice, could I maybe speak to you for a moment?" Irina asked.

I nodded.

"Of course."

Jasper kissed my hand, before I followed Irina out of the doors she and Laurent had just come through. She led me a bit of ways from the house so that we were out of earshot.

"How are you?" she asked, smiling.

I watched her carefully.

"If I'm speaking honestly, I had forgotten that Laurent came here."

Irina smiled.

"I finally found my mate," she said, excitedly.

"I'm happy for you."

She watched me, and I could see that she was trying to chose her words carefully.

"I understand why you don't want Laurent to know about your past," she said, slowly.

"But you can't understand why I don't trust him."

She nodded.

I sighed, and thought about it for a moment.

"I don't trust him because I don't know him. But he knew James. For now, it's better to keep with the story everyone else knows. I don't remember my past. Thanks to James, I have uncovered that I was born in Biloxi, Mississippi, and I was placed in an asylum and was changed that same day."

She nodded.

"Of course. But please consider telling him."

I paused.

"What did you guys tell him about my energy bursts?"

"Nothing," Irina said. "We just said that you were more energetic than the average vampire. I didn't mention the crash, seeing as you were going to be gone by then."

I sighed in relief.

"Thank you, Irina. I know it's not easy to keep things from your mate."

She nodded.

"You're right. But I have to respect your wishes. As Helen and Tobias said, it's not my secret to tell."

The two days leading up to mine and Jasper's anniversary were nice. Helen, Tobias, Jasper, and I caught up, seeing as we hadn't talked much since James's death. We told them about Bella, and about our family.

"So he's happy?" Tobias asked.

I nodded.

"Yes, but he still believes that he's soulless."

I didn't like this. I had seen what it looked like to be soulless. Edward was far from that.

On our anniversary, Tanya led Jasper and I to the field Edward had come to when he was thinking of returning home.

"Thank you," I told her as she turned on her heel to leave.

"Happy anniversary," she said with a smile.

"Thank you."

Then she was gone. It was just Jasper and I. Isat in the snow, and patted the spot in front of me.

"Sit," I beamed.

Jasper smiled, and sat in front of me. Once he sat down, I pulled the gift out from behind me, and placed it in his lap.

"I'm not good with gifts," I said, shaking my head. "I never have been."

"That's not true," Jasper frowned. "You've gotten me some really nice stuff throughout the years."

"A lot of stuff I get you is homemade," I said, shaking my head.

"That's why I love it so much," he said against my shoulder. "It's not about the money, Al. It's the fact that you gave it to me."

Jasper opened it slowly, and I watched his face.

He moved the brown paper aside to reveal the collage of photos.

"Is this our wedding?" Jasper asked, with wide eyes.

I nodded.

It was a picture Rosalie had snapped during the ceremony. It was when we kissed. The smaller pictures were ones we had taken along our many travels, more from our wedding, Rosalie and Emmett's weddings, and so on.

"I sent in several pictures, and one of the pictures of the ceremony, and someone sorted through all the pictures to make the bigger picture."

Jasper grinned, and looked closely at the smaller pictures.

"Did they say anything about the repeat of graduation photos?"

I shook my head.

"I told them to leave some empty spaces, and I added those on myself. That's how I got the most recent graduation picture on there."

I tapped a picture towards the middle.

Jasper smiled.

"I love it."

He leaned forward, and kissed my cheek.

"I'm glad," I said.

He handed me a white box with a dark green ribbon wrapped around it.

I had a feeling I already knew what it was. Jasper had never made an entire decision, but I saw the locker come up in my visions a lot.

Sure enough, when I opened the box, the golden locket stared up at me.

"It's beautiful," I said, looking back up to Jasper. "I love it."

"You've seen it before, haven't you?"

I smiled sheepishly at him.

"I've been seeing it since Bella was almost attacked in Port Angeles."

Jasper sighed.

"Damn," he said, shaking his head. "I hoped it would be a surprise."

"I'm sorry," I said, moving to sit on his lap. "I still love it."

He smiled, and hugged me to him.

"Don't be sorry. I know you can't help it."

I pressed my forehead against his temple.

"If it helps," I murmured against his cheek, "I didn't focus on it."

He laughed and turned to where his eyes met mine.

"Happy anniversary, Darlin'," he said, with a smile.

"Happy anniversary, Jazz."

Jasper leaned put a hand against my face and kissed me.

"Fifty-five years," I breathed, as I moved my way down to where my head was in his lap.

Jasper smiled.

"Fifty-five years, and you still surprise me every single day."

"I think I'm predictable," I mumbled, shaking my head.

"That's because you don't see yourself clearly," he told me, his face had annoyance written clear across it.

I sighed.

"I don't want to argue. Not today."

"I'm not arguing, Alice. I'm just saying. Believe me, you are so far from predictable."

I closed my eyes, and Jasper sighed.

Some time passed. No more than half an hour. We didn't talk. We sat very, very still. My eyes remained closed, and Jasper's hand remained over my still heart.

When my eyes opened, Jasper's were closed.

I brought up a hand, and my fingers grazed across his cheek. Jasper remained unmoving.

I moved his hand from my chest, and kissed his wedding band.

His eyes were open now, and he was smiling down at me.

He pulled me back up again, so I was sitting upright. He buried his face into my neck, before kissing my shoulder.

"I love you," he mumbled into my shoulder. "More than you could know. Don't ever forget that."

I brought his hand up to my face, and placed it against my cheek.

"I love you. I would give up anything for you."

"Alice, resterai con me per sempre?"

My smile only widened.

"Certo, angelo mio."

* * *

 **Hey guys! So on a quick note, if the Italian isn't all correct, I am sorry.**

 **Jasper is supposed to be saying, Alice, will you stay with me forever. Alice is meant to be saying, of course my angel.**

 **Also, I know it took me a while to get this chapter up. I had some writer's block, and seeing as I no longer had the original book to model after, I couldn't have anything to look back on. I went to Pinterest, and started looking up writing tips.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	66. The Party

_"Good parties create a temporary youthfulness." ~Mason Cooley_

* * *

Chapter 66- The Party

Time continued to move forward. Jasper and I came home from Denali, and I started preparing for school again. I wasn't ready to leave Jasper. For a long time now, we had always been together, but now he would be at home, and I would be at school.

"It's going to be okay, Alice," Jasper murmured the evening before the first day. My energy had been at its lowest point, so I was going to sleep through the night. "I'm going to be right here waiting for you to come home."

I smiled at him, and he ran a hand through my hair.

"I understand why Edward watches Bella sleep now," he said quietly. "You've talked once or twice."

"What did I say?" I mumbled into his shoulder as I began to fall asleep.

"You've said you love me."

I smiled.

"You know that already."  
"I know," he said, smiling against my temple. "But it's always nice to hear you say it again.

Bella's birthday had come much quicker than I had anticipated. Bella had insisted that she didn't want a party, but seeing as none of us celebrate our birthdays, I wanted to have fun with this.

"Don't we kind of celebrate your birthday?" Jasper asked me. I was sitting down, planning the party. It was a week before Bella's birthday.

I didn't take my eyes off of the cake I was drawing.

"We celebrate our anniversary. We stopped celebrating my birthday when we got married."

"Does that upset you?"

I frowned at the page in front of me.

"No," I said, turning to look up at him. "Why would it upset me?"

He shrugged.

"I don't know."

I sighed and shook my head.

"I don't mind not celebrating my birthday, because I celebrate something so much more important to me. I celebrate the day that I married you."

He smiled and leaned forward to kiss me.

"Although I do feel bad that we kind of took over Edward's birthday."

"I don't think he minds," Jasper mumbled against my lips, before pulling me into another kiss.

When I pulled away from him I brushed a finger across his lips.

"I have to work on this cake."

He pulled the notebook to him.

"Can you even order a cake this late?" Jasper asked, looking at the cake.

"I'm going to make it myself," I said, frowning.

"You can bake?" Emmett asked, stepping in the room. I had told Emmett about Bella's party a few weeks ago when I had started planning it. They came home two days ago, and they hid out on the few days that Bella came over. Emmett wanted it to be a surprise.  
I nodded.

"I haven't done it in a long time of course, but I used to bake all the time when I was human."

"What did you make?"

"Cakes, cookies, stuff like that. I made chocolate frogs once, although I couldn't get the charm right."

"Chocolate frogs?" Emmett asked, frowning.

I nodded.

"I swore I told you about them once."

He shook his head.

"Well they're exactly how they sound," I said, closing the notebook. "They're chocolate in the shapes of frogs. They have Croakoa in them, and that makes them act like actual frogs but I could never get the right amount when I made them. However, most of the reason why people get chocolate frogs is for the cards."

"Cards," Emmett repeated.

I nodded again, and held up a finger before darting up the stairs to mine and Jasper's bedroom.

I pulled out a box from my nightstand. The box contained Chocolate Frog cards that I had collected when I was human. I had found them going through some of the bags I had during one of our many moves. I thought that I had left them behind. They weren't necessarily important. But maybe when I was packing, I had put them in by accident. Either that, or they had never made it out of my bag to begin with. Years after I left Britain, I continued to find things that I didn't know I had packed.

I returned downstairs, where Rosalie had joined the table. Emmett was quietly filling her in on the Chocolate Frogs.

I opened the box, and pulled the cards out before laying them out across the table.

Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper each grabbed a card.

"Who do you have?" I asked each of them.

"Dumbledore," Jasper said, flipping the card around.

"Newt Scamander," Emmett said. He was already looking at the back.

"Nicholas Flamel," said Rosalie. She too was reading the back of the card.

I was surprised the had each grabbed different ones. I had more of Dumbledore than I had of the others.

When Emmett turned the card around, his eyes slightly widened.

"He's gone."

"Of course he is," I said, opening the notebook again, and returning to work on the cake. "They can't hang around here all day. They've got other cards to go to, and you would be bored sitting in one place."

The three of them seemed amazed by the cards, and they flipped through them.

"I'll see about getting some updated ones," I murmured as I returned to my drawing. "I think I ready that Harry had gotten on a chocolate frog card. I'll order them after the party."

The party started to come together. As soon as I got home from school on Bella's birthday, I would do the cake, and any last minute thing. Most of the decorations would be done the night before thanks to Rosalie and Esme. They were going to lay out the tables, and candles.

Edward and I drove to school quietly. I was happy that this far he had kept his promise. I was included. Most mornings, he would drive with me to school, and drive home with Bella. I ate lunch with the two of them, and Bella's friends. I would talk to Angela Webber some, but mostly I sat quietly. I missed Jasper being there. I had become so accustomed to him being there, that in the first week it was hard to come here without him.

"Do we have to do the presents now?" Edward asked me. "I think she'll already be in a bad mood. I don't think she slept very well last night."

"Present," I corrected, looking at the silver square in my lap, "and I'm going to give her the choice. If she doesn't want to do it now, I'll just take it home and put it with the rest of the presents."

Edward gave me a small smile.

"Thank you, Alice."

I nodded, and looked out the window. The green trees that surrounded the town of Forks passed by in a blur. I watched it carefully. If I listened closely, I could hear animals moving in the woods.

"Are you okay?"

I nodded.

"I'm fine."

"Just checking."

He did this every so often. It made me happy to know that he still cared. It was beginning to feel like he was my brother again.

"Of course I care," Edward said, glancing over at me. "I'm your brother."

I smiled, and turned to the bag that sat at my feet.

"Thanks, Edward," I said, quietly.

I wasn't lying when I said that there was nothing wrong. There wasn't. I just didn't know how Bella would react to the party.

"Please, Alice," she had begged me only a matter of weeks ago. "I don't want a party."

"Yeah, yeah," I said, shaking my head. "I heard you."

But of course, I didn't listen to that. None of us celebrated our birthdays. So I thought it would be fun.

"It's going to be okay," Edward reassured. "I'm sure she'll come around.

When we arrived at the school, Bella wasn't there.

"She'll be here in three minutes," I told Edward quietly as we ducked out of the car.

I stood at Edward's side, waiting for Bella. Sure enough, a few moments later from down the street, I could hear the roar of her truck approaching. The excitement in me started to build, and as I didn't have Jasper there to keep me calm, I began to bounce up and down.

Bella slammed the door, and I made my way over to her.

"Happy Birthday, Bella!" I exclaimed, pulling her into a hug.

"Shhhh!" she hissed, looking around. I was sure she was trying to make sure nobody had heard me.

I sighed.

"Do you want to open your present now or later?"

"No presents," she mumbled.

"Okay… later, then. Did you like the scrapbook your mom sent you? And the camera from Charlie?"

I had seen the presents a few weeks ago when the two had decided on them.

"Yeah. They're great."

"I think it's a nice idea. You're only a senior once. Might as well document the experience."

"How many times have you been a senior?"

"That's different. Besides, you can ask Edward. I document everything."

We had reached Edward, who immediately took Bella's hand.

"So, as discussed, I am not allowed to wish you a happy birthday, is that correct?"

"Yes. That is correct."

I had noticed Bella tried to mimic Edward a lot, although she didn't seem to quite catch the way his words flowed.

"Just checking." He ran his hand through his hair. "You might have changed your mind. Most people seem to enjoy things like birthdays and gifts."

I laughed.

"Of course you'll enjoy it. Everyone is supposed to be nice to you today and give you your way, Bella. What's the worst that could happen?"

"Getting older," Bella answered.

"Eighteen isn't very old," I said, frowning. I had enjoyed being eighteen. It was one of the last good years of my human life. "Don't women usually wait till they're twenty-nine to get upset over birthdays?"

I had never made it to that point. After Voldemort's return, I stopped celebrating. The Weasleys gave me gifts, and occasionally Harry would too, but I just didn't see the need to make a big fuss.

"It's older than Edward," Bella mumbled mumbled.

Edward sighed.

"Technically," she said, keeping her tone light. "Just by one little year, though."

I paused for a moment, glanced at Edward and then at Bella.

"What time will you be at the house?" I continued, changing the subject.

"I didn't know I had plans to be there."

"Oh, be fair, Bella!" she complained. "You aren't going to ruin all our fun like that, are you?"

"I thought my birthday was about what I want."

"I'll get her from Charlie's right after school," Edward told me, ignoring Bella.

"I have to work!"

"You don't, actually," I told her smugly. "I already spoke to Mrs. Newton about it. She's trading your shifts. She said to tell you 'Happy Birthday.'"

"I—I still can't come over. I, well, I haven't watched Romeo and Juliet yet for English."

I snorted. "You have Romeo and Juliet memorized."

"But Mr. Berty said we needed to see it performed to fully appreciate it—that's how Shakespeare intended it to be presented."

Edward rolled his eyes.

"You've already seen the movie," I accused, watching her.

"But not the nineteen-sixties version. Mr. Berty said it was the best."

Finally, the smile fell from my face, and I glared at Bella instead. I was upset because I had put a lot of work into making this party fun. I had thought about immobilizing her and dragging her to the house, but I wasn't ready to explain my past with Bella yet.

"This can be easy, or this can be hard, Bella, but one way or the other—"

Edward interrupted my threat. "Alice, relax. If Bella wants to watch a movie, then she can. It's her birthday."

"So there," Bella added.

"I'll bring her over around seven," he continued. "That will give you more time to set up."

I laughed and hugged Edward. "Sounds good. See you tonight, Bella! It'll be fun, you'll see!"

I grinned again, and pecked Bella on the cheek, before heading to my first class. I didn't give Bella the chance to say anything else.

"Edward please," I could hear Bella begging behind me before I was too far to hear them.

I was still smiling as I walked into class.

The day seemed to move quickly. I didn't bring up the party, nor did I mention her birthday. This seemed to improve her mood some. Although I was sure she was still upset that I was throwing the party that she didn't want in the first place.

In the middle of lunch, Edward slipped me the keys to the Volvo.

"I'll make sure she's there, Alice, I promise."

"It's going to be fun," I told him.

He nodded.

"I'm sure it will be."

He gave me a smile.

At the end of the day, I hurried from my last class to the car. It would take at most two hours to get the cake ready. Esme and Jasper had went to the store after we left this morning to get everything I would need.

"Did you get everything?" I asked, as soon as I hit the door.

Jasper chuckled.

"Yes, I just laid everything out for you."

He stood up, and took my bag.

"I'll come help you in a minute," he murmured before running my bag to our room.

I smiled and headed to the kitchen.

Getting the mix for the cake wasn't that difficult. Everything was the same way I remembered it, except Esme had bought me a mixer, and I had never used one before. However, Jasper and I occasionally watched baking shows, so I knew how to work it.

"How's it going?" Jasper asked, stepping into the kitchen from behind me.

"Edward is bringing her at seven."

"How did she react?"

I sighed, and paused.

"She didn't want to come," I murmured, focusing on the cake batter.

"Oh, Alice, I'm sorry." Jasper hugged me from behind. "But I'm sure the party is going to be fun."

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked, turning to look at him.

Jasper smiled and nodded.

"I am going to be just fine, Alice. It's going to be fun."

I nodded.

"Of course it is."

Jasper helped decorate while the cake was baking.

"The roses are upstairs," Jasper told me as I pulled out crystal decorating bowls.

The two of us went upstairs and began putting roses into the bowls. I used my wand to have them float down the stairs, and sit in between the pink candles Rosalie and Esme had laid out with me.

The cake was easy to decorate. It was a two layered chocolate almond cake with a buttercream icing that I had made pink.

"It looks good, Alice," Emmett said as I carried it into the living room.

"Thank you," I said, grinning as I sat it on the table. "I haven't made a cake in a very long time."

I looked at the clock. It was almost seven. The cake had taken longer than I had hoped.

I moved quickly around the room, lighting the candles, and stacking the presents that sat with the cake and plates next to the piano.

"It's time!" I cried as I heard the car pull up. "It's time, it's time!"

"Calm down, Alice," Jasper laughed, wrapping an arm around me.

Edward was laughing when they stepped through the door, and, "Happy Birthday, Bella!" rang through the room.

Carlisle and Esme, who were closest to the door approached Bella.

"Sorry about this, Bella," he whispered. "We couldn't rein Alice in."

"As if that were even possible," Esme teased.

I huffed, and shook my head.

"You haven't changed at all," Emmett said with mock disappointment. "I expected a perceptible difference, but here you are, red-faced just like always."

"Thanks a lot, Emmett," Bella said, blushing.

"I have to step out for a moment," Emmett said, pausing to wink at me. "Don't do anything funny while I'm gone."

"I'll try."

I let go of Jasper, and skipped over to Bella and Edward, grinning. Jasper remained leaning against the post at the bottom of the stairs. He didn't have a problem against Bella. I think he kept his distance to ensure her safety. Which I couldn't blame him. He knew it would upset me if Bella was hurt. Although, I couldn't be too angry with him. I knew he would never intentionally hurt Bella. In the last half a year that Bella had been around, he's done exceptionally well. He's done well since we've come to Forks as a whole.

"It's time to open presents," I told her.

I put a hand under her elbow and pulled her to the table.

"Alice, I know I told you I didn't want anything—"

"But I didn't listen," I interrupted, smugly, turning to flash a grin at Jasper. "Open it.

I took the camera from her, and handed her a box.

It was the gift from Emmett, Rosalie, and Jasper. Emmett had decided to install it before she could return it.

Bella tore off the paper, and looked at the box. When she couldn't figure out what it was based on what was written on the box, she opened it to reveal that it was empty.

"Um… thanks."

Rosalie smiled, and Jasper laughed.

"It's a stereo for your truck," he explained to her as I took the box from her hand and the paper from the floor before throwing it away. "Emmett's installing it right now so that you can't return it."

"Thanks Jasper and Rosalie," she said. "Thanks, Emmett!"  
Emmett's booming laugh came from outside, and Bella laughed too.

"Open mine and Edward's next," I said excitedly. As my excitement built, my voice became a high trill.

I gestured to the small square box in my hand.

She turned and glared at Edward.

"You promised."

Before he could answer, Emmett bounded through the door.

"Just in time!" he crowed. He stood behind Jasper, who had come slightly closer than he had been. I grinned at him.

"I didn't spend a dime," Edward assured her. It was true.

"Give it to me," Bella sighed.

I beamed at her before setting the gift into her hand.

She went to open the package, and I could smell the blood as the paper cut into her finger when she jerked it under the tape.

"No," I whispered. My voice was far to low for Bella to hear.

"Shoot," Bella muttered, pulling her finger out to see how much damage it had caused. I froze.

A drop of blood came from the small cut, and dropped onto the floor.  
Suddenly, all the fun was gone.

"No!" Edward roared. He threw himself at Bella, flinging her back across the table. It broke, along with the crystal bowls and the plates. The presents scattered around the room, and the cake fell to the floor.

Jasper slammed into Edward, and the sound of two boulders crashing together rang throughout the room. Jasper snarled loudly, as Jasper tried shoving past Edward, his teeth snapping.

Emmett grabbed Jasper from behind, locking him into a tight hold, but Jasper's eyes were focused on Bella.

"Jasper," I called stepping in front of him, placing my hands on his face. "Jazz, look at me."

Jasper still growled, and I shushed him.

"Jazz, shhh, it's okay. Look at me, Jazz. It's just a little blood."

But as I said these words, the smell strengthened. Jasper's eyes who had just started to focus on me snapped to something behind me. I turned to see what it was.

Blood was gushing out of Bella's arm. Glass had went into her arm, and it was now almost completely covered in blood.

I could feel a burning in my throat. It reminded me of my time as a newborn vampire.

Carlisle seemed to be the only one that remained calm. I turned back to Jasper, and tried to get him calm.

"Emmett, Rose, get Jasper outside."

Unsmiling for once, Emmett nodded.

"Come on, Jasper."

Jasper's eyes landed on me, as my hands slipped from his face. He twisted to face Emmett, his teeth snapping, and his eyes were black and empty.

I was frozen in place, unsure whether to go with Jasper, or stay and help Carlisle.

Rosalie stepped in front of Jasper, keeping her face away from his teeth as he continued to writhe in Emmett's hold. I felt my still heart shatter into a million small pieces as I watched Emmett and Rosalie wrestle Jasper through the glass door Esme was holding open.

"I'm so sorry, Bella," Esme cried as she followed the others into the yard.

"Let me by, Edward," Carlisle murmured.

I blinked, and turned back to Bella.

I darted from the room to go grab a towel.

"Here, Carlisle," I said, offering the towel to him. He shook his head.

"Too much glass in the wound."

He reached over and ripped a long, thin scrap from the bottom of the white tablecloth. He twisted it around Bella's arm above the elbow.

"Bella," Carlisle said softly. "Do you want me to drive you to the hospital, or would you like me to take care of it here?"

"Here, please," she whispered.

"I'll get your bag," I said, turning on my heel and darting up the stairs.

I made it to the table before they had gotten Bella there. I sat Carlisle's bag on the table, and stepped away.

"Just go, Edward," Bella sighed.

"I can handle it," he insisted.

"You don't need to be a hero," she said, frowning. "Carlisle can fix me up without your help. Get some fresh air."

She winced as Carlisle set to work on her arm.

"I'll stay," he said.

"Why are you so masochistic?"

Carlisle stepped in. "Edward, you may as well go find Jasper before he gets too far. I'm sure he's upset with himself, and I doubt he'll listen to anyone but you right now."

"Yes," Bella eagerly agreed. "Go find Jasper."

"You might as well do something useful," I added.

I wanted to go find Jasper, but I didn't think he would listen to me. So I would stay and help Carlisle for as long as I could.

I watched for a little bit. Carlisle seemed to have it under control. I couldn't stay in there anymore though. The smell had gotten to overwhelming, and I slipped out of the door, smiling apologetically at Bella, grabbing my bag from the door.

I followed everyone's scent. I knew that it would lead me directly to Jasper.

Sure enough, I found them standing at the bank of the river. Everyone looked up when I came to a stop in front of them. Everyone except for Jasper.

Jasper sat with his hands covering his face, rocking back and forth.

I sat next to him and pulled him into my arms.

"Shhh," I soothed, rocking with him. "It's okay, Jazz. You're okay."

He pulled me to him, holding me as tightly as he could.

"Alice, I'm sorry."

"I know, sweetheart. I know. Nobody's mad."

I wasn't mad at Jasper. I was mad at myself. I had insisted on the party. If it wasn't for me insisting on the party and the gifts that Bella was clear that she didn't want.

I looked in my bag, pulling out a styrofoam cup and a bag of blood that I had kept just in case.

As soon as I finished putting the blood in the cup, I handed it to Jasper.

"Drink this, sweetheart," I murmured, before standing up again.

He grabbed my hand.

"Alice, please don't leave."

"I'm not leaving, sweetheart."

 _Edward couldn't get him calmed down,_ Esme thought to me. _He kept asking for you, and Emmett was about to come get you._

I nodded.  
"Thank you," I mouthed.

Edward caught my eye.

 _I'm going back. Tell Jasper I'm not mad._

I nodded at him, and he turned back to the house.

Esme turned to me.

"I better go and get the blood off the floor. Will you guys be okay?"

I nodded.

"We've got it. He's calm now, aren't you Jasper?"

He nodded, but he didn't meet my eyes.

"Jasper, sweetheart, look at me."

I put a finger under his chin and made him look at me.

"Nobody is mad at you. It's just an upsetting situation."

"I could have hurt Bella," he whispered. "You should be angry with me."

I sighed and shook my head.

"No, Jasper. This was an accident. Besides, you are far more important to me."

I smiled at him, and kissed his cheek.

Edward returned a few moments later.

"Alice, can you come help me for a moment? Bella needs something to wear."

Jasper grabbed my hand, watching Edward carefully.

"I'll be right back, Jazz. I promise. Stay here with Rosalie and Emmett."

Jasper let go of my hand, and I followed Edward back to the house.

"C'mon," I said to Bella, hurrying to her side. "I'll get you something less macabre to wear."

I gave her a small smile, and she followed me up the stairs.

I found a shirt of Esme's that looked very very similar to the shirt Bella had came here in. I had hoped that Charlie wouldn't notice.

"Alice," she whispered as I headed back to the door. I was ready to get back to Jasper.

"Yes?" I kept my voice low, too, and looked at her curiously, my head cocked to the side.

"How bad is it?"

I tensed.

"I don't quite know yet."

"How's Jasper?"

I sighed. "He's very unhappy with himself. It's all so much more of challenge for him, and he hates feeling weak."

"It's not his fault. You'll tell him that I'm not mad at him, not at all, won't you?"

I smiled at her, and headed out of the door.

"Of course."

Bella followed me, and Edward was waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

The presents were still scattered on the floor, and her camera is where I had been.

"Take your things!" I cried, as I scooped up the packages and her camera. I pressed them into her good arm. "You can thank me later, when you've opened them."

I turned and headed for the back door, returning to where I had left Jasper.

"You came back," he said, looking up at me.

"Of course I did."

Rosalie and Emmett turned back to the house, and I sat back down in front of Jasper.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him quietly.

"Do you have any more?" he asked, shaking the cup to show me that it was empty.

I nodded, and pulled another pack from the bag.

"Thank you, Alice."

I nodded.

"Of course, Jazz."

He paused for a moment.

"Why aren't you angry with me? I put her in danger."

"I told you why I'm not angry with you," I said, handing him back the cup.

"You should be angry with me," he cried.

I sighed.  
"What do you want me to say, Jasper?"

"I don't know," he whispered.

I moved next to him, and hugged him to me.

"Bella told me to tell you that it's not your fault. She isn't mad at you. If she isn't mad at you, I'm sure as hell not going to be mad."

I looked down at him, and he was watching me.

"Can you give me a smile?" I asked him, grinning at him.

A small smile crept on his face, and I kissed his forehead.

"Thank you."

Jasper and I laid out in the field for a little while. We came back about an hour after Bella left. He clung tightly onto my hand.

When we stepped in the house, Jasper looked at Carlisle sheepishly.

"I'm sorry," he said, quietly.

"It's okay, Jasper," Carlisle said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We know you didn't mean it."

Jasper looked to me.

"I told you. Nobody is mad," I said smiling as I squeezed his hand.

In the next few moments, Jasper's mood shifted. Relief filled the room, and the anger and sadness began to fade.

I began to think Jasper was going to be okay.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know I got this chapter up a lot quicker than I had anticipated. I didn't have any writers block, and I knew exactly how I wanted this to turn out. Now the next two chapters are going to go up together, so it may be a bit longer between this upload and the next.**

 **I don't want you to think I gave Jasper an easy way out. He is still going to have a bit of a struggle, but it doesn't always appear. I want you to keep in mind, his biggest fear is disappointing Alice, so he will put on a brave face, but that isn't always the case.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)**


	67. Leaving Again

_"Leaving my hometown and my family was very hard." ~Camille Moute_

* * *

Chapter 67- Leaving Again

Not long after we came home, Jasper began to retreat to the bedroom. He didn't say anything. He just got up and walked up to the bedroom. I watched him leave, and turned to Carlisle.

"Is he going to be okay?"

Carlisle nodded.

"Think about any other time he's slipped. It took some time, but he went back to normal."

"Do you want to be alone?" I asked him leaning in the doorway. He turned to look at me, and shook his head before holding his arms out to me.

"Lay with me."

I crawled on the bed, curling up next to him.

"How are you feeling?" I asked as he pulled me closer to him.

"I'm better."

He caught my eye.

"Are you sure nobody is mad at me?"

I nodded.

"Of course. It's not your fault."

"And Bella, she's okay?"

I nodded.

"Carlisle fixed her up. She's is perfectly fine. She just wants to make sure you're okay."

"I will be," he promised.

His eyes were a dark gold. Emmett and Rosalie had went to get more blood for him. He didn't want to hunt, but Carlisle and I thought he could benefit from the blood.

I watched him, and he closed his eyes.

It would seem that in the last few hours since the accident, they didn't speak to Jasper or me unless we said something to them. I heard Rosalie and Emmett come in, so I headed downstairs. Whatever conversation they had been having, seemed to stop.

I grabbed the bag that Rosalie had sat at my computer.

"Thank you," I murmured, before heading back to the bedroom.

It was strange. Every slip Jasper had never resulted in this. They always helped us work through it. This time, I was doing it on my own.

I made the cup of blood for Jasper at my desk, adding in a Calming Draught to help ease his nerves.

"Here you go sweetheart," I said, handing him the cup.

"Thanks," he said, sitting up.

"Of course."

I kissed his cheek and leaned on his shoulder.

As Jasper drank the cup of blood, I began to think about the way they had acted when I stepped downstairs. I couldn't figure out why this was different than any other slip that Jasper has had. But then it hit me. Of course it was different, while nobody was seriously hurt, it was still Bella. It was my fault because I had insisted on the party.

If Bella had been seriously hurt, or even worse killed, it would have been my fault. Edward would have spiraled. He probably would have done something drastic like going to the Volturi, and they would have lost their son and their brother.

Maybe I was overthinking it. But the idea hurt. Did they really blame me for all of this? I couldn't have possibly known that this was going to happen. It was not a decision made that Bella would cut her finger and Jasper would attack. It was all an accident. One that happened too quickly for me to see at the end. Jasper had made a snap decision. So maybe I shouldn't of had the party. I should have listened to Bella and ignored her birthday like she wanted.

"Al?" Jasper asked quietly. "Are you okay?"

I quickly recomposed myself and smiled at Jasper.

"I'm fine."

He offered the cup to me, and I took a small drink.

Edward came back around midnight that night. He stepped upstairs, and paused outside of mine and Jasper's room.

"Can you two come downstairs? I want to talk to everyone."

Jasper and I made our way downstairs, following closely behind Edward. Rosalie, Emmett, Carlisle, and Esme, were waiting. Jasper sat in a chair, and I sat at his feet, leaning my head on his knees.

"So what's up?" Emmett asked Edward.  
I got flashes of the conversation, but I couldn't make sense of the words.

Edward turned to Jasper and I.

"I want to start out by saying that I blame neither one of you for what happened. I know you didn't intend for this to happen, and I know that you were following instincts."

Jasper looked down at his hands.

"How is she?"

"She's sleeping, and her arm hurts some, but she isn't angry, and she isn't severely hurt."

"Good," he murmured.

I patted his leg, and he relaxed in the seat.

"Alice, I know you find it hard to believe, but this really is not your fault. You had no way of knowing this was going to happen."

I nodded, and he continued.

"However, the events of tonight, has led me to this decision. I want us to leave Forks."

I looked up at Jasper, and turned back to Edward.

"I know that you all like it here, and I'm sorry," he continued, watching the ground. "But I think Bella will be safer if we're not in Forks."

"I support your decision," Carlisle said. "But what do we tell the public?"

"We can say that Alice's condition got worse, and a place that could treat her gave you a job offer."

Carlisle nodded and turned to me.

"It could make sense."

I nodded.

"But what about Bella?" I asked quietly.

"I want her to have a chance at a normal life."

He paused for a moment the crouched down at front of me.

"Alice, do you think your life would have been better if you weren't in this world? If you were away from witches and wizards and vampires and werewolves?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"I think in the end, I would have still ended up here, having this conversation. But no. Despite everything that went wrong in it, I had a good life."

He sighed.

"I know she's your friend, so have to think about her. If you love her, then please, Alice. Help me keep her safe."

"Where are we going to go?" Esme asked.

"We were planning to go to Ithaca next," Carlisle said. "We'll just go there now. We already have the house set up."

"When do we leave?" Rosalie asked.

"Can we leave today?"  
Everyone nodded.

"Can I say goodbye?" I asked.

Edward paused.

"I don't think that's a very good idea, Alice. I want her to have a clean break."

I nodded.

"Of course."

"Thank you guys for understanding. I'm not coming right away. I'm going to try and make it a clean easy break."

Edward headed back out the door, back to Bella's house no doubt.  
I stood and turned to Jasper.

"Come take a walk with me?" I asked, holding out a hand.

He nodded and raised to his feet before following me out the back door.

We walked a good distance, and I came to a stop when we were out of hearing distance.

"What's wrong, Alice?"

I looked at the ground.

"Earlier, when Rosalie and Emmett came back, they were talking to Carlisle and Esme about something. The second I stepped in the room the conversation stopped. Everything seemed a little bit off. So I started thinking."

Jasper watched me.

"What is it, Alice?"

"If things turned out differently tonight, they would have never forgave me. I planned the party. If Bella died tonight, it would have been my fault. Edward would have left, and Carlisle and Esme would have lost their son. Rosalie and Emmett would have lost their brother."

Jasper put his hands on my shoulders.

"Alice, Darlin', what is your point?"

I took a deep breath, and looked at him.

"When I saw them stop whatever it was they were talking about, I began to question mine and your place in this family. I thought about what James said. 'Maybe, just maybe, they only keep you around for those visions of yours.' So I started thinking," I paused and caught his eye. "What if we go away for a little while? Just the two of us. It won't be forever, but I think some distance would be good for all of us."

"Where would we go?" Jasper asked.

I didn't have to think about this answer.

"What about Britain?" I asked. "I have a house there. We can find my family."

Jasper thought about it for a moment.

"Is this what you want?"

"Yes."

"And you trust me around your family?"

"Yes. You know I trust you with my life."

He gave me a small smile.

"So let's go."

"Really?"

I hadn't expected him to say yes.

Jasper nodded.

"I think you're right. It gives everybody time to think. What better time than now to go find your family? I've wanted to meet them for a long time now."

I pulled him into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Jasper! Thank you!"

He smiled and kissed me.

"Of course."

He paused and turned to the great white house behind us.

"What are we going to tell them?"

I sighed. I hadn't fully thought about what I would tell them. I just wanted to get Jasper on board with the idea.

"When we get back inside, start packing up the room," I told him as we started walking back to the house. "I'll talk to Carlisle and Esme, then to Rosalie and Emmett. Then I'll come help you."

"And Edward?"

"I want to say goodbye. He deserves to hear it from us."

Jasper nodded.

"It's a good idea."

"We'll pack some clothes in the suitcases. Everything else, put in the bag with the Extension charm. The one with the platform."

"Of course," Jasper said, kissing my temple.

When we made it inside, Jasper immediately went to the bedroom. Carlisle and Esme looked at me.

"Is Jasper okay?" Carlisle asked me.

I nodded.

"Could I actually talk to you?" I asked. "You and Esme?"

"Of course, dear," Esme said, raising to her feet.

"Let's go to my study."

I followed Carlisle up the stairs to his study. I could hear Jasper moving around in the bedroom.

As we stepped inside the study, I casted a sound charm on the room.

"Is everything okay?" Carlisle asked, as I turned back to face them.

"Yes and no."

"Why no?" Esme asked, the worry showing in her face.

"Sit down," I told them.  
They did. Both of them watched me, and I think Carlisle figured it out before I spoke.

"Jasper and I are going away for a while," I said, looking between the two.

"You're leaving us?"

I nodded.  
"It's not going to be forever," I said. "But we figured we could use some space from each other."

"Why?"

I sighed.

"Because of what happened. I think that if things had turned out differently tonight, we would have lost Edward and Bella all in the same night. I chose to have the party, and it would have been my fault that you lost your son. You would have never forgiven me."

Esme and Carlisle didn't answer straight away.

"Alice, you and Jasper are our children too. We don't want to lose you either," Carlisle said.

For the first time, in many years, I saw sadness in Carlisle's face.

"We're going to come back someday," I promised. "I just don't know when."

"When are you leaving?"

"Today."

"Where are you going to go?" Esme whispered.

"That's why this is a good thing," I said, smiling. "I'm going to Britain. I'm going to go find my family."

A smile spread across Esme's sad face.

"That's great, Alice."

She stood up and pulled me into a hug.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too," I said.

Carlisle hugged me as soon as Esme let go.

"Come home whenever you're ready. You always have a home with us. But if you can't come home for a while, we understand."

"Thank you for understanding."

Esme's eyes filled with tears. I knew that she too could hear the sounds of Jasper moving around our bedroom.

"Jasper's packing isn't he?"

I nodded.

"We're going to stay long enough to say goodbye to Edward. Then we'll go. After I talk to Emmett and Rosalie, I'm going to get our tickets."

Carlisle and Esme nodded.

"Can we drop you off at the airport?" Esme asked.

I smiled and nodded.

"Of course."

Carlisle made his way to the door, and I pulled Esme into another hug.

"Don't cry, please. We're going to come back. It's only temporary. We're going to be okay."

"No matter where you go," Esme said, placing her hands on either side of my face, " and no matter how long you're gone, you two will always be my children."

I took the sound charm off of Carlisle's door and we started to make our way downstairs.

"Is everything okay?" Rosalie asked, when she saw Esme's teary eyes.

"Sit," I told her. "I have to talk to you and Emmett, and I want the two of you to hear me out before you get upset."

"Alice, you're scaring me," Emmett said. He wasn't smiling.

I sat down on the coffee table in front of them.

"I don't want you to be angry, because this is not permanent. It's something Jasper and I need to do, and I think it can be beneficial to us all."

"Alice, what's going on?" Rosalie asked.

"Jasper and I are going away for a little while."

Emmett was not smiling. Neither was Rosalie.

"You're what?" Emmett asked, frowning. I could see in his face, he didn't believe the words I was telling him.

"Jasper and I are leaving for a while," I repeated.

"Where are you going?" Rosalie asked.

"Britain."

This caused Emmett to give a small smile.

"You're going to find your family."

I nodded.

"Yes."

"When will you come back?"

I shook my head.

"I don't know yet."

"But you will come back?"

I nodded.

"Of course we'll come back. You're my family too."

Emmett and Rosalie looked at each other.

"We're going to miss you guys," Emmett said, pulling me into a tight hug. "We understand why you have to do it though. You've been waiting for this for a long time."

"Thank you," I said, as they hugged me.

"Where is Jasper?" Rosalie asked, looking around the room.

"He's packing."

"When are you leaving?"

"After we say goodbye to Edward."

"So soon," Rosalie whispered.

"You can come up with me," I said, smiling. "I'm sure he wants to talk to you."

So the four of them followed me upstairs, where Jasper was folding some of his clothes to put in to the suitcase.

Esme quickly pulled him into a hug.

"We're going to miss you," she said.

"Alice and I are going to keep in touch," he said. "Just as soon as we get settled, we'll call you."

"You better," Esme mumbled. "I'll find out how to track you guys down."

I grinned, and began to help Jasper with the packing.

They stayed with us while we packed. We moved what clothes we couldn't get into the suitcase under the platform of the bag, along with any sign of me belonging to the wizarding world, including my wand.

It didn't take long to get packed, especially with the help of Carlisle, Emmett, Esme, and Rosalie. As soon as we finished, the four of them talked to Jasper while I bought our plane tickets over the phone.

When the sun started coming up, we moved downstairs. Carlisle and Esme were very clear about wanting to drop the two of us off at the airport, and Rosalie and Emmett would start packing the house.

"He'll be home soon," I said. "Half an hour tops."

Esme looked between the two of us.

"How do you think he's going to react?"

"I think he'll react the same way you guys did. He'll miss us, but understand why we have to do this."

When Edward stepped in the door, he looked at the bag around my waist, and the two suitcases.

"Are you guys already finished packing?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"Only Jasper and I are. Our plane leave soon."

"Your plane? I thought y'all were going to drive to Ithaca."

"Edward, sit down for a moment," I said, taking his hand, and pulling him to the couch.

He sat down next to Esme, and watched me and Jasper carefully.

"What's going on?"

"Jasper and I are not going to New York with everyone else. We're actually going to go off on our own for a little while."

Edward looked at us in surprise.

"You're leaving?"

Jasper and I both nodded.

"But not permanently?" he asked, glancing at Esme.

"No, not permanently. We don't know when we'll come back, but we will come back."

"Will you keep in touch?"

I nodded.

"As soon as we settle in."

He paused for a moment, and I knew he was scanning the minds of everyone around the room.

"You're going to Britain?"

Jasper nodded.

"We're going to find Alice's family."

Edward grinned at me.

"Alice, that's great. I'm going to miss you, of course, but I'm happy for you."

I smiled, and he hugged me.

"Good luck," he said.

"Thank you."

"Can you do me a favor?" Edward asked, as he pulled away.

"Sure."

"I know once I leave, Bella is going to try and contact you. Can you disable your email address?"

I nodded.

"Of course."

I loved Bella. She was a very close friend. But if Edward thought that this is what was best for her, I would do what he asked.

Edward looked between Jasper and I again, and he hugged us both.

"If you need anything, you call me," I mumbled against his shoulder.

"I will."

I knew leaving Bella was the hardest thing Edward would ever do, and I could never imagine having to leave Jasper. But I also knew that Edward was strong, and he was going to make it through this. Maybe one day we'd come back here. For now, we would go two seperate paths. Three if you counted Bella's. There was another course. One that somebody hadn't made a complete decision on. All I knew about this course, is that there was a fiery red color that kept popping up.

"Alice? Jasper?" Carlisle said quietly, "it's time to go."

I turned and looked at Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie.

"We'll talk to all of you soon," I promised.

After Jasper and I received a hug from them, we turned to the door.

On the way to the airport, I called Helen and Tobias.

"Hello?" Tobias answered. "Alice?"

"Where's Helen?" I asked.

"Hold on a moment," Tobias said.

A few seconds passed, and through the phone I could hear a whooshing sound.  
"Hey Alice," Helen said. "Is Jasper there?"

"Hi Helen," Jasper said.

"Is everything okay?" Tobias asked. "We weren't supposed to hear from you until Sunday."

I looked at Jasper, who gave me an encouraging smile.

"Helen, Tobias, there is something I have to tell you."

"Are you and Jasper okay?" Helen asked, worry clear in her voice.

"Jasper and I are fine. But we thought that we'd let you know that the Cullens are leaving Forks, and Jasper and I are leaving the Cullens for a little while."  
"Why?" Helen and Tobias asked in unison.

"Yesterday Alice threw a party for Edward's girlfriend, Bella, and she cut her finger and I tried attacking her," Jasper said, quietly. "Edward decided that it was time to leave Forks, seeing as he wants Bella to have a chance at a normal life. So Alice and I thought that it was the perfect time to go see Alice's family."

They were quiet for a moment.

"Jasper, are you okay?" Helen asked when she spoke again.

Jasper smiled.

"I'm fine. Alice helped me."

He squeezed my hand, and I beamed up at him.

"So you're going home?" Tobias asked me.

I nodded.

"I'm going home."

It finally hit me what I was doing. I would see Harry and George again. I'd see where they went in life. But what would they do when it was time for me to leave again? Surely now I could come back for visits. James was dead. They were safe now.

"Alice?" Jasper asked.

I blinked, trying to refocus myself.

"Sorry," I said shaking my head. "It just kind of hit me what we are doing."  
"Don't tell me you've changed your mind," Tobias said from the phone.

I shook my head.

"No, no. I haven't. It's just strange. I haven't seen them for a very long time."

Jasper wrapped his arm around my waist.

"It's going to be okay, Darlin'."

When we got to the airport, Carlisle and Esme walked with us all the way to the gate. I got through security fine. They didn't suspect anything about the platform in my bag. They just thought it was the bottom, and they accepted it as my carry on.

"You have the address for the new house?" Esme asked me.

I nodded.

"And you have your sleeping potions?"

"Yes. I have everything."

She pulled Jasper and I into a tight hug.

"Come home whenever you're ready, and call us when you settle in."

"We will."

Carlisle hugged us, and when he pulled back he studied us.  
"I never thought about what we'd do the day you decided to go back to your family," he said, shaking his head. "But we are all so happy for you."

I smiled.

On the overhead, there was a call for boarding and I turned to Jasper.

"Ready to go?"

He nodded.

Jasper and I waved to Carlisle and Esme before heading to board the plane. Jasper sat by the window, and I sat directly next to him.

"Oh, Jasper, I can't wait for you to see Britain! I'm going to show you Diagon Alley, and where I lived. Maybe I can get Minerva to let me give you the tour of Hogwarts! I don't know if I can show you the common rooms because they have passwords but I maybe able to get her to tell them to me. Oh, I wonder if Kingsley is still the Minister—"

"Alice, Alice, slow down sweetheart," Jasper laughed.

"I'm sorry," I said, taking his hand. "It's just that I haven't been home for a long time."  
"I know, Darlin'. But we're going there now."

I leaned on his shoulder and smiled.

As the plane began to start, I grew more excited. The good thing about this, was that my excitement impacted Jasper more than any emotion on this plane. So despite all that happened yesterday, he was happy.

"Where are you kids headed?" an older woman asked. She sat on the outside of the row across from us. She was holding hands with a man, who I assumed to be her husband.

"Home," I answered, with a large grin.

* * *

 **Here we are! I always wanted Alice to go to Britain one day. Now I know I word this differently in the story, so I want to clarify. Alice thinks of the Cullens, and her family in Britain as one family. All of them are her family. So she sees it as she has one family, but two homes. There is her home with the Cullens, and then there is her home where she grew up.**

 **So when Alice says "my family," it doesn't mean she thinks of one higher than the other, it's just because she doesn't know if Carlisle, Esme, and the others sees the ones in Britain as their family. She does however want Jasper to see them as his family.**

 **One final thing, this chapter is going up with two others. I know I said it was only supposed to be this chapter and the next, but I looked back at my plans, and the chapter I thought was the next chapter, was actually a chapter later. So the next chapter, according to my plans, is the plane ride.**  
 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review.**


	68. Back to Britain

_"It's a funny thing coming home. Nothing changes. Everything looks the same, feels the same, and even smells the same. You realize what's changed is you." ~Eric Roth_

* * *

Chapter 68-Back to Britain

On the plane, the flashes of the fiery red, changed to Bella's face. This caused me to conclude that whatever was showing me the red, was a decision of Edwards.

" _Where's Alice?" Bella asked Edward._

 _"She's with Jasper," Edward responded. His voice was sad._

 _"Is he okay?"_

 _"He's gone away for a while."_

 _"What? Where?"_

 _"Nowhere in particular."_

 _"And Alice, too."_

 _Edward nodded._

 _"Yes. She'll be gone for a while. She was trying to convince him to go to Denali."_

I blinked, refocusing my attention to the book I had been reading.

"What's wrong?" Jasper asked me, in a low voice. "What did you see?"

"Edward is telling Bella you and I have gone away to Denali."

It made me sad knowing that Bella would never learn the truth behind my world. She would never get to see the magic that everyone else saw.

"He's keeping your secret."

I sighed.

"I know that. I just feel bad about leaving on a lie."

Jasper kissed my hand, and began rubbing circles into it.

I shook my head, and leaned on Jasper's shoulder.

"How are you feeling?" I asked him.

"I'm fine," he said.

I watched him carefully. Since I proposed the idea of going to Britain, he seemed better, but I knew Jasper. He wasn't fully okay.

"Jazz?"

He turned and looked at me.

"Please talk to me."

He gave a weak smile.

"Al, I don't want to ruin your mood."

"Jazz, we have an overnight layover, and we're only an hour into this flight. Besides, how can I be happy if I know my husband isn't?"

He pressed his forehead against mine.

"I just don't want to be weak."

"You're not weak," I told him. "You spent more time on human blood. It is going to take time."

He nodded.  
"I know."

I sighed.

"Maybe we should have waited a little while before getting onto a plane with so many people."

Jasper shook his head.  
"I'm fine. I have you here with me."

I smiled.

Despite Jasper saying everything was fine, I still felt like there was something he wasn't telling me. I felt at blame for him being upset. I hadn't done enough last night. I felt worse because Jasper scared me last night. Maybe it was because I had always gotten to him too late, and I had never actually seen him attack anyone. Could I admit this to Jasper? Or would he benefit from us not talking about it?

Jasper could guess what I was thinking.

"You want to talk about it," he said, looking at his hands.

"Only if you're up to it."

I moved off of his shoulder.

"I want to know what you're thinking."

I closed my eyes, and dropped Jasper's hand before I wrapped my arms around my chest.

"I used to believe I could snap you out of anything."

Jasper pressed a hand against my cheek.

"You can," he whispered.

I shook my head.  
"No, last night I couldn't. You growled at me, Jazz."

Jasper didn't answer. His hand dropped from my face. I was afraid to look at him.

"I didn't mean to growl at you, Alice," Jasper whispered.

"I know that. But it scared the hell out of me. I couldn't get you to snap out of it."

"But don't you see," he said, taking my face in his hands. I could feel his breath against my face. "You did snap me out of it, Al. I didn't lunge because you were there. I couldn't hurt her without hurting you. I snapped at Emmett because I wanted you."

I opened my eyes.

He was watching me. His eyes were liquid gold.

"I've told you before," he said, pushing my hair pack, "you help. You always help."

I placed my hands over his.

"I don't want my wife to be afraid of me. Not when protecting you is all I've ever done."

I smiled, and gently kissed him.

"How could I ever be afraid of my angel?" I mumbled against his lips.

When the plane landed in Calgary, Jasper and I made the decision not to leave the airport. We hadn't been in Calgary since Maria, and neither one of us wanted to risk that. So for the next several hours, we planned to sit and talk.

"When we get to Britain, what's the first thing we're going to do?" Jasper asked me.

I paused and thought about it for a moment.

"Remember when we went to Texas?" I asked, looking up at him. My head was in his lap.

Jasper nodded.

"The first thing we did was me showing you mine and my parents graves."

I nodded.  
"I want to show you mine, Mom's, and Dad's. While we're there, I can show you Fred's."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded.  
"I haven't visited their graves in a long time."

"Okay, and after that?"

"We'll make our way to the Burrow."

"That's how we'll find George and Harry?"  
I nodded.

"Most likely. At most, I'll find Molly and Arthur there. I would say going to George's shop would be a better option, but I don't want someone else to see me before my family does. I want them to see me. Not hear it from somebody else."

He nodded.

"Jasper?"

"Yeah, Al?"

"Do you see them as your family?"  
He thought about it for a moment.

"Well they're your family, and I'm married to you. So yes. I do."

I smiled, and closed my eyes.

I wanted to show Jasper everything. This was always the plus to leaving the Cullens. We had time.

As we sat in the airport, I began to see Edward and Bella again. Edward had made a decision. From that decision, that course was laid in one way. There was no other possibility.

 _"Bella, we're leaving."_

 _"Why now? Another year—"_

 _"Bella, it's time. How much longer could we stay in Forks, after all? Carlisle can barely pass for thirty, and he's claiming thirty-three now. We'd have to start over soon regardless."_

 _"When you say we—," Bella whispered._

 _"I mean my family and myself."_

 _"Okay, I'll come with you."_

 _"You can't, Bella. Where we're going… It's not the right place for you."_

 _"Where you are is the right place for me."_

 _"I'm no good for you, Bella."_

 _"Don't be ridiculous, you're the very best part of my life."_

 _"My world is not for you," Edward said, shaking his head._

 _"What happened with Jasper—that was nothing, Edward! Nothing!"_

 _"You're right," he agreed, in a voice that broke my heart. "It was exactly what was to be expected."_

 _"You promised! In Phoenix, you promised that you would stay—"_

 _"As long as that was best for you," he interrupted to correct her._

 _"No! This is about my soul, isn't it? Carlisle told me about that, and I don't care, Edward. I don't care! You can have my soul. I don't want it without you—it's yours already!"_

 _"Bella, I don't want you to come with me."_

 _"You… don't… want me?"_

 _"No."_

 _"Well, that changes things."_

 _"Of course, I'll always love you… in a way. But what happened the other night made me realize that it's time for a change. Because I'm… tired of pretending to be something I'm not, Bella. I am not human. I've let this go on much too long, and I'm sorry for that."_

 _"Don't. Don't do this."_

 _"You're not good for me, Bella."_

 _"If… that's what you want."_

 _"I would like to ask one favor, though, if that's not too much."_

 _"Anything."_

 _"Don't do anything reckless or stupid," he ordered, no longer detached. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"_

 _"I'm thinking of Charlie, of course. He needs you. Take care of yourself—for him."_

 _"I will," she whispered._

 _"And I'll make you a promise in return," he said. "I promise that this will be the last time you'll see me. I won't come back. I won't put you through anything like this again. You can go on with your life without any more interference from me. It will be as if I'd never existed. Don't worry. You're human—your memory is no more than a sieve. Time heals all_ _wounds for your kind."_

 _"And your memories?"_

 _"Well"—he hesitated for a short second—"I won't forget. But my kind… we're very easily distracted. That's everything, I suppose. We won't bother you again."_

 _"Alice isn't coming back,"_

 _"No. They're all gone. I stayed behind to tell you goodbye."_

 _Something about the way he said these words, made me think that he had thought back to me telling him goodbye._

 _"Alice is gone?"_

 _"She wanted to say goodbye, but I convinced her that a clean break would be better for you."_

 _Bella didn't respond. She stood there, staring at the ground. Her eyes were filled with tears._

 _"Goodbye, Bella," he said in a quiet, peaceful voice._

As my eyes focused, I knew I was beginning to cry. Jasper pulled me into his arms, and hugged me tightly.  
"What is it, Alice?"

"He's going to break her heart," I whispered, horrified.

"What are you talking about?"

"Edward," I gasped. "He is going to break her heart, Jazz."

He squeezed my shoulders.

"Al, it's going to be okay. Everyone is going to get through this. Bella is going to move on. She's going to get married, and she's going to have children, and she's going to live a long, happy life."

"He told her that he didn't love her," I mumbled into his shoulder.

"I know it's hard, Al, but you understand better than anyone why Edward has to do this."

"He has to keep her safe."

Jasper held onto me tightly. I couldn't help but cry. I cared about Bella, and I remember what it's like to have someone who you loved so much say that they don't love you. I gathered that Bella would react differently than I had when Remus left. I was angry before I was sad. I threw things, and I screamed. Then I cried. But then, I felt nothing. I could remember being very numb.

Suddenly, as I thought of Bella, flashes of Remus leaving appeared, blocking my vision.

"Alice, sweetheart, come back to me. You're not there."

I tried to shake the picture from my head, and tried to find Jasper's face.

"Do you truly think Bella is going to be okay?" I asked Jasper, closing my eyes.

"I think she's going be to just fine."

The next decision made, was one by Carlisle. I wasn't sure who he was talking to, but he was speeding down the highway, with the phone to his ear.

 _"Well she had said she started feeling sick yesterday after lunch, but she figured she would try to tough it out. When she got home, she started getting worse. There is a hospital, in Los Angeles who has agreed to take on her case full time. They even offered me a position there. So Jasper drove there last night."_

 _He paused for a second, and a person on the other end of the line spoke._

 _"I'm sorry, but my daughter comes first. Unfortunately, Alice needs more help than Forks can offer, so I have to do what's best for her."_

 _The person on the other line said something else, and Carlisle sighed._

 _"Yes, I am fully aware of Edward still being there. He is saying goodbye to Bella, and is getting somethings that Jasper couldn't pack in time. Our biggest concern was getting help for Alice."_

 _Carlisle listened._

 _"I will pass on my wishes to Alice when I can, but she needs time to recover."_

 _He paused as the person on the line spoke again._

 _"I will do my best to keep you updated."_

 _He nodded as the person said one thing._  
 _"Have a nice evening," he said before hanging up the phone._

As my face refocused on Jasper, I gave a small smile.

"What did you see?"

"Carlisle. He was on the phone with someone. The story is set. You and I are in LA."

"What'd he say the reason was?"

"Both of Edward's suggestions actually. He said that I told him I started feeling sick after lunch yesterday, but decided to tough it out, but then I started getting worse so you drove me to LA. There is a hospital there that has agreed to take on my case full time, and they offered him a job."

Jasper smiled and kissed my temple.

"I guess they'll be on there way to Ithaca soon, if they haven't already left."

We had been in Calgary almost four hours at this point. We still had some time to go before we would get on the plane to go to Britain from here.

"How are you feeling?" Jasper asked me after some time had passed.

"I'm excited. But I'm afraid."

"Why are you afraid, sweetheart?"

I looked at the ground, and then back up at him.

"What if they can't understand why I had to do all of this? What if they are mad at me?"

"Even if they are, they'll come around. They've thought you were dead for the last seven years. I am sure they are dying to see you."

"Isn't that odd?" I asked him, looking up at him. "They haven't seen me in seven years, but I haven't seen them in fifty-seven?"

"You're only what, twenty-nine?"

I nodded.  
"By technicality. Although based on my vampire time, I'm eighty-six."

Jasper shook my head.

"You make me feel old, Alice," he smirked. "Next year I'm turning a hundred and sixty two."

I shook my head.

"Such an old man," I told him, wrinkling my nose at him.

"You know you love me?" he smiled.

"Are you sure about that?" I teased.

He grinned before tightening his hold on me. He leaned forward, attempting to kiss me, but I pushed his face away. He didn't stop trying, and my laugh echoed around the almost empty airport. The few people that were there turned and smiled at us, and I finally let him kiss me.

"I guess this is one of those occasions where age is just a number,." Jasper told me, smiling.

"I guess so."

Upon getting back onto the plane, Jasper seemed a lot more relaxed. He took his seat by the window, and closed his eyes. I couldn't help but watch him. He looked very peaceful, and I hadn't seen that in a while.

He opened his eyes and smiled at me.

"What?" he asked, watching me.

"You look peaceful."

Jasper smiled again, and brought a hand up to my face. His fingers lightly grazed across my cheek. He leaned forward and kissed my temple, and I closed my eyes and leaned onto his shoulder.

The time seemed to pass much more quickly, and before I knew it, we were landing in London.

"Welcome home, Alice," Jasper said, putting an arm around my shoulder.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I know that it wasn't fun, seeing as it was a travel chapter, but I figured that it would be nice to put in this chapter. I am super excited about the next chapter, and the chapter after that. I have been waiting to write this part since I started writing this story the first time. And remember how I mentioned one of the dreams would come up again later? It will come much sooner than you think.**

 **So enjoy!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	69. The Graveyard

_"Cemeteries are full of unfulfilled dreams. Countless echoes of "could have" and "should have" Don't choose to walk the well-worn path to regret." ~Dr. Steve Maraboli_

* * *

Chapter 69- The Graveyard

When we landed in London, it was nearly ten o'clock the next morning. Not being able to Apparate made going to the cemetery very different. I had only walked to the cemetery once, and fortunately, that happened to be from London.

"Are you sure you want to go to the cemetery first?" Jasper asked me. "Don't you want to go see your family?"

I shook my head.

"I want to go to the cemetery first. I want to leave flowers for my mother and father, and for Freddie."

He smiled and nodded.

"Then lead the way."

We headed down the street, and waited until we were out of eyeshot before we took off into a run.

I came to a stop on Grimmauld Place. I stared up at the houses, remembering the last time I had been here.

"What is it, Al?"

"This is where my father lived," I said, walking up the sidewalk to the place between number eleven and thirteen. "Between those two. Muggles think it's just a number error, but it's hidden away. The Order of the Phoenix used to use it as a meeting place until Dad died."

I smiled, looking up at the building. It looked the same, and I began to wonder what the inside looked like.

"I came here once after my father died. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were using it as a safe house when they were hunting Horcruxes. I came to talk to Kreacher, the house-elf, about their stay."

Jasper smiled as he looked up at the building.

"Wasn't this your grandparents house?"  
I nodded.

"A portrait of my grandmother sits by the kitchen and it insults anyone who walks by."

"What did it say to you?"

"I brought filth on the family by dating a werewolf." I shrugged. "Once I became a Death Eater, and Remus left, it didn't have anything to hold against me."

Jasper pulled me into a hug.

"What do you think it would say about you now?"

"I am a blood traitor for marrying a Muggle," I said, smiling as he pressed a hand against my face. "Maybe even that I'm a disgrace for marrying a vampire, and becoming one myself."

I laughed as I looked back up to the house.

"Did anyone ever try to take it down?"

I nodded.  
"Everyone tried to take it down. But she stuck it there with a Permanent Sticking Charm."

After a moment, I turned back to Jasper.

"Come on," I said, still smiling. "We should keep going."

The two of us took off again.

"Do you want to stop and get flowers?" Jasper asked as we came out of London.

I shook my head.

"I can conjure them."

"Are you okay?" Jasper asked, slowing to a stop. "You seem off."

I stopped next to him.

I didn't answer right away.

"It's strange," I finally said, looking up to the clouded sky. "I haven't been home in a long time. It almost doesn't feel real. Now, I have you here with me."

I smiled at him.

"Is it how you remember it?"

I shrugged.

"I didn't go to Muggle London a lot. But Grimmauld Place is exactly like I remember it."

"It's all going to be okay, Alice, I promise you."

We continued to the cemetery.

It didn't take long. It wasn't as busy around here.

"We have to cross into the Wizarding part," I told him, coming to a stop in front of a brick fence.

"It's a wizarding cemetery?"

I nodded.

"A lot of people from the wars were buried here. Besides, this way, we didn't have to buy flowers. We could conjure them without bringing attention to Muggles. Most of us didn't have Muggle money."  
"Were James and Lily buried here?"

I shook my head.

"They were buried in Godric's Hollow. I'll show it to you on the way to the Burrow. Godric's Hollow and Ottery St. Catchpole are both in West Country."

Jasper nodded.

"I think that sounds like a great idea."

I pulled my wand out from the holster that I had attached to my arm before leaving the airport, and tapped the bricks and watched as the fence quickly folded inward.

I grabbed Jasper's hand, and darted through the gate.

As we passed through, things began to warp around us, and the hill leading to the cemetery came into view.

Jasper looked around him in wonder.

"I still find magic to be amazing," he said, quietly as started up the hill.

I chuckled and squeezed his hand.

"Are you thirsty?"

He shook his head.

"I'm okay."

I nodded.

"Let me know if that changes."

"Of course."

We continued walking, and after a few moments, the hill went flat, and the rows of graves came into sight. I paused at the gates.

"Alice, are you okay?"

I nodded.

"I haven't been here since Remus's funeral."

He squeezed my hand.

"Alice, it's okay. I'm going to be right here the entire time."

Jasper and I began to walk through the graves.

"There's Cedric," I said, standing in front of a grave. "He was a good person."

"Does he really remind you of Edward?"

I nodded.

"He was very kind. As bad as I hate to say it though, Cedric reminds me more of Edward before he met Bella. I remember the night that he died," I said, shaking my head. "The last time I talked to him, Amos Diggory, his father, was doing better, but he was still torn up."

"I think that's to be expected, Darlin'."

"I never said it wasn't," I said, dropping his hand, and moving over to grab some rocks from the far end of the cemetery.

"What are you doing, Al?" Jasper asked, walking slowly towards me as I picked up the rocks. I darted back to his side, and held out my hand.

"Watch them," I told him, before hovering my other hand above the rocks.

He watched carefully as the rocks turned into roses. He began to grin, and he picked up one of the roses from my hand, turning it to see every angle.

"Amazing."

He dropped the rose back into my hand, and took my free one in his.

"Come on," I told him, pulling him toward the back of the cemetery.

Jasper and I walked through the graveyard, and as we passed, I'd point out the graves of some of the people I knew. It all felt too familiar. Suddenly I realized why. The first time I had slept, I had a dream exactly like this. I began to think now that it wasn't a dream, but rather a vision. I think my subconscious knew that I was going to come back here.

"There I am," I said to Jasper quietly, pointing to one of the graves. We had made it to the back.

Jasper looked around, and his eyes landed on the grave to the right of mine.

"Remus John Lupin," he said quietly. His eyes remained on Remus's grave, and I couldn't quite place his emotion. I stooped down and placed one of the roses on Remus's headstone before taking Jasper's hand.

I kissed his hand before pulling him closer to me.

"Jazz, what is it?"

"Where is his wife buried?"

I pointed to the grave on the other side of Remus.

"Right there."

"Why was he placed so close to Fred?"

I shrugged.

"Space I suppose. A lot of people died that night, love."

Jasper sighed.

"I know. I just forgot how close your graves are."

I chuckled, and kissed his jaw.

"It's okay, Jazz. It's not actually me."

Jasper shook his head.

"I know that."

I smiled, and patted his shoulder.

"Don't be jealous of him, Jasper. You still have me."

Jasper smiled and kissed my forehead.

I moved away from him, but kept ahold of a hand, pulling him away from Remus's grave.

"Over here is Fred," I said, pointing to the grave on my other side. I stooped down and placed a rose on his headstone. I pulled him to another row of graves. "And up here is my mother and my father."

"Why are you not buried next to them?" he asked, looking down at my father's grave. I saw his eyes flicker back to Remus's grave.

"Well nobody thought I was going to die as soon as I did. That and people remembered that Fred, George, and I always said we wanted to be buried together."

I pointed to the empty spot next to Fred's grave.

I turned back to my grave and sat down, cross legged. I was between mine and Fred's graves, sitting at Jasper's feet.

I looked around.

"Remember the first night we tried the sleeping potion?" I asked, looking over to Remus's grave.

"I do," Jasper murmured. "You saw our baby, and your parents. You also saw us in the cemetery."

"I guess I always knew I would come back here."

"You know you never told me about what your parents said to you. Other than they don't want you to cry for them anymore."

I shook my head.  
"I didn't think you'd like what you heard."

"What?" he asked, his eyes flickering to Remus's grave.

"Mama said Remus says he's still in love with me. He only left to give me the chance of a better life."

Jasper sighed, and shook his head.

"If that's true, he left for a good reason, but at a bad time," Jasper said, watching me. "He broke your heart, Al. That's why I couldn't find it in me to like him."

"I know," I said, looking at Remus's grave. "But there was a time when I loved him and he loved me. At that time, I couldn't think of being with anyone else."

I turned and looked back up to Jasper.

"I don't love Remus in the same way that I did. But his wish for me came true. I ended up having a better life. This life, our life, it's a good life. I found someone I loved more than I ever loved Remus. I truly can't live without you. "

Jasper smiled before crouching down to give me a kiss.

"You got anymore of them roses?" Jasper asked me. "It would seem you forgot a very important grave."

I smiled and picked up a nearby rock, once it was transformed into a rose, I offered it to Jasper.

He took it from me and balanced in on my headstone.

"You know, I used to believe that if you talked to them, they could hear you," I said, watching him. "On Remus's funeral, I came early to talk to them."

"Do you still believe that?" he asked, turning back to me.

I nodded.

"I think they can hear me still."

"So talk to them," Jasper said, smiling encouragingly at me. "You haven't been home in a long time."

I stood up and moved further away from my grave, and rested a hand on Fred's headstone.

"Hey, Freddie," I said, smiling at the grave. "I've missed you. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to come see you. I had to make sure that our family was safe. But they are safe, and I'm home now. I'm going to be staying here for some time. Even after I leave, I'm going to come back to see you."

I paused when Jasper came behind me, resting a hand on my back.

"I want you to meet Jasper. My husband. You would have loved him so much, Freddie. He is everything that you ever wanted for me, and so much more. I can't picture a world where he doesn't exist."

I smiled up at Jasper, and he grinned back at me.

I stood up and walked over to Remus's grave.

"I know I've said this before, but I have to say it again. I'm not angry anymore, Remus. I understand why you had to leave me now. If you hadn't left, I would have never met my Jasper. I owe everything to you. I'm sorry that I never got the chance to tell you that I'm sorry for everything. I just couldn't understand why you couldn't love me."

I turned to Jasper.

"Now I do, and I thank you for all that you did for me. You made sure I had everything I needed, and in the end, you gave me a good life."

Jasper smiled and kissed my cheek.

I stood, and walked back to my parents grave. Jasper followed behind me. I sat down between them.

"Hey, Mama. Hey, Dad. I think you guys would have liked Jasper too. I remember you guys telling me stories of how you met. Love at first sight. I saw him in a vision, and I loved him from the first moment I saw him. I thought he was an angel, and I remember being so happy when I learned that he was mine."

I smiled at Jasper.

"I think about you guys everyday. I'm sorry that I couldn't save you. But I know that wherever you are, you have each other and you're happy. Take care of Freddie for me, and when the others come, take care of them. I know I probably won't end up in that place with you guys, so look out for each other."

I felt the tears begin to form, and Jasper hugged me to him.

"Don't cry, Darlin'. Please don't cry," he murmured into my ear.

As Jasper held me, the sadness seemed to fade. I didn't cry. I found it hard to cry when my angel begged me not to.

"Are you okay?" Jasper asked me after a few moments.

I nodded.

"I'm fine."

"Maybe this wasn't such a good idea," Jasper murmured.

I shook my head.

"No, no. It was a good idea. I'm glad we came. I haven't seen my family's graves in a while."

"I know."

"It just finally hit me," I said, turning to look at him. "There is going to come a time when the rest of my family dies. You and I are always going to be like this. I'm frozen at twenty-one. I won't grow old with you, and we won't die."

"But you get to spend eternity with me."

I nodded.  
"That's not so bad," I smiled.

He looked around.

"Are you ready to go?"

I shook my head.

"Not yet. I want to stay for a little while longer."

Jasper nodded, and kissed my neck.

"Of course."

I looked around the cemetery. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but I kept looking.

"It feels like there is something holding me here," I told Jasper. "I feel like I have to stay here."  
"We'll stay for a little bit," he told me. "Tell me when you're ready to go."

I nodded, and began to walk around the cemetery some.

"I went to every funeral," I said to Jasper. "Everyone who died in the Battle of Hogwarts on the side of the Order."

I looked up to Jasper, who was watching me.

"Why?" he asked me, tilting his head

I shrugged.

"Guilt, I suppose," I paused and looked down at the headstone of Lavender Brown. "I looked horrible on the last night of my life."

"I find that hard to believe."

"The guilt got to me. I barely ate, my face was sunken in. My eyes were puffy because I cried a lot. I had a busted lip and scars on my face."

"I saw the picture of you and Teddy. You don't horrible."

I frowned.

"I think that if we were human and I approached you like that, you wouldn't feel the same way that you do now."

Jasper shook his head.

"No. I will always think you look beautiful."

I smiled at the ground.

"Really?"

He nodded before standing and making his way to me.

"Of course. From what I see from your photo albums, you were very beautiful as a human."

"I never thought so."

"Of course you didn't. You don't see yourself clearly."

"Neither do you," I teased, taking his hand.

Jasper sighed and shook his head.

"No I suppose I don't."

I smiled, and kissed his cheek.

"That's okay," I said, smiling against his neck. "I see you perfectly clear. I wouldn't trade you for the world."

Jasper smiled.

"I love you," he whispered in my ear.

"I love you more."

"That's not possible."

I smiled and shook my head.

Jasper had decided that he wanted to try and talk to my family.

"You don't have to do this, Jasper."

"I think that if there's the slightest chance they can hear me, it'd be worth it."

I smiled, and he led me back to Fred's grave. We each sat cross legged on either side of the grave, and Jasper gave me a small smile.

"Hi," Jasper started quietly. "My name is Jasper. I want to thank you, Fred. You and your brother took care of Alice for a long time. You made sure that she was healthy and happy. I can never thank you enough for that. She speaks very highly of you, and I know that you were very, very important to her. I promise you that I have kept her safe, and I will continue to keep her safe. Forever."

Jasper looked up at me, smiling. He stood up, and I watched as he made his way over to Remus's grave. He sat to where I could still see his face without having to move.

"Hello, Remus," he said, watching the headstone very intently. "First things first, I want to thank you. When her mother died, and her father was sent to Azkaban, you stepped up, and you raised her. You did a fantastic job of turning her into the person I know and love. But I am also angry with you. While I am so thankful that you raised her, you also broke her heart. When I first met her, and even some today, she fears that I could never love her back. She was afraid I would leave her. But I know that you did it to give her a better life. I just wish you hadn't done it right after her father died."

I chuckled, and Jasper looked up at me.

He rose to his feet, and made his way back to me. He pulled me up, and we began walking back to my parent's graves.

I sat between the headstones, and Jasper sat it front of me.

"Should I talk to them together or individually?" Jasper asked, looking between the headstones.

"You do whatever makes up comfortable," I said, patting his knee.

He decided to talk to them individually, and he started with Mama. With Mama, he didn't have much to say. He wasn't sure what to say. I only had one memory of her, and I couldn't only tell him what others told me about her.

"Sirius," Jasper said, slowly, turning to the other grave, "I know that once upon a time you were a good father. Alice can remember that time. Alice cares about you so much. I wish that I could have asked your approval. I came from a time where if you wanted to marry a girl, you asked her father. Given our situation, I couldn't do that. I hope you accept me anyways. I will promise you the same thing that I promised Fred. I will make sure that Alice is happy and I will always make sure that she is safe. I'm not sure what I would do if anything ever happened to her."

I smiled and looked over to him.

"I'm sorry," he told me.

"For what?"

"I wasn't sure what to say. I found it easier to talk to them when I talk about you."

"That's okay, Jasper."

I stood back up. So did Jasper.

"I'm not sure how much longer we can stay here," I told him, looking around the cemetery.

"Are you ready to leave?"

I nodded.  
"We'll come back soon," I said. I wasn't only speaking to Jasper.

I walked back to my grave, and picked up the bag that was leaning onto the headstone.

As I pulled the bag over my shoulder, I could hear the faint footsteps of somebody coming up the hill.

"Wait," I hissed, running in front of Jasper, where he still stood in between the graves of my parents. "Someone is coming."

"Who?" he asked me quietly.

"I don't know. I didn't see anything."

Jasper tried to move in front of me, but I pushed him back.

"Jasper, I know you want to protect me, but you don't have magic. They can stun you in an instant. We're going to act natural, but stay close to me until I know that it's safe. If it's not safe, and they fire, stay behind me. Okay?"

Jasper nodded, and we turned back in the direction of my grave. My hand remained on my wand as we listened with our backs turned to the hill.

"It's two people," I whispered to Jasper. "I can hear two different footsteps."

"Are they human?" he whispered.

I nodded.

"Don't you hear their hearts?"

Jasper listened for a moment before nodding.

They were growing closer now. It was only a matter of seconds before they would be at the gate. It would take them walking into the gate before they could see us.

I could hear their hearts more clearly now, and Jasper took my hand.

"They smell different," he whispered to me. "They don't smell quite like humans."

I didn't have the chance to respond. I could hear the creaking sound of the metal gate. I waited for a few seconds, and as I heard their footsteps come closer, I glanced at Jasper's.

"Walk to my grave," I whispered to Jasper. "Act like we don't know they're there."

Jasper and I walked at a human pace. By the time we made it to the grave, the footsteps came to a stop behind us.

"Who are you?" a familiar voice said.

My eyes widened, and I whipped around.

Standing in front of me was Harry and George. In the last seven years, they hadn't changed at all. Both of them stood with their wands pointed straight at Jasper and I.

"Who are you?" Harry repeated.

"Harry! George!" I exclaimed.

I didn't go towards them. I didn't want to frighten them.

They looked at each other, and then back to me. Both of their eyes widened.

"That's not possible," Harry whispered.

"Alice," George breathed.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I know it seems drawn out, but the way I pictured it, Alice and Jasper stayed in the graveyard for some time. Alice knew something was keeping her there, but she couldn't figure out what. I had put it to where Alice couldn't see Harry and George coming because she was no longer tuned with their futures. She had been away for too long.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapters! The next will be out soon!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review!**


	70. Explanations and Home

_"If you go anywhere, even paradise, you will miss your home." ~Malala Yousafzai_

* * *

Chapter 70- Explanations and Home

I stepped closer to them.

"It's really me," I said. I held out the ring that George had given me on Remus's funeral. "You gave me this on Remus's funeral. You told me Fred picked it out, and you were going to wait until my birthday, but you wanted to brighten my mood."

"She's right," George said.

"This is not possible," Harry said again. "We buried you, Alice. We buried you seven years ago."

I shook my head.

"No, Har. You didn't. You buried a replica of my body."

"How is this possible?" George asked, shaking his head.

"I want to explain it to you, I really do, but I think it will be easier to explain when I have everyone together."

"Is that really you, Al?" Harry asked, stepping forward.

I nodded.

"It's really me."

They both ran to me, pulling me into a tight hug.

"You sound different," Harry mumbled.

"I've been living in America," I shrugged.

"Who is that?" George asked when he pulled away. He was watching Jasper carefully.

I smiled back at Jasper, taking his hand and pulling him towards me.

"Harry, George, I would like you to meet Jasper Whitlock. My husband."

Harry and George's eyes widened.  
"Husband?" Harry asked, raising an eyebrow.

Jasper extended his hand.

"It's nice to meet you. Alice had told me so much about both of you."

They shook his hand.

"It's nice to meet you," Harry said.

"Should we go back to the Burrow?" George asked, "We just came to drop off new flowers at your's and Fred's grave."

I nodded.

"That sounds great. Did you guys Apparate here?" I asked as I watched Harry conjure a bouquet of flowers.

They nodded.

"We Apparated to the bottom of the hill."

I sighed.

"I was afraid you'd say that."

"Why what's wrong?"

"All of it will be explained later, but I can't Apparate anymore, and Jasper can't Apparate at all."

"We can always do Side-along Apparition," George said.

I nodded.

"That works. It'll be quick."

"Does he know how it works?"

I turned to Jasper.

"It's going to feel like you're being sucked through a tight tube. Don't let go, and hold on very tight."

"Who am I going with?" he asked, looking between Harry and George.

"Go with George," I said. "I trust that he'll behave."

"Of course, Alice," George smiled.

Harry paused, and turned to me.

"Maybe we should send a Patronus ahead. We wouldn't want to give anyone a heart attack. As far as everyone knows, you're dead."

"But that ruins the surprise," George said.

I shook my head.

"Harry's right. You better do it Harry."

Within the next moment, the silver doe appeared in front of me.

"We'll be back in a moment," Harry told the doe. "We're bringing guests. It's a lot to explain, but she said she'll explain it all to us when we get there."

The doe faded, and Harry turned to Jasper and I.

"We'll give it a second to get there."

"Who all will be there?"

"All the Weasleys and Hermione I think," Harry said. "That's who all was there when we left."

"Percy and Charlie too?"

George nodded.

"Charlie is visiting from Romania. He's come around more often since you died."

I smiled.  
"That's good."

George nodded.

"Okay, it should have gotten there by now," Harry said, holding out his hand to me.

As I took his hand, George was putting Jasper's hand on his shoulder.

"Hold on tight," George said with a smile, "and don't let go."

Jasper flashed me a look of worry, and then suddenly I could feel Harry and I being pushed through the tube.

We were at the Burrow in the next second. George and Jasper appeared a moment after we did. Jasper stumbled as he let go of George, and immediately took my hand.  
"I did not enjoy that," he whispered to me.

I laughed and we made our way through the yard.

When we made our way into the house, everyone was in the living room. Even though we came in through the kitchen, I could hear people moving around in the living room.

"Wait here for a moment," George said to Jasper and I.

I nodded and they stepped from the kitchen to the living room.

"Where are the guests?" Molly asked Harry and George.

"I think everyone should sit down before we bring them out."

It was quiet for a moment, and I could hear people moving to get into their seats.

"Alice, Jasper, you guys can come out now," George called.

I took Jasper's hand, and guided him to the living room. Ginny was missing. Angelina was missing too. One thing that I noticed, was that Hermione was very pregnant.

"Alice?" Molly whispered as I came into view.

"Hi," I said, smiling at everyone. "I'm back."

Molly jumped up from her seat, and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Alice!" she cried. "I can't believe it's really you!"

"It's good to see you too, Molly," I smiled.

"How can this be?" Arthur asked, as Molly let go of me.

"Alice said she'd explain it to us," George said. His voice was no longer happy. I could see that he was upset.

"We will get to that in a moment," Molly said. "Alice, who is your friend?"

"Everyone, I want you to meet Jasper. My husband."

Molly's face lit up.

"You got married!"

I smiled and nodded.

Jasper and I moved around the room as I introduced him to everyone.

I left Jasper to go get two chairs from the dining room table, before quickly taking a seat. Jasper joined me, and I turned to everyone.

"You all deserve an explanation. And I intend to give you one," I said looking at my hands. "But I ask that you please hear me out."

"Of course," Harry said. "You have our full attention."

I nodded.

My scrapbooks sat on the plattform in my bag. They were other things I had taken out of my bag before leaving the airport. I pulled them out, and passed the various books to various people.

"This may help in following along with my story," I said.

I looked at Jasper, and then back to the living room, searching every face.

"I suppose I should start at the beginning. I left Remus's party with every intention to kill myself. I said I was going to Italy because it gave me a reason to say goodbye. I knew that if any of you caught onto what I was really going to do, I would have been stopped."

"Alice, why would you want to kill yourself?" Bill asked, frowning at me.

"It's like I said in my note. I felt guilty. I couldn't live with the things that I had done over the last few years."

"So why didn't you come to us?" George asked me. His voice was cold.

I looked down at my hands, and began fidgeting.

"I was already set in my decision."

Jasper took my hand, and I could feel my nervousness fade away.

"When I Disapparated, I came to Ottery St Catchpole. I needed a moment to think. So I started walking. In an ally, I came across a man. His name was Tobias. He knew me, but I didn't know him, and he wanted to talk to me. He dropped down in front of me, and it scared the hell out of me. So I fainted. Tobias carried me back to his hotel in London, and he, and his wife Helen, waited for me to wake up."

I paused and looked at Jasper. He nodded encouragingly.

"It's okay, Al."

"When he took off, I thought he had killed me. It was like he was flying. But when I came to, Helen and Tobias explained everything to me. They were vampires that were there to help me. They said that we were all in danger. I couldn't understand how we could be in danger. Voldemort was dead. His followers were being dragged to Azkaban. But we were in danger from another vampire."

"What would a vampire want with us?"

"Well a vampire by the name of James had caught my scent, and because I had just disappeared from that spot, it started a hunt. He was going to do anything to lure me out. That included going after my family."

I looked at each face in the room.

"In order to keep you guys safe, I turned into a vampire. During my transformation, I saw Jasper for the first time. Yet again, I thought I was dead, and believe me, at that point, I wished I was. I thought that maybe the man that kept appearing in my sight was an angel coming to take me away."

I smiled up at Jasper, who smiled back.

"I was so happy when I found out that I was alive, the angel was mine. I felt something for the angel that I had never felt for anybody. Not even Remus."

I turned back to everyone else, who had begun to smile.

"After the transformation was over, Helen and Tobias helped me fake my death. I made a replica of my body, and they threw it in the Great Lake, and I went to give my suicide note to Hagrid."

I paused for a second.

"Do you remember in Hogwarts, how they taught us that vampires had special abilities?"

Everyone nodded, and I turned to Fleur.

"Did they teach you that in Beauxbatons?"

She nodded.

"Zey taught us zat in our fourth year of Defence Against Ze Dark Arts."

I nodded.

"Well Helen and Tobias both held special gifts. Helen could travel through time without the use of a time turner. Tobias could alter, create, and destroy memories. So the three of us worked together to make us all safe. Helen and Tobias took me back in time to 1948, where I would meet Jasper in a diner in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. After leaving me with Jasper, they would come back to 1998, and alter James's memory. He still came after me, but the way he remembered it, my name was Mary Alice Brandon, and I came from Biloxi, Mississippi. I was in an asylum for my visions of the future, and I was changed by a caretaker there. Because of the treatment in the asylum, I couldn't remember anything about my human life."

"Who came up with that story?" Charlie asked me.

"I did," I said with a smile.

"Do you still have visions?" Ron asked.

I nodded.

"From 1948 until 1976, I could also look into any point of your present. I used it a few times, but that gift went away."

"Can you still do magic?"

"Yes. But I could only Apparate one more time after my change into a vampire. I can run faster than the typical vampire though. But due to Jasper being a Muggle, he doesn't Apparate at all."

Hermione turned to Jasper.

"Do you have a special gift?"

Jasper nodded.

"I can read and change emotions of others."

As he spoke, a wave of calm rolled through the room. It was immediately followed by anger, sadness, and then finally happiness.

Everyone looked at Jasper in surprise.

"Those are the feelings I'm catching onto in this room."

"Who is angry?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"George," he answered. Jasper wasn't looking at me. He was frowning at George instead.

I turned to George, who looked at the ground, sheepishly.

"It's okay to be angry, George," I told him, smiling. "I can understand why you're angry."

"I thought you were dead. For the last seven years, I thought that you were dead."

"I had to stay away," I murmured. "Helen, Tobias, and I didn't want to take the chance of James coming here. But my story isn't done, and I'd like to continue. I think it will answer more questions that I'm sure you have."

"Can I ask one?" Hermione said. Her eyes were flickering between Jasper and I.

"Of course."

"If you're vampires, why are your eyes gold?"

"Diet," I told her. "Jasper and I don't hunt humans. We hunt animals. The animal blood diluted the eye color, turning them gold."

"Do other vampires have the same diet?" Arthur asked.

I nodded.

"They will come up later in the story."

"Then please continue."

I nodded.

"When I woke up from my transformation, I saw a vision. It was of a man with yellow eyes. His name was Carlisle. He was the head of the Cullen family. The Cullen family was made up of five other vampires. Carlisle's wife, Esme, Rosalie and her husband Emmett, and Edward. Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward acted as Carlisle and Esme's adopted children. In the vision, Jasper and I had been looking for them. We were looking to join their family."

"They hunted animals too?"

I nodded.

"When I met Jasper, he hunted humans, but he didn't want to do that anymore."

"I had been created as a soldier in the Southern Vampire War. When I left, the army, I became depressed. I could feel everything the human felt when I killed them." Jasper told them. "I never knew there was another way. But then I met Alice."

"I told him all about the Cullens and their lifestyle, I said, smiling at Jasper. "He wanted to try the diet, and he wanted to find the Cullens. We searched for them for two years. Over those two years, Jasper and I met back up with Helen and Tobias, sending them to 1998 to change me. In 1950, we finally found them. They accepted us into their family, and on June 20, 1950, Jasper and I got married."

I showed them the engagement ring and wedding band on my left hand.

"The Cullens, they have friends in Denali, Alaska. They hunt animals. We like to think of them as our cousins. They came down during the wedding, and Helen and Tobias joined them."

"I found your wedding pictures," Harry said.

He traced held up the album, and I smiled.

"I wished that you all could have been there. I said, shaking my head.

"It's okay, we understand."

Jasper squeezed my hand.

"Jasper and I have lived with the Cullens since 1950, acting as their adopted children. When we came here, we had just left Forks, Washington. We've traveled around America, and some around Canada. I've went to Muggle high school, and to college. I had just started my senior year when we left."

"Why did you leave?"

I looked at Jasper.  
"I've always struggled with the diet a little bit more than the others," Jasper said, quietly. "In Forks, Edward met and fell in love with a human girl. Bella. We were celebrating her birthday, and she cut her finger. I lost control, and tried attacking her."

I squeezed his hand.  
"He didn't mean to, and he's been okay around humans in the last few days. We just make sure that he has blood when he needs it."

"I'm sure Jasper will cause no harm to any of us."

"Of course not," Jasper said, shaking his head. "I would never intentionally do anything to hurt Alice or her family."

"I think that's all there is," I said, glancing at everyone. "If you have any questions, feel free to ask."

"Why are you able to come back now?" Charlie asked.

"James is dead. In March, he had come after Bella, and I killed him."

"So we're all safe?"

I nodded.

"I made sure that you were safe."

"She spent everyday thinking about you guys. She missed you so much."

"We've missed her," Molly said.

I turned to Hermione.

"Is that your first?"

She nodded.

Ron grinned proudly.  
"I'm hoping for a boy."

"I'd like to assume that you're the father?" I asked, smiling.

He nodded.

"Does anyone else have children?" I asked, grinning.

"Ginny and I have one," Harry said. "His name is James Sirius. He's a little over a year old. We have another on the way."

"I have one," George said. "His name is Fred."

"We have two girls," Bill said. "Victoire and Dominique."

"I don't have any kids yet, but I did get married," Percy said. "Her name is Audrey."

I smiled at him and turned to Charlie.

"What about you?"

He shook his head.  
"I never found anybody I wanted."

"That's alright," I said. "You could always find someone."

Charlie laughed and shook his head.

"Where are the kids?" Jasper asked.

"Ginny and Angelina took them to Diagon Alley for ice cream. They should be home soon."

"About five minutes actually," Molly said, looking up at the clock.

I grinned.

"I feel like I've missed so much."

"You've been gone a long time," Charlie said.

"I had to do it," I said, shaking my head. "I had to keep you safe."

"We know that, Alice," Harry said pulling me into a tight hug. "We understand why you did it."

I turned to George.

"Georgie?"

"I'm not mad," he said quietly. "I just missed you."

"I missed you too. But I knew you would be okay."

He smiled and pulled me into a hug.

As I settled back down, Ron looked at me sheepishly.

"Alice, I have a question."

"Okay."

"The scars from your face has gone. Does that mean that your Dark Mark is gone too?"  
I shook my head.  
"Any scar given by magic or by a magical being stayed."

I rolled up my sleeve, and showed him the red scar. I turned in my seat and pulled down the back of my shirt to see the scar on my spine.

"You said you go to Muggle school," Molly said. "What did you tell them about the scars?"

"Well I cover the Dark Mark, but as for the scar on my back, they all think I'm sick."

"Sick?"

"Each month, from where the magic combines with the venom, I have energy bursts and crashes. The crashes leave me weak, and I can barely move. So we had to come up with something to tell the humans, so they wouldn't get suspicious. We told them I was sick with a rare, and undefinable disease. I'm out once a month at doctors and sick. We used it as an excuse to leave many place. We've used it to leave Forks. Carlisle told them that I had gotten severely sick, and a hospital in Los Angeles, California has agreed to take on my case, and he would work in the hospital."

"He's a doctor?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"One of the best ones I know."

From outside, I could hear the laughs of children, and several footsteps.

My face lit up.

"Alice, what is it?" Harry asked.

"They're back!"

Jasper grabbed my shoulder as I went to stand up.  
"Alice, maybe we should let someone explain to them what is going on before they see you."

Bill nodded, and headed out the door.

I could hear them speaking quietly.

While I waited I turned to Charlie.

"Do I get to see the dragons now?"

Laughs echoed throughout the room.

"Sure, Alice. We'll take a Portkey to Romania tomorrow."

"Seriously?" I asked, my eyes lighting up.

"If you want to go."

"I want to. Jazz?"

"I'd like to see a dragon."

The back door opened, and I could hear quick footsteps.

I turned to find Ginny, just as pregnant as Hermione, staring at me wide eyed.

"Alice?"

I jumped out of my seat, and pulled her into a hug. I was careful to not squeeze too tightly. Behind her, I could see Angelina surrounded by children, and holding a bundle in her arms.

I grinned at her, and hugged her too, watching carefully.

"Now," I said, sitting on the floor. "Who is who?"

"This," Ginny said, placing a hand on a small boy's head, "is James."

I smiled and held a hand out to the small boy.

He hid behind Ginny's leg, but my smile didn't fall as I dropped my hand.

I tilted my head to the side, and turned to look at Harry.  
"He looks like you."

Harry came behind me, and picked up James.

"James, this is your aunt, you say hi to Alice?"

James watched me for a second, and waved.

I smiled and waved back.

Bill stepped forward, standing between the two girls. One looked to be around six or seven, the other seemed to be around four or five.

"This is Victorie, and this is Dominique. Girls, this is Alice."

"Like the one from the stories?" Victorie asked Harry.

Harry nodded.

"The very same."

"But I thought she died," she said frowning.

"We thought she had."

"We will tell you about it later," Bill said.

Victorie, much like James before she stepped closer.

"I think Uncle George will be very happy that you are back," she whispered in my ear.

I laughed, and smiled.

"Do you think so?"  
She nodded and stepped back.

Dominique, who had studied me from the moment she was introduced stepped forward.

"Your eyes are pretty," she said, touching next to my eye.

"Thank you," I said, smiling.

"And last but not least," George said, stepping forward and taking the bundle from Angelina, "is Fred."

I stood up, and peered over George's arms to look at the baby.

"Oh, George, he is beautiful."

"Would you like to hold him?" Angelina asked me, smiling.

I looked between them.  
"Can I?"

Fred nodded.

"Hold on," I murmured, darting back to my seat and grabbing my cloak. I darted back to Fred, and placed the cloak under the baby as he handed him to me.

"I don't want him to get too cold," I told George.

I looked between Ginny and Angelina, both of which were looking at me in wonder.

"That will take some getting used to."

I smiled and turned to Jasper.

"Ginny, Angelina, this is my husband, Jasper."

Jasper rose to his feet, extending his hand to Ginny, and then to Angelina.

"It's a pleasure to meet you," Jasper said.

"The pleasure is ours."

"How much did Bill tell you?" I asked Ginny.

"Everything," she said. "Are you safe now?"

I nodded.

"He's dead. I wouldn't come here if I thought that there was any possibility that I was putting any of you in danger."

Ginny smiled at me.

"I know you wouldn't."

I looked down at the baby, and moved closer to Jasper.

He looked at Fred and turned to George and Angelina.

"He's beautiful."

"Thank you."

I turned to Harry and I swayed back and forth.

"Have you talked to Draco recently?"

Harry shrugged.  
"We've talked some. Not much."

"Are you being nice to each other?"

Harry laughed and nodded.

"Yes, Al."

"How is he?"  
"He got married not too long ago to Astoria Greengrass."

"I'm going to have to go see him," I said, shaking my head.

"He took your death pretty hard," George told me.

"We had grown close during my time as a Death Eater. He came to me, and told me that he wasn't sure if he was doing the right thing anymore."  
"You seemed mad when he turned up to Remus's funeral," Ginny said, frowning.

I shook my head.

"I wasn't mad at him. I was mad in general."

We talked a little bit more. They caught me up on a lot of what I had missed over the years. Hermione was due to have the baby in the next few weeks. Ginny wasn't due for another two months.

As we talked, I began to think about the people I had left behind here.

"Tell me about Hogwarts," I said after some time.  
"McGonagall is headmistress now," Harry said. "She misses you. So does Hagrid."

"How are they?"

"They're better. After you died, everyone was off for a while. But as time went on, they got better. But no one ever forgot you."

I sighed.

"I should go see Minerva and Hagrid. Then I'll go see Draco. I want them to hear it from me. Not the Daily Prophet."

"We better hope Rita Skeeter doesn't get ahold of this," Angelina said, shaking her head.

I groaned.  
"I didn't even think of her."

"Who is Rita Skeeter?" Jasper asked me.

"She's a horrible woman," Ron said, shaking his head.

"Rita Skeeter is famous for writing false stories on people," I told him. I paused and turned to Hermione. "Didn't you keep her in a jar for like a month?"

Hermione frowned and shifted.

"It was only a week."

I chuckled.

"Sorry. My mistake."

A little bit of time had passed before I raised to my feet.

"I think I'm going to go by Hogwarts and swing by Malfoy Manor. I won't be gone long. I'll be gone about two hours at the most."

George quickly grabbed my hand.

"You're coming back, right?" George asked me worried.

I nodded.

"Of course."

He nodded, and dropped my hand, and I turned back to Jasper.

"Are you coming or do you want to stay here?"

"I'll come," he said quietly, standing up.

"You don't have to go," I murmured, pushing his hair from his face. "You can stay here."

He shook his head, and took my hand.

I pulled him to the fireplace, and he frowned.

"What are we doing?"

"We're going to use the Floo system."

"You never really explained what the Floo system is," he told me.

Harry stepped forward.

"Are you going to see McGonagall or Malfoy first?" Harry asked.

"Draco. I want to go see the people at Hogwarts last. There is more people I have to talk to….and it's going to be harder than Draco."

"Why?" Angelina asked.

I paused, and looked to Harry and George.

"When everyone thought that I killed myself, it was the staff at Hogwarts who pulled the replica of my body out of the Great Lake."

Harry was quick to jump back in.

"I'll tell him I'm sending a few people through to him."

Harry grabbed some Floo powder, and stuck his head in the fireplace.

"Malfoy Manor!"

He waited for a moment, and then I could hear Draco on the other end.

"What can I do for you, Potter?"

"I actually have someone looking for you."

"Send them through."

Harry nodded, and moved to the side.

I took Jasper's hand and stepped through the fire.

Malfoy Manor looked exactly the way I remembered it. Draco stood at the far end of the room watching the fireplace.

When Jasper and I stepped through the fire, Draco's eyes widened, and his scattered backwards.

"That's not possible," he said.

"Draco, listen to me," I said, holding up a hand. "It's me. I can prove it."

He picked up his wand from the table, and darted towards me, pointing it to my heart.

Jasper growled, but I shoved him behind me, putting my hands up.

"Draco, I can prove it to you. Just tell me what you need me to do."

He thought about it for a moment, and glanced down at my arm.

"Show me your scar."

I looked down at my left forearm, and pulled up my sleeve.

Draco studied it, and looked back up to me.

"Are you really Alice Black?"

I nodded.

"Technically it's Alice Whitlock now, but yes. It's me."

Draco pulled me into a tight hug.

"How are you here?"

I told Draco what had happened. About James, and Helen and Tobias. I told him about Jasper and the Cullens, and about Bella's party.

"That's how we ended up back here," I said.

"How long have you been back?" Draco asked.

"I just got back today."

"I'm assuming you'll be staying at the Weasley house?"

"I'm not sure where we're staying. But yes, more than likely at the Burrow."

Draco nodded.

"How are you?" I asked him, leaning towards the edge of my chair.

"Astoria is pregnant," Draco said, smiling. "I'm going to be a father."

I smiled.

"That's great, Draco."

"I don't want to teach my kids what my father taught me," Draco said, shaking his head.

"So don't," I said, crossing my legs. "Draco, you are not your father. You've grown so much. You know the difference between right and wrong."

"But what I did—"

"Draco, you were a child. I'm not denying that you have done some horrible things, but you were a child."

He shook his head.

"That's no excuse."

Jasper, who sat quietly, leaned towards Draco.

"I know you don't know me, so I know it probably doesn't mean much, but Alice has told me about you. From looking at you now, you don't seem to be the person you were."

Draco turned to Jasper.

"She told you about me?"

Jasper nodded.

"She did however make mention on how much you've grown. You went from bullying your peers to seeking redemption for all the wrongs you've done."

Draco shied away from Jasper, and I chuckled.

"I don't mean to embarrass you, Draco. I was trying to show not all the Death Eaters were bad. A few of us just went down the wrong path."

Draco smiled, and I raised to my feet.

"I have one more stop to make tonight. There were some I wanted to hear of my return from me. Not the Daily Prophet."

"Where to next? You're bound to cause a few heart attacks."

"Hogwarts."

I paused for a moment.

I told Draco to Floo Minerva, and tell her to bring anybody who had been involved in recovering my body to come to the headmistresses office.

"I have two people here," Draco said when everyone had gathered in the office. "Potter sent them to me. They have some news about Alice's death."

"I thought it was a suicide," I heard Flitwick say.

"It was," Draco said. "But they have some new information."

"What new information could they possibly have?" Minerva asked.

Draco stepped to the side, and Jasper and I stepped through.

"She's alive," I said, smiling at the people who stared at me wide eyed.

"Alice?" Minerva asked, approaching me.

"Hi," I said, smiling at all of them.

Hagrid swept me off of the ground, and into a tight hug.

"Alice! I can't believe yer here!"

"Hey, Hagrid."

"Alice, what happened to you?" Madame Pomfrey asked. "I-I checked myself. You were dead."

I set into the story for a third time. Each of them listened intently.

"You finally found someone," Minerve said, grinning at Jasper.

I nodded.

"I was hoping one day soon, I could come back, and take Jasper on a tour of the castle."  
"Of course!" Minerva said. "Maybe we can get you to talk to the History of Magic class. Or even the Defence Against the Dark Arts class. You can tell them about vampires, and the war if that's not too much."

I laughed and nodded.

"Sure, Minerva. I'll send an owl you to set up a date."

She nodded and pulled me into another hug.

"You can't imagine how great it is to see you."

"I think I can," I said. "I haven't seen any of you in over half a century. I didn't know if I would ever see you again."

I noticed Jasper was watching Hagrid in wonder.

"What?" I asked him quietly.

"This is Hagrid?" he asked me.

I laughed.

"Yeah."

Jasper turned to Hagrid, who was smiling.

"Thank you," he said.

"Fer what?" Hagrid asked, raising his eyebrows.

"You were there for my wife when she needed a friend. She talks about you often."

I looked into my lap, but smiled.

"Alice was a brilliant student," Minerva told Jasper. "You should be proud of her. One of the brightest witches I've ever taught."

I knew that if I could, I would have blushed.

"Don't be embarrassed, Alice," Jasper said, smiling as he took my hand.

The time passed, and it was time for me and Jasper to return to the Burrow.

"You can come anytime, Alice. Bring Jasper with you. I'm sure he'd love to see the castle and our classes."

"I'll owl ahead of time."

She nodded, and Jasper and I returned to the Burrow, where everyone was still waiting for us. Andromeda was also waiting there.

"Alice?" she asked, wide-eyed.

"Andy!" I exclaimed, dropping Jasper's hand, and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Let her breathe, Al," Jasper said, placing a hand on my arm.

"Sorry," I mumbled, dropping her and stepping back.

"You must be Jasper," Andromeda said, extending her hand.

"She stops by to give me pictures of Teddy," Harry told me. "I forgot she was coming."

"I had thought about coming by," I whispered. "But I was afraid you wouldn't want Teddy to see me."

"Of course I want him to see you!" Andromeda said, frowning. "He has a picture of you. He calls you Aunt Alice."

I smiled.

"He knows who I am?"

She nodded.

"Of course."

She looked next to me at Jasper.

"I guess you've figured out by now, I'm Andromeda, Alice's cousin."

"You're Nymphadora's mother, right?" he asked, squeezed my hand.

Andromeda nodded.

"Yes."  
"Alice speaks highly of you."

Andromeda smiled.

"Harry and George speak highly of you. They say she loves you very much. More than she loved Remus."

I hid my face behind my hands, and Jasper laughed before wrapping an arm around my waist.

"It's okay," Jasper murmured against my forehead. "Don't be embarrassed."

Andromeda smiled.  
"One day I'm going to bring Teddy up," she told me.

"I'd love to see him," I said, smiling. "I haven't seen him in a very long time."

She reached into the bag she had attached to her hip and pulled out a small picture and passed it to me.

"We took that one on his birthday."

Teddy's face reminded me so much of Remus. He had Remus's eyes, but his hair was the same bright bubblegum pink that Nymphadora had often worn.

I smiled at the picture.

"He's beautiful," I said, passing the picture back to her.

"He's smart too."

Andromeda pulled me into another hug, and this time, I was careful to not squeeze so tightly.

"You don't know how good it is to see you, Alice."

I smiled against her shoulder.

"It's good to see you too, Andy."

She shook Jasper's hand again and headed back to the fireplace.

"We're going to head out," Bill said, as he took Dominique's hand.

I hugged Bill as he made his way to the door.

"It was good to see you, Bill."

"It's good to see you too, Alice. I'll see you tomorrow. Nice to meet you Jasper."

Harry and Ginny followed behind.

For a moment, it seemed like nothing had changed. The only think that was different was Jasper, who never strayed far from my side.

I had thought about going with Angelina and George. I could have helped out with the baby, but I decided against it.

Suddenly, it was just Jasper, Charlie, and I, as Molly and Arthur had decided to go to bed.

"Are you serious about the dragons?" I asked him.

He nodded.

"Make sure you're here when I leave tomorrow, and then I'll send you guys back here by Portkey."

I looked down.

"Charlie, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."  
"Do you think it was worth it? Me becoming a vampire to try and save all of you?"

"Of course it was worth it, Alice. We know why you did it, and we are all so grateful to you. You gave up everything, and you gained so much in return."

He smiled at Jasper, who was playing with the rings on my left hand.

I too smiled at Jasper, and kissed the back of one of his hands.

"Hey Jazz?" I asked, catching his attention. "Can you go get my bag from the kitchen? I figured we could go on a walk, and I'll show you around."

He nodded, and stood, walking at a human pace.

"Thank you, sweetheart," I called after him.

"Alice, you don't know how happy I am for you," Charlie said smiling. "We are all so glad that you could finally move on from Remus."

I beamed at him.

"I finally understand why he had to leave me. Do you all like Jasper?"

Charlie nodded.

"We all like him a lot, and we can all see that you love him."

"Can I ask you one more question?"

"Go ahead."

"Are you all okay with this? With me, like this?" I gestured to myself before sheepishly looking at Charlie.

"Alice, why wouldn't we accept you?"

I shrugged.

"We are your family, and in case you've forgotten, this family," Charlie placed a hand on top of mine, "will always accept you. We didn't turn Bill away and we most definitely will not turn you away."

I smiled and turned back to Jasper.

"Ready to go?"

Jasper nodded, and I turned back to Charlie.

"You're welcome to join us."

He shook his head.

"I better get to sleep. I'll see you in the morning. Nice meeting you, Jasper, and I'm so glad you're back, Alice."

I smiled at Charlie, and pulled Jasper to the door.

The second we made it out of the house, I came to a stop and wrapped my arms around his neck.

"What do you think?"

"They're all great, Alice."

He was grinning as he put his hands on either side of my face.

"I'm so glad to see you so happy."

He placed a gentle kiss on my temple, before trailing a line down to my lips.

"They love you," I mumbled against his lips.

"They all seemed so surprised by the fact that you were married."

"Jazz, honey, I think they were more surprised that I am alive."

He laughed, and I pulled him down the path.

We spent a great deal of time walking through the hills, and through the village. I showed him where I met Tobias for the first time, and the houses of the nearby wizarding families.

"It's beautiful here," he said, as we laid in the grass on the hillside of the Burrow.

"I know," I sighed.

He rolled on his stomach, and began to watch me.

"I like it here," he said.

I smiled, and brushed his hair from out of his eyes.

"You do?"

He nodded.

"It doesn't bother me either. Your family, they smell different. It doesn't appeal to me," he said, resting his chin on my shoulder.

I laughed and nodded.

"I know. I don't know why I was so appealing to James."

He shrugged.

"I'm not sure."

I closed my eyes, listening to the sounds around me.

I could hear the chickens from the chicken coop a little ways up the hill, and somewhere to the West I could hear an owl's hoots. The thing that was closest to me, and the thing I focused on the most, was the sound of Jasper's breathing.

Jasper and I headed back to the house as the sun began to rise. I knew that Molly would likely be awake, making breakfast. I remembered waking up early enough to help her. It was always one of my favorite things to do when I came to the Burrow.

Sure enough, in the kitchen, Molly was moving around to make breakfast.

"Morning, Molly," I said as Jasper and I stepped back inside the house.

"Good morning, dear. How was your night?"

"It was nice. I showed Jasper around the village, and some of the nearby Wizarding families."

"There isn't much around here," Molly told Jasper. "Alice will show you around bigger parts of our world, I'm sure."

I nodded.

"I'm sure we'll go to Diagon Alley soon, and Minerva and I are setting up a day for me to show him around Hogwarts."

Molly turned to look at me, and leaned against the counter.

"Alice, have you thought about what you're going to do when the Prophet gets ahold of this?"

I shook my head.

"If they ask me about it, I'll tell them the truth."

"Are you going to contact them?" Arthur asked, appearing from the stairs.

I shook my head.

"I want to keep a low profile until I'm actually seen in the public. Today we're going to Romania with Charlie, so it's bound to get out soon."

"What are you going to do if Rita Skeeter does get a hold of it?"

I sighed.

"Does anyone actually trust her writing?" I asked.

Molly thought about it for a moment.

"No, I don't suppose they do. But that doesn't stop her from trying."

"Trust me, Molly. It's all going to work out."

I flashed her a smile, which she quickly returned.

"You're right."

She shook her head and resumed making breakfast.

"George and Harry are going to come see us off," Charlie said, bounding down the stairs.

"Are you not coming back with us?" Jasper asked, turning to face Charlie.

Charlie shook his head.

"It's time for me to go back to Romania, but I'll be back in three weeks."  
"Charlie has more scheduled visits," Arthur told Jasper and I. "One of the things that Alice told Charlie in her note, was that she wanted him to spend more time with us, so he comes every few weeks."

I looked at the ground again, and when I spoke my voice was quiet.

"I'm sure you didn't, but did anyone keep the note?" I asked.

Molly, Arthur, and Charlie didn't respond right away.

"I think George or Harry has it," Molly finally said. "It had your handwriting. I think it may still be at your house."

"They kept my house?" I asked, astounded.

Molly nodded.

"They always had a feeling you'd come back, and it belonged to your mother and your father so they didn't want to sell it. I think they were thinking of giving it to Teddy."

"What did they do with everything inside?"

"They left it," Charlie said. "They couldn't bring themselves to get rid of anything."

I smiled, and glanced up at Jasper.

"I'll have to go there one day and sort through everything. I didn't pack everything, when I left. Just enough to make my cover believable."

"Harry has the keys whenever you want to go," Molly said.  
"Maybe we could stay there," I told Jasper.

Molly frowned.

"You and Jasper are welcome to stay here for as long as you'd like."

"I don't want to burden you, Molly."

She gave me a look that had always frightened me as a child. Even now, I shrank behind Jasper.

"Alice, you've been gone for seven years. You will never be a burden."

I smiled at her.

"Come on, Jazz," I murmured. "We should probably go change."

"You can use Fred and George's old room."

I nodded, and took Jasper's hand, leading the way.

The room hadn't changed since the last time I saw it. Some pictures had been taken out, but two beds remained, and on the desk between the two, a picture of Fred, George, and I sat. I didn't have this picture, but I remembered the day it was taken. It was taken the year Harry had come to Hogwarts, right before we had left for Kings Cross.

I picked up the picture and smiled.

Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist from behind me, and rested his chin on on my shoulder.

"You were young," he said against my neck.

"I know," I smiled. "Fred and George were about thirteen, and I was fifteen."

Jasper traced the long hair that I had. It trailed to my lower back.

"Do you miss the long hair?"

"Sometimes, but having short hair makes my animagus form easier to handle. Do you like me better with long hair?"

Jasper shook his head.

"I love you like this. I would have loved you like that, but this Alice, the one in my arms, is my Alice."

I smiled as Jasper kissed behind my ear.

"Come then," I said, placing the picture back in it's spot on the desk. "Let's get dressed."

I put on a pair of dark blue jeans, and a white button down shirt with flowing sleeves.

When Jasper and I returned down stairs fifteen minutes later, all of the Weasleys, Harry, Hermione, Angelina, and Fleur included, as well as the children were crowded around the table.

"Good morning," I said, as I took Fred from George so he could eat. "How was everyone's night?"

"'Mione spent half the night preparing for the baby," Ron said.

"And the other half?"

"Couldn't get comfortable."

I gave Hermione a small grin.

"I have some energy supplements," I said, watching Hermione. "They're a bit stronger than you're used to, but they should get you through work."

"That'd be nice, Alice, thank you."

I passed Fred to Jasper.  
He looked at me with wide eyes.

"You're going to be fine," I told him, smiling. "I'll only be gone for a second."

I pulled the bag off of me, and set it one the floor before moving my way inside.

The potions in my bag all sat in a locked cupboard, which I kept the key to in the old tent.

I pulled out a small medicine cup and poured some of the potion inside before locking the bottle back inside of the cabinet, returning the key, and making my way back up the stairs.

Jasper was walking around the living room, bouncing Fred in his arms, humming the song Edward played for us at our wedding. I placed the potion down in front of Hermione and smiled.

"There you are."

"Thank you."

I turned back to Jasper, who had began to make his way back to me.  
"See," I said, taking Fred back from Jasper. "That wasn't so bad, now is it?"

Jasper chuckled.

"No, I suppose it wasn't."

Fred was awake now. His eyes, were the same brown as Fred and George's which made me smile.

As Jasper and I waited for the Weasley's to finish their breakfast, I moved around the room with Fred. When I darted from place to place, he shrieked with laughter, which caused everyone at the table to smile at us.

When everyone finished, Charlie rose to his feet, and I passed the baby to Molly.

"We'll be back before you guys eat dinner," I reassured George.

He and Harry both gave me small hugs, and Charlie made his way around the table hugging his family.

"Ready to go?" he asked Jasper and I.

I nodded, and we made our way out the front door.

"Has Alice explained a Portkey to you?" Charlie asked.

"She explained the basics of one many years ago," Jasper told him as we walked away from the Burrow.

"Hold on tight and don't let go," Charlie advised him. "If you have to, hold on to Alice's hand. Don't want you landing somewhere you're not supposed to be."

The Portkey was made from an old tire.

"Ready?" Charlie asked.

Jasper grabbed both the tire and my hand, and as soon and Charlie and I grabbed onto the old tire, it took off.

Jasper's hand tightened as we flew.

"It's almost time to let go," Charlie called over the wind.

"Let go?" Jasper asked, his eyes were wide.

"Jasper, do you trust me?" I asked him.

"Yes."

"Then let go."

At the same time as Charlie and I, Jasper let go of the tire, and the three of us began to hurtle to the ground. Charlie and I, having been through Portkeys enough times, was able to light the fall. Jasper landed on his feet with a little outside help from me.

"Welcome to Romania."

The place where we landed, was where Charlie spent most of his time. Dragons surrounded the area, and Charlie led us through to a small building.

"Charlie!" a man said, as we walked through the doors. "Who are your guests."

"This is Alice, and her husband Jasper."

The man watched me for a moment before turning back to Charlie with wide eyes.

"But I thought she was—"

"We all did. But it's a long story."

"You can tell him about it later," I told Charlie as we walked away. "It's not something I'm ashamed of."

Charlie gave me a small smile.

"I know."

He led us through a back door where many dragons were enclosed.

"Alice, do you remember Norberta?" Charlie asked, glancing back at me.

"Hagrid's dragon," I said with a smile.

"She had a new set of eggs that hatched two weeks before I left for the Burrow. "

He led us to one edge of the cage, and I found three smaller dragons, no bigger than one of my hands. Charlie picked one up, placing it in my hand.

The dragon looked like a smaller version of Norberta. I remembered when Hagrid had first shown her to me. At that time, he believed Norberta to be Norbert. Harry and Ron had convinced him to allow Charlie to take the dragon to Romania.

"We're trying to figure out how different dragons raised in captivity are different from those raised in the wild."

"Those would be the ones outside?" Jasper asked, watching a Romanian Longhorn from inside the cage.  
Charlie nodded.  
"How do you keep them from running off?"

"Well they tend to come and go as they please, but when they are here, we study how their behavior is."

The small dragon that I held, appeared to be very happy. It began to attempt to fly, only to fall back into my hand. I chuckled as he tried over and over again.

"Echidna reminds me of Hermione," Charlie said, petting the dragon. "She doesn't like to fail."  
I laughed, as I passed the dragon back to him.

"I can see why you spent so much time doing this," I said, looking around the enclosure.

"Dragons are fascinating creatures. I like being around them. I would love to have one as a pet."

"Don't you already?" Jasper asked pointing to the dragons around the cage.

Charlie laughed.

"I guess in a way I do. Some have partialness to some humans. Others want nothing to do with us as a whole."

Charlie spent the day showing us around the place where he spent his days when he wasn't at the Burrow. I enjoyed it there. Jasper and I were introduced to the others and we were shown the dragons around the enclosure.

Jasper and I left Romania around 7:30, with the promise from Charlie that he would come back to England to see us too.

In England, it was closer to 5:30, and Molly was in the process of making dinner.

"Everyone should be coming in from work soon," she said as Jasper and I came in the door. "Fred is down for a nap, but I'm sure he'll be waking up soon."

"I'll go get him," I said, hanging my bag on a hook by the door.

Jasper went out to the front yard, where Ginny sat with the rest of the children. I had learned that Ginny had become a Quidditch player for the Holyhead Harpies, and she wouldn't be working until the baby was born.

The baby was awake when I made it into the room. He didn't cry, and I could tell from his eyes that he hadn't been up long.

"Hey, Freddie," I cooed, picking up the baby. I moved him down to the floor to change his diaper, before wrapping him in a blanket and making my way downstairs.

Jasper and Ginny were working on getting James, and Bill's two girls inside when I came downstairs.

"James has taken a liking to Jasper," Ginny told me.

It was then I noticed that Jasper was carrying James. Victoire and Dominique held each one of Ginny's hands.

I laughed and placed a hand on Jasper's shoulder.

"Would you look at that," I smiled. "You've made yourself a friend, Jazz."

Jasper smiled.

"I guess I have."

Ginny beamed at me as I kissed Jasper's cheek.

People began coming in around six. George came the latest, as he had to close up the joke shop.

"How is it?" I asked Harry as we waited for George. "The joke shop?"

"It's been doing great," he said, smiling. "He gets good business, makes a good amount of money. But then again, George was never in it for the money."

"I'll have to go see it one of these days."

"Maybe we can go this weekend?" Hermione suggested. "No doubt the news of your arrival will be out by then."

"Did you talk to Kingsley?"

By the time I made it back from Malfoy Manor and from Hogwarts, it was late, so Hermione offered to deliver a letter to Kingsley from me.

"He's coming to see you tomorrow. I'm sure you'll have to take some Veritaserum," she teased.

I laughed.

"I don't think I have any of that."

"You're in luck. Kingsley does."

The night passed quickly, and then everyone was leaving. After Molly and Arthur went to bed, Jasper and I ended up back outside. Throughout the night, I had gotten flashes of Edward's decisions to leave Bella. I was careful to keep them at bay. I didn't want anyone to worry. However, in the end, Jasper noticed.

I closed my eyes, and laid my head on Jasper's lap.

"It's going to be okay, Al," Jasper whispered. "She's going to live a long, happy life."

I nodded.

Around 1:30 in the morning, I got a vision that I couldn't quite block out.

 _The vision took place in the living room of the Swan house. Bella was on the couch, wrapped in blankets._

 _"When you didn't come back, I called the Cullens, and no one answered," Charlie said to Bella in a low voice. "Then I called the hospital, and Dr. Gerandy told me that Carlisle was gone."_

 _"Where did they go?" Bella mumbled._

 _"Didn't Edward tell you?"_

 _She shook her head, and Charlie looked at her surprised._

 _"Alice got worse. A hospital in LA took her case, and they offered Carlisle a job there."_

 _Charlie paused, and watched Bella carefully._

 _"Somebody said that they aren't for sure if Alice is going to pull through. Jasper heard that she wasn't feeling well, and came back from the college that he's at, but then she just kind of went downhill from there."_

 _Charlie stopped talking again, and he watched Bella._

 _"I know that Alice is in pretty bad shape right now, so I'm sure that he was in a hurry to get to her, but I want to know if Edward left you alone out there in the middle of the woods," Charlie said, his tone changing from one of sadness to one more harsh._

 _"It was my fault. He left me right here on the trail, in sight of the house… but I tried to follow him. You're right. He was in a hurry to get to Alice. Which I can understand."_

The vision faded away, and my eyes began to feel dry.

"Alice?" Jasper asked, looking down at me. "What's wrong?"

I shook my head.

"I know Bella's going to be okay, but I don't like the fact I can never see her again. Bella, Charlie, and the rest of Forks think we went to LA. As far as they know, I'm severely sick in the hospital, and they currently aren't sure whether or not I'm going to pull through."

Jasper squeezed me to him.

"It's okay," he murmured in my ear. "It's all going to be okay."

I knew that Jasper was right. Bella would be okay in time. Maybe not right away, but she would heal.

I tried to push Bella from my mind, and focus on the family that was here with me now.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I know it took me a while to upload, but I thought that it would be nice to not post for a couple days after the cliffhanger from the last chapter. A benefit to that, is because I waited a few days in between uploads, I had more time to write. In Google Drive, this chapter added up to 22 pages.**

 **To give some background, we are now in the early hours of September 17 for Alice and Jasper, and in the late hours of September 16 for Bella and the rest of the Cullens.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)**


	71. The Resurrection Stone

_"The goal of human life is not death, but resurrection." ~Karl Barth_

* * *

Chapter 71- The Resurrection Stone

Hermione was right about two things. The first thing, was that it wouldn't be long before the news of my return had gotten out. The next morning, it was on the front page of the Daily Prophet in large letters.

 _MARY ALICE BLACK, BACK FROM THE DEAD!_

 _Mary Alice Black, 21, the daughter of Sirius and Johanna Black, and the godsister of the famous Harry Potter, was believed to have killed herself on May 13, 1998, following the events of the Battle of Hogwarts. She was seen as a hero for her undercover work as a Death Eater, and that had caused her name to be listed on a list of fallen soldiers from the Second Wizarding War. While Mary Alice may be a hero, she is certainly not dead. The details of the story is unclear, and nobody has commented on the story. It is believed that she has come back to Britain with a man._

 _Many reporters are making attempts to contact anybody who Black was known to be close to, and are even trying to get into contact with Black herself._

 _We will continue to update this story as it develops._

I sighed and handed the paper to Harry.  
"Well that's done."

"Who released it?" Jasper asked, surprised.

"I think somebody might have overheard it in the Ministry," Hermione said. "I can't be for sure though."

The second thing that Hermione was right about, was that Kingsley Shacklebolt would appear on the doorstep of the Burrow with Veritaserum in hand.

I had agreed to go under Kingsley's test. I knew it would provide everyone comfort knowing that I was who I said I was.

"What is your name?" he asked me, after he was sure it had kicked in.

"Mary Alice Black Whitlock."

Legally, Cullen wasn't on my name. We had forms for our cover, but Jasper and I had never legally added Cullen and Hale onto our names.

"Who is the man you've brought here with you?" he asked, watching Jasper, who stood at the far end of the room. Jasper's head was in his hands.

"My husband, Jasper Whitlock."

"Why did you fake your death?"

"To keep you all safe."  
"Safe from?"

"A vampire named James. He was hunting me, and to draw me out he was going to hurt my family."

"And the threat is now gone?"  
I nodded.  
"I killed James back in March."

"And there is no other threat to us or to you?"

"James had a mate. Her name is Victoria. She's still alive, but she does not remember, and she is not coming after me."

"Are you really Alice?"

This was a question I seemed to get repeatedly over the last few days, and I was sure I would be getting it a few more days.

"Yes."

That seemed to be enough, as Kingsley pulled me into a hug.

"It's good to see you again, Alice. We've all missed you."

"I've missed all of you."

Kingsley turned to Jasper and extended his hand.

"Hi, I'm Kingsley Shacklebolt."

Jasper shook his hand, and then immediately placed a hand on my lower back.

"So this is a truth serum, right?" Jasper asked Kingsley, raising an eyebrow.

Kingsley nodded.  
"It's a very high powered one."

"When does it wear off?"

Kingsley studied my face for a moment.

"I gave her more that you would usually give someone because I wasn't sure how much to give a vampire. So I'd say in about an hour or an hour and a half."

I groaned, and Jasper smiled.

"It's okay, Ali," Jasper laughed. "It's only a little bit of time."

I frowned at him, and buried my face into his arm.

"You're going to torture me," I groaned.

"No I'm not," he murmured, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"George will."

George began grinning from his spot at the table, feeding Fred.

"Would it make you feel better if we went on a walk until it wears off?"

I turned to Kingsley.

"Are we finished?"

Kingsley nodded.

"We are."

The way he spoke, suggested that there was something more. Something he wasn't saying.

"Is there something else?"

Kingsley sighed.

"We don't have to do it, but I thought I should maybe run the idea by you. As you know, word got out of your return, and the Prophet will be wanting a statement. We, Hermione and I, think it would be best if you did it."

I turned to Jasper, and then back to Kingsley.

"Will Jasper be there?"

"He can be if that helps."

I nodded.

"I'll do it if I can have Jasper there with me."

"Thank you, Alice."

"When will it be?"

"Well we'd much rather it be after the truth serum wears off. Do you think we can do it around noon?"

I nodded.

"That works."

"Use the Floo System to get to my office," he told me.

I nodded again.

"We'll get there about twenty minutes before noon."

Kingsley smiled.

"Great. I will see you soon."

Jasper and I made our way out of the back door.

The sun was shining brightly today for the first time since we got to Britain. Even in Romania yesterday, the sky was covered by light grey clouds.

We stayed near the Burrow to keep from gaining the attention from the humans in the village below. We ended up sitting on the backside of the hill that the Burrow sat on.

"Alice can I ask you a question?" Jasper asked me.

I glanced at him cautiously.

"I think that depends on the question."

"I want to ask you now, so I know you're not sparing my feelings."

I took his hand and placed it in my lap.

"Okay, Jazz. Ask your question."

He looked to the ground, and I could see that his eyes were sad.  
"Jazzy, honey, what's wrong?"

"Are you upset with me? Because of what happened with Bella?"

"No, sweetheart. I never was."

He pulled me onto his lap, and buried his face into my neck.  
"I'm sorry, Al. I didn't mean for it to happen."  
"I know. Nobody meant for it to happen, Jazz. It was an accident. Nobody is mad at you."

I pulled back from him, and gave him a quick peck on the lips.  
"Everything is going to be fine, Jasper. I'm not going anywhere. I promise you that."

Jasper smiled and leaned closer, giving me a more passionate kiss.

I pulled away, and pushed the hair out of his eyes.  
"Jazz, I am always going to love you. No matter what you say or do, I am always going to be here."  
"I'm afraid," he told me quietly. "I'm afraid that I'm going to hurt one of them."  
He pointed back up to the house, and shook his head.  
"I know you'd never forgive me then."

I closed my eyes, and rested my head on his shoulder.

"I won't let that happen."

"But if it did? What would I do without you?"  
"I wouldn't be mad at you forever. But it would take me some time. Besides, I thought they don't appeal to you."

"They don't," Jasper said, wrinkling his nose. "They smell odd. Especially Bill, Fleur, and Hagrid."

I laughed, and it finally clicked as to why they smelled different.  
"What?" Jasper asked bewildered. "What's funny?"

"I realized why they all smell different! Hagrid, he's half-giant, Fleur, she's a quarter-Vella, and Bill, he isn't a werewolf, but he has the tendency of a werewolf."

"What's a Veela?"

"They're these half-human, half-magical creature type things. They're very, very beautiful, and they can enchant humans. They can also throw fire, and when they're angry they turn into a Harpy-like creature."

Jasper frowned.

"She's not going to throw fire at me, is she?"

I laughed and shook my head.  
"No. Fleur's nice."

When the truth serum wore off, Jasper and I headed inside to get ready for my statement.

I dressed in a navy blue, knee length dress that had lace half-sleeves. Jasper wore black dress pants, with a grey tie.

"I guess it's a good thing we packed everything in the closet," I said, as I fixed Jasper's tie.

Jasper chuckled.

"I guess it was."

We had decided to pack everything when we couldn't figure out when we were going to return to the Cullens. On the plane, I wondered if we would return. I had began to picture Jasper and I having a life here. The Cullens could visit us of course, but I thought Jasper and I could truly be happy here. It helped that he didn't find the scent of my family appealing.

"Alice?" Jasper asked, calling my attention back to him.

I blinked twice, refocusing my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I murmured, shaking my head. "I spaced out."

"What's going on in that head of yours?" he smiled, leaning forward to kiss my temple.

"I was thinking about what I was thinking about on the plane."

"You mean permanently leaving the Cullen clan?" he asked.

I nodded.

"We could be happy here. Their scents aren't appealing to you, and I already have a house here."

Jasper sighed.  
"We'll talk about it, but I still think one day we should go back to the Cullens."

I sighed.  
"I know. It's just an idea."  
He placed his hands on my face, and rested his forehead against mine.  
"If we go back to the Cullens, and things don't work out there, then I swear to you, Alice, we will come back here."

"I could work at the Ministry, or at Hogwarts."

"What would you want to do at the Ministry?"

"Maybe go back to Auror training. Or I could become an Unspeakable."

"They work in the Department of Mysteries, right?"

I nodded.

"It seems like it could be an interesting job."

"What would I do?"

"Maybe we could get you on at Hogwarts, teaching Muggle History, or Muggle Studies."

He smiled.

"Sounds like a plan."

He kissed my forehead, and turned to look back at the clock.

"We should go. We have to leave for the Ministry in five minutes."

He guided me down the stairs, and into the kitchen, where Molly and Ginny were sitting with the kids. Ginny was holding Fred, and the second James laid eyes on Jasper, he hopped out of his seat, and came bounding in Jasper's arms.

"Hey, kid," Jasper said, adjusting him onto his hip.

"At the rate this is going, you may have to take James with you to America," Ginny laughed watching Jasper and James darting through the living room, which caused James to shriek with laughter, much like Fred had yesterday.

"I think your son has stole my husband," I teased.

"Never," Jasper said, returning to my side to kiss my cheek.

Walking over to my bag, I pulled my camera, and pointed it to Jasper and James.

"That's one thing that has never changed," Molly said, grinning. "Alice used to take pictures of everything."

"She still takes pictures of everything," Jasper said, placing James back in the chair.

"You seem to be her favorite subject," Ginny teased.

I glared at the two of them, which caused Jasper and Ginny to laugh.

"We have to go," I told Molly. "We'll be back in a couple of hours."

Molly gave me a small hug.  
"You're going to do great, Alice. You've always done great."

"Thanks, Molly."

"Of course."

I gave Ginny a hug, and waved to the kids before Jasper and I made our way to the fireplace.

We had made it to Kingsley's office around twenty-five minutes before noon. Kingsley's position as temporary Minister for Magic, had become permanent. He said that he had been elected for a second term earlier in the year.

"We have a few different papers and magazines coming to talk to you," Kingsley said as we made our way through the Ministry. "The Prophet, of course, we have the Quibbler, and we have Witch Weekley. You'll tell your story, what happened after the Battle, leading up to now. They'll want to ask you questions, and they may have a few for Jasper as well."

"Rita Skeeter," I said, glancing at Kingsley. "Will she be there?"

"There's a good chance she will, but the three I named are the only ones I know for sure."

I sighed.

"She's going to twist this entire thing around."

"Nobody trusts her work, Alice," Kingsley reassured. We were nearing the front of the Ministry, where the conference would be held. "I will make a quick statement before you go on."

I nodded.

"Are you ready?" he asked me.

I nodded.

"You're going to do great."

I turned to Jasper.

"Stay close to me."

"Of course," he said, taking my hand.

Kingsley nodded, and we stepped out of the hiding spot.

It would seem that the second we stepped into view, there was a stream of flashing cameras.  
Jasper walked closely at my side, and we followed behind Kingsley.

Kingsley stopped at a podium that had been placed in front of the statue. We were in the Atrium, where all the meetings with the press seemed to take place inside the Ministry.

"Good afternoon," Kingsley began. "On September 16, 2005, it was brought to my attention by Mrs. Hermione Granger-Weasley, that Mary Alice Black had returned. I had thought this as being impossible, seeing as I had went to her funeral in 1998. Mrs. Granger-Weasley provided me with a letter, from one who claimed to be Mary Alice. She had written a letter, telling a story of what had happened, and she informed me she would be staying with Molly and Arthur Weasley. I came to the Weasley residence in the early hours of this morning, and placed the woman who claimed to be Mary Alice under Veritaserum. Everything that she had said was confirmed to be true. So I present to you, Mary Alice Black."

Jasper and I stepped forward, and the stream of pictures started back up again.

"Good afternoon," I said, as clearly as I could. "I would like to tell you my story and after I finished, I am open to answering any questions you may have."

I set into my story yet again, telling them about James, and Helen and Tobias. I introduced the press to Jasper, and told them about our story finding the Cullens.

As I spoke, a camera would occasionally flash, when I finished, and I opened the floor for questions, several hands went up.

I pointed to a woman near the front, who stepped closer to me.

"Good morning, Mr and Mrs. Whitlock, my name is Isadora Whitehill, and I write for Witch Weekly. I was curious to know, was there ever a moment where you were unsure you did the right thing?"

I shook my head.

"No. I just wished I could have told them why I had to leave. I missed so many things while I was away, and they've missed parts of my life."

She turned to Jasper.

"I have a question for you too."

Jasper nodded for her to continue.

"Does knowing about the things she's done in the past, like her work as a Death Eater, and the lives she's taken affect your relationship in any way?"

Jasper looked at me for a moment before turning back to the woman.

"No, it hasn't. I've killed more people in my years as a vampire that Alice has in her entire life, and it would be hypocritical to hold that against her. When I first met her, she was broken, and I don't know if she will fully heal. That piece of her life is a part that she will always regret, and the only problem it causes in our relationship is that I can't help her."

"How about her previous relationship with the werewolf, Remus Lupin? Does that bother you?"

He thought about it for a moment before he shook his head.

"No. I know that she will always love Remus, but I also know that she doesn't love him the same way she loves me."

The woman nodded and fell back.

Questions went on like that. They'd ask Jasper or me a question, and we would give them as detailed of a question as we could.

"How does Mr. Potter feel about your return?" the woman from Witch Weekley asked.

"I'd like to think that he's happy about it," I said, smiling. "I've missed him a lot."

There was some opportunities brought up by Witch Weekly and the Prophet to have one on one interviews with Jasper and I. There were several pictures taken.

"Do you by chance have any pictures of the Cullens?" the writer from Witch Weekley asked me at the end of the interview.

I shook my head.

"Not on me, no. I'm not sure if they'd actually like their picture to be in the article."

"That's okay. The name alone will do fine."

When everything seemed to end, and each reporter was happy with the information they had obtained, they Atrium seemed to clear.

"Harry said you can use his office to go back to the Burrow," Kingsley said. "I hope to hear from you soon, Alice."

I nodded.

"Of course. It was great to see you again."

I took Jasper's hand, and began to lead him through the Ministry.

"You remember the way?" he asked.

I nodded, and came to a stop in front of an elevator.

When we got inside, and we began to make our way down, Jasper wrapped an arm around my waist.

"You did great," he murmured in my ear.

"So did you."

I leaned my head against his shoulder. My energy was beginning to go up, so tonight, I would sleep to see if that would help. Tomorrow we were also due to go to Diagon Alley, and I didn't want to be too energetic in the narrow streets. Carlisle had sent us with the black notebook, which I would return to him when we went back.

Harry's office was near the front, so it didn't take much for Jasper and I to get there.

"How did it go?" Harry asked when I stepped inside. He appeared to be packing up his stuff. Despite it being a Saturday, Harry had come in to finish some paperwork that he hadn't finished yesterday.

"It was good. They asked questions about mine and Jasper's relationship, and about everything I've done. I gave Witch Weekly a wedding photo for them to use in there article, and then they have the pictures from today. It will be out in two weeks."

"And the Prophet?"

"My story will be released tomorrow morning. I'll have to pick up a copy when we go to Diagon Alley."

Harry nodded.

"After dinner, I have a gift for you."

I frowned.

"I don't want you to spend money on me."

Harry shook his head.

"I didn't spend any money on it. Go ahead and head back. Everyone is waiting for you. I'll be there in ten minutes. I have to stop by my house first."

I nodded, and pulled Jasper to the fireplace.

When we stepped back into the Burrow, everyone seemed to be sitting down at dinner. Angelina was missing, and where ever she was, Fred was with her.

Molly spotted me eying her empty seat, and patted my shoulder.

"She's gone to see her father. She's been here so often, more so since you've come back, so she decided to go to her father's for dinner tonight."

"I'm sorry," I murmured. "I don't mean to keep everyone here."

"It's not your fault, Ali," George said from his spot next to Jasper at the table.

"Why didn't you go with her?"

"Honest answer?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

I nodded.

"I'm afraid that this is a dream, and if I go away for too long, you're going to disappear."

I smiled at him and sat in the seat in front of him.

"I'm not going anywhere, Georgie. Not for a while."

James, who sat on Jasper's lap, watched me curiously from across the table.

I smiled and hopped down, shifting into my Animagus form as I went.

This seemed to amuse all of the children, and even the adults. I jumped around the room until Molly finished placing dinner on the table.

As I changed back, Harry stepped through the fire. James jumped off Jasper's lap and bounded into Harry's arms.

"Dog!" he exclaimed, pointing to me.

Harry grinned.

"Aunt Alice turned into a dog?"

I grinned as Harry made his way to the table.

"While they eat, maybe we should call Carlisle," I told Jasper. "We promised we'd call when we got settled."

"We also said we'd call Helen and Tobias."

I nodded, and raised to my feet.

"We're going to step into the living room," I told Molly. "We'll probably be done before you guys finish eating."

Molly nodded.

"Take your time, dear. They're your family too."

Jasper and I sat on the couch facing the dining room. I was still in George's line of sight, and this seemed to bring him some comfort.

We started off by calling Carlisle. No doubt they were already settled into the house in Ithaca.

"Hello?" Carlisle asked, his voice was quiet, almost sad.  
"Carlisle? It's Alice and Jasper."

"Alice? Jasper?" his voice was excited. "How are you? How's Britain?"

"It's great," I told him, grinning.

"Hold on, let me get the others, and then you can tell us all about it."

It didn't take long for them to gather.

"Where's Edward?" I asked. Carlisle hadn't called his name. Maybe they were in the same room.

"He didn't tell you?" Esme asked quietly.

"Tell us what?" Jasper asked.

"He's left us too. He's decided to try and track Victoria."

I sighed, and closed my eyes.

"I thought he was going with you," I whispered.

"No," Rosalie said. "He figured that since we weren't there to protect Bella anymore, and since you and Jasper were in Britain, he'd go and take down Victoria."

"You didn't bring him back?" Jasper asked.

"We didn't ask you and Alice to stay," Carlisle said quietly. "We couldn't expect him to either."

I didn't respond right away. The way Carlisle said this, almost sounded angry.  
"I'm sorry," I told him quietly. "I didn't mean to cause him to leave."

"It's okay," Esme said. "He more than likely would have left even if you guys stayed."

It was silent for a moment. Jasper and I watched each other's face.

"Tell us about Britain," Carlisle said. "What have you guys been up to the last few days?"

"Well the first day, we went to the graveyard, where my parents, Remus, and Fred were burried. George and Harry found us there."  
"How did they take it?"

"They were surprised, but they believed me. They brought me back to the Burrow, and I told them about what happened to me. I went told Draco, and I told the people who had found the replica, and I wrote a letter to Kingsley. Oh, and Andromeda came."

"Nymphadora's mother?" Emmett asked me.

I smiled and nodded.

"Yep. She was coming to drop off pictures of Teddy for Harry, and Harry told her."

"What did you guys do yesterday?" Rosalie asked.

"Charlie took us to go see the dragons in Romania. We spent most of the day there. Word got out to the Prophet about my return, and Kingsley came to see me this morning and put me under Veritaserum."

"What is that?" Esme asked.

I could picture her furrowing her brow.

"It's a truth serum," Jasper said. "Once they confirmed that Alice was Alice and she was telling the truth, she spent all day doing interviews and press conferences."

"Oh, Alice, that is great!" Carlisle said, cheerfully.

"I'll have to send you copies of the stories when they come out. I didn't know if you'd be okay with me giving them a picture of you guys, but your names are mentioned."  
"What's on the agenda for tomorrow?" Esme asked.

"Harry, Hermione, Ron, Jasper, and I are going to Diagon Alley. I'm thinking about getting another owl. It will make communication with you guys a lot quicker than by mail."

"Is that such a good idea, Alice?" Rosalie asked. "We do drink animal blood."

"Maybe not. I miss having an owl though."

We talked some more about our plans for the next couple days. We would try to hunt in the late hours of tomorrow to keep us going through the energy burst.

"Alice?" Carlisle asked, quietly, after we had talked about the children.

"Yes?"

"You saw the excuse that we used to leave Forks, right?"

"Yes. I saw a vision of you talking to somebody at the hospital, and I saw another of Bella and Charlie after Edward left."

"Did the story work?"

I nodded.

"Charlie told Bella that he had heard that they weren't sure if I was going to make it."

"You'll let us know if you see anything important, right?"

"Of course."

We didn't stay on the phone much longer after that.

When the line went dead, I dropped my head into my hands.

Jasper pulled me onto his lap, and began whispering in my ear.

"It's not your fault he left, Al," he told me. "He's upset."

"I know that," I whispered. "But the way that they said it…."

I trailed off, and Jasper pulled my hands from my face.

"They're upset too. We don't know when we're coming back to them. Neither does Edward. They are trying to cope with the idea of the three of us leaving."

"Do you think we shouldn't have come?" I asked him sadly.

Jasper's eyes met mine.

"Of course not. I'm glad we came."

I smiled, and laid my head on his shoulder.

"Should we call Helen and Tobias?"

He nodded, and dialed the phone.

They answered on the second ring.

"Hello?" Tobias asked.

"Are you busy?" Jasper asked, as he began to rock side to side.

"Not at all," Helen answered. "Where's Alice?"

"I'm right here," I said, sitting up.

"How is it?"

I told the two of them everything. From the time we got here until we got off the phone with Carlisle. They listened quietly, saving any comments for the end.

"I'm sorry about the others. Are you going to send us copies of the stories?" Helen asked when I finished.

"As long as you swear you won't show them to Laurent."

"We won't. Send them in the mail. An owl would definitely be suspicious."

"How is it going with Laurent anyways?"

"He and Irina spend a decent amount of time away from the house. He seems to be struggling with the diet some. He came home with burgundy eyes a few days ago."  
"He's not around is he?" I asked.

I feared that if Laurent ever heard us, he would grow angry, and I didn't want to cause problems for Helen and Tobias.

"No, we went for a walk."

I sighed in relief.

Jasper seemed very pleased at the fact that Laurent was also struggling.

"See?" I told him. "It's not just you."

With the promise to call them soon, Helen and Tobias let us return to what we were doing.

When we returned to the table, George seemed to watch me carefully.

"Are you okay?" George asked after a moment.

"Edward left the Cullens," I said, looking at my lap. "I think they blame me."

Molly placed a hand on mine.  
"Edward is older than you by seventy-five years. I'd say he is old enough to make his own decisions."

"I didn't see his decision to leave."

"You've been busy," Harry said. "You can't catch everything that everyone does."

"They're right," Jasper said, taking my hand. "You know they are."

I nodded, and we all dropped the conversation.

Jasper and I had decided to not call Carlisle any in the next few weeks. We thought it would be better if Carlisle called us, unless I saw something important. We also decided that if we hadn't heard from Edward by next Friday, we would call him.

When everybody finished eating, Harry stood, and took my hand, and he guided me outside.

"Ready for that gift I told you about?"

I nodded, and Harry passed me a small box.

Jasper wrapped his arms around my waist, and rested his chin on my shoulder as I opened the small box.

Inside, was a small stone, and I knew immediately what it was.

"The Resurrection Stone," I whispered.

"After we thought you had died, George and I set out to find it."

"I know," I told him. "I saw it when I looked in on you. You guys were trying to figure out what I was keeping you safe from. You used the Resurrection Stone, and Fred came. I was able to talk to him. I told you guys that you had to stop looking for me."

"You were actually there?"

I nodded.

"I thought maybe I was going insane," he murmured.

I laughed and shook my head.

"I was there."

Harry took the stone from the box and placed it in my hand.

"I want you to have this, Alice. You'll live so much longer then the rest of us, and I want you to have a piece of us when we're all gone."

I shook my head.

"I don't want to think of the day where all of you are gone."

"But that day will come. But if you have this, none of us will truly be gone."

I smiled and pulled him into a hug.

"Thank you, Harry."

He nodded, and turned back to the house.

"I'll come back out in a moment. I figured you'd want to use it. There are people who want to see you I'm sure."

I nodded, and turned to Jasper.

"Are you staying with me?"

He nodded.  
"I want to see how it works."

I looked at the stone for a moment before turning it over three times in my hand.

Four figures appeared. They were smiling.

Fred stood in the front, grinning from ear to ear. Mom and Dad stood on his left. Dad's arm was wrapped around Mom's waist, almost as if he was mimicking Jasper and I. Remus stood on the right, standing further away from the others. His smile was just as wide.

"Do you see them?" I asked Jasper.

He nodded.

"Yes," he whispered.

Fred stepped forward.  
"Hey, Ali."

"Hi, Freddie."

I looked to Mom and Dad.

"Hi."

"Hey," Dad said, smiling.

"It's good to see you, sweetheart," Mom said.

When I looked at Remus, his eyes had wondered to Jasper.

"That's Jasper?" he asked me with a small smile.

"Yeah, that's Jasper."

"It's nice to finally be able to talk to all of you," Jasper said, quietly. "Alice talks about you all the time. She's missed you a lot."

"We've missed her," Dad said. "But we know that she's okay, and she's in good hands."

He smiled at Jasper.

"We're so glad that she's found you, Jasper," Mom said, smiling at me. "We weren't sure if she was ever going to find someone after Remus."

I hid my face in Jasper's arm, causing Fred to laugh.

"I always knew you'd find someone, Ali," he said.

"It's not that we didn't think you were going to love anyone else," Dad said. "It's just that things ended so badly with Remus, that we didn't know if you were going to want to find someone else."

Remus sighed.

"I regretted how things ended with us. It killed me to know I kept hurting you. I never stopped loving you, you know."

"Can I ask you a question?" I asked. When he nodded it took a deep breath. "I suppose it doesn't matter now, because I have Jasper, but why her? Out of all the people on the planet why did you choose her? Why were you so willing to give her everything you wouldn't give to me?"

This is the question that tore me up inside for years.

Remus closed his eyes.

"I don't know. Maybe it was because I didn't want to hurt her the same way I hurt you."

"But you still loved me?"

He nodded.

"I do. Even when I left, and I married Dora, I still loved you. Even if you don't love me anymore, I'll still love you."

"Did Nymphadora know that?" Jasper asked.

"I think somewhere inside of her she knew that. But she never asked, and I never told her."

Jasper watched me for a moment. I smiled up at him and kissed his cheek.

"I'm sorry," I said to Remus. "I wish I could say that I still love you that way."

"I understand," he said. "I missed my chance."

Everyone chuckled and I turned to Mom and Dad who were watching Jasper and I.

"I trust you're taking care of her," Dad said to Jasper.

Jasper nodded.

"Yes, sir. She means more to me then life itself."

"She seems happier when she's with you," Mom said, stepping closer to Jasper and I. "Since she's found you, she reminds me of who she used to be. Before the war."

I smiled, and looked up to Jasper.

"My angel," I murmured, brushing his hair from his eyes.

Fred smiled, and stepped towards me.

"George is glad to see you," he said. "He's happier now then when we were both gone."

"What's he going to do if we leave?"

"I think he'll be better knowing that your alive."

Even though we bounced around topics, we all seemed to catch up. Remus didn't talk much, but it was still nice to have him there. Even if I didn't feel the same way for him anymore, I still missed him.

It was growing dark quickly, and Harry came back outside.

He waved to everyone before turning to Jasper and I.

"Everyone is leaving," he said, quietly.

"I'll be there in a moment," I said.

Jasper kissed my cheek.

"I'm going to say bye to James."

I smiled and nodded.

Jasper followed Harry back to the house, and I turned back to the four people in front of me.

"Can I call you guys back?"

"As often as you want," Fred said.

"But don't let us get in the way of you living. Jasper needs you. I know he says he's okay, but he's hurting," Remus said.

I nodded.

"I need to be there for Jasper…" I said, trailing off. "I may not be able to talk to you guys for a while. Not until I'm sure that he's okay."

"That's okay," Mom said. "We understand. He's your husband, and he needs you."

"We'll always be here," Dad said, his smile bigger than the rest.

"Are you guys going to be okay?"

"Of course we are," Fred said. "Remember that we are all so proud of you."

I smiled and looked down to the stone.

"I love you. All of you."

"We love you too," Fred said.

I kept my eye on all of them, dropping the stone back into the box, and watching them fade away.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. A few things I want to address. Next week (July 23-July 27), I have to go to a program. The first few days, I'll be there until 6:30 pm EST, and I have to back there at 7:30 the next morning. So because of the lengthy days, and it being a five day program, I'm not exactly sure when I'll get a chapter up. The next chapter is in Diagon Alley, so I plan to make that a longer chapter. I will try to have it up by August 3rd, but I make no promises.**

 **Another thing, is that on August 7, I start my classes back up again, so my uploads won't be as regular. The benefits to this is that the chapters have a greater chance of being longer.**

 **The final thing, I want to talk about Alice's feeling towards Tonks. The two of them were never really close growing up. Alice was always a lot closer to Andromeda than she was to Tonks. So when Remus left, and he married Tonks and they had Teddy, Alice had a greater dislike towards Tonks. Imagine for a minute that someone that you loved very, very much, spent your entire relationship telling you that he would never marry you, and he would never have kids with you, and then he moves onto your cousin, (third cousin or not it's still a member of her family), and he gives her everything that he said he would never give to you. It's bound to shatter your heart. And yes, Alice loves Jasper more than she loved Remus, but it still hurts her to think that Remus easily moved onto a member of her family.**  
 **With all of this being said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)**


	72. Diagon Alley

_"There were shops selling robes, shops selling telescopes and strange silver instruments Harry had never seen before, windows stacked with barrels of bat spleens and eels' eyes, tottering piles of spell books, quills, and rolls of parchment, potion bottles, globes of the moon..." ~Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone_

* * *

Chapter 72- Diagon Alley

I went to sleep around nine o'clock that evening. The others had just left, and I spent twenty minutes trying to convince Molly that I would be okay on the couch.

"Take her up to Fred and George's old bedroom if you want to give her more room," Molly told Jasper when I didn't change my mind.

"I will."

She smiled at Jasper before she headed up the stairs.

I yawned, and laid down on Jasper's chest.

"Why do you always have to be stubborn?" Jasper asked me, pulling the blanket on top of me.

"Because I'm tired, and I don't want to walk."

I had already taken the potion before Molly went to bed.

"How about if I carry you?"

I grinned.

"I'm okay with that."

Jasper chuckled, and picked me up bridal style, making sure he kept the blanket tight around me.

I closed my eyes before we made it into the room, but I was sure he had placed me in Fred's bed, against the wall before climbing in the bed next to me.

"Good night, Jazz," I murmured.

"Good night, Darlin'."

I drifted off to sleep with Jasper humming in my ear as he held me tightly to him.

For the first time since I had started sleeping again, I had a nightmare.

 _We were back in Calgary. Jasper and I stood outside of the house, listening to the sounds of someone running through the woods. It was Maria, I was sure of it, but I also heard a second pair of feet, and this one had a heartbeat._

 _It wasn't Maria who broke out of the woods. In her place, it was James and following him was Voldemort._

 _Voldemort turned to face me, a wicked smile spreading across his face._  
 _"I told you, Mary," he said, "you will always be mine. Even when I'm gone, you're mine."_

 _"No," Jasper said, pushing me behind him. "You will never touch her again."_

 _Voldemort's grin turned to Jasper._

 _"You're a Muggle. You couldn't stop me if you wanted to."_

 _"I will protect her until I die," Jasper growled._

 _"That," James said, in a smug voice, "can easily be arranged."_

 _"Crucio!" Voldemort cried, his wand pointed at Jasper._

 _Jasper's knees buckled, and he hit the ground._

 _I could see the pain in his face, and I could remember the pain of the Cruciatus curse._

 _"Jasper!"_  
 _I turned to Voldemort._

 _"Please, please stop hurting him! I beg you."_

 _Voldemort's red eyes turned to me, and he jerked his wand back._

 _I fell to Jasper's side. His breathing was shallow._

 _"I love you," he whispered._  
 _"Shh," I soothed. "Don't you dare say goodbye. We're going to be okay."_

 _"Don't make promises you can't keep, Mary," Voldemort said._

 _I looked back up to him and James faded away, Bellatrix taking his place._

 _"Potter isn't here to save you now, Mary Alice."_

 _Bellatrix came up to me, her wand pointed at my chest._

 _"Admit it. You can't save anyone. You're a coward."_

 _She didn't cast a spell, but ropes bounded me to the ground._

 _"Jasper!" I screamed thrashing in the ropes._

 _"Alice, I love you," he whispered._

 _"No," I moaned._

 _"Tell him you love him, Mary," Voldemort taunted. "He should hear it before he dies."_

 _"I love you, Jazz," I whispered. "I love you so much. I'm sorry you got dragged into this."_

 _"It's okay. I wouldn't change it."_

 _Before I could respond, Voldemort casted a silencing spell in my direction._

 _"Avada Kedavra!" he cried._

 _The green jet hit Jasper in the chest, and he stopped moving. His breathing stopped._

 _The ropes fell away, and Bellatrix and Voldemort were gone. It was just me and Jasper._

 _I quickly made my way to him, and placed my hands on either side of his face._

 _"Jazz? Jazz, they're gone."_

 _Jasper didn't move. His eyes, which were still open, were lifeless._

 _"No," I cried. "Jazz, please, you're okay. I know you're okay. Please, Jazz, come back to me. Please, baby, please. You weren't supposed to leave me, remember?"_

I jerked awake, shooting up to where I was sitting up.

"Jasper?" I cried out in horror.

It was loud. Too loud.

I felt Jasper's arms wrap around my waist and he pulled me to him.

"Shhh," he soothed. "What's wrong?"

My breath hitched, and I realized that I had started to cry.

"Jasper," I said, burying my face into his neck.

"Alice, honey, what is wrong? Did you have a bad dream?"

I nodded, but I couldn't speak.

"Tell me about it?"

Before I could answer, a voice from the doorway startled me.

"Is everything okay?" Molly asked in a panicked voice.

"Alice had a nightmare," he said, rocking me back in forth. "She didn't mean to wake you."

"That's okay," Molly said. "Just as long as she's okay."

"She will be."

Molly turned, and I could hear her footsteps fade.

"Ali, do you want to talk about it?"

"In a moment," I whispered.

"Take your time," Jasper said.

I knew he was alive, and I knew it was just a dream, but I was afraid to let go of him.

When I relaxed in his arms, and pulled away from him, he pulled the blanket back over me.

"Now what happened?" Jasper asked me.

"We were in Calgary," I said, my voice was still trembling. "I knew Maria was coming, but I heard somebody else. But it wasn't her. It was James and Voldemort, and they started torturing you because you tried to protect me. James faded away and Bellatrix appeared, and she told me that I couldn't save anyone, and that I was a coward. They restrained me, and then killed you."

Jasper watched me for a minute, and continued to hug me to him.

"It's okay," he told me. "I'm alive. I'm not going anywhere."

"I know," I whispered. "I just don't like watching you die."

Jasper chuckled.

"I know that, sweetheart."

He shifted to where I was laying back down. I still clung to him.

"Go back to sleep for a little bit, sweetheart. I promise I will be here when you wake up."

"I'm scared to go back to sleep."

Jasper ran a hand up and down my spine.

"Relax," he told me quietly. "It's going to be okay, Ali, I promise."

I did end up falling back asleep. The potion was still in effect, so I could still sleep. Jasper went from humming to telling me stories. He told me a story about an angel falling in love with a human girl.  
"The angel swore to protect the girl for the rest of their lives," Jasper said as I drifted off to sleep.

I woke back up close to seven thirty the next morning. Jasper was watching me when I opened my eyes.

"Morning," he murmured, gently pressing his lips against mine.  
"Good morning."

"Anymore nightmares?"

I shook my head.

"I didn't dream at all."

"Good," Jasper murmured. "George came in to tell me that his store was open today, and he wants us to drop by while we're in Diagon Alley."

I had only been in Fred and George's shop once. I had convinced Voldemort to let me go to the opening by telling him everyone would be suspicious if I didn't show.

Even though I had only been the once, I could remember everything about their shop. I could remember the glowing pink stand that held the love potions, and the shelves filled with prank objects along with the newly made Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes boxes.

"I wonder if it looks the same," I said quietly.

"We'll find out on a bit I suppose. But we'd better get dressed. I think everyone is downstairs waiting."

Jasper was right. Everyone was downstairs waiting as we walked in the dining room.

"Morning," Harry said with a smile. "How'd you sleep?"

I told Harry about the nightmare, and everyone at the table watched intently.

"Sometimes I forget he's gone," I whispered.

"Jasper is safe, dear," Molly told me, giving me a small hug. "I doubt he's ever going anywhere."

I smiled and turned back to Jasper.

"I'm sure you're right."

Jasper wrapped his arms around me and pulled me closer to him.

"She is," he murmured.

I smiled and leaned against him.

It was decided that we would use the Floo System to get there. Hermione didn't want to Apparate while she was pregnant, and Jasper doesn't enjoy the feeling of Apparation.

"We'll have to go to Gringotts first," I told Jasper as we stood near the fireplace "Harry and I have a few legal things to take care of first."

Harry and I had discussed it privately after breakfast. Jasper had stayed at the table, entertaining Ron with his stories about the wars he's been in.

"You're not in trouble are you?" Jasper asked frowning.

I shook my head.

"No, nothing like that," I said, shaking my head. "We just have to change some things out of Harry's name. Everyone kind of used Harry as my next of kin, so when I died, my house and my vaults went to Harry."

"I never used the vaults," Harry told me. "Everything is exactly how you left it."

Jasper looked at Harry surprised.

"You had the opportunity to use her vault and you never took it?"

Harry shook his head.

"My parents left me enough money to get me by."

"What about the Black vault?" I asked him.

He shrugged.

"I've never really went into it."

Harry had told me that he wanted to split half of the Black vault with me. Half of it would go into my vaults and the key would be left with Harry.

Before stepping through the fireplace, Harry handed me four keys.

"Here is your house key, and the key to all of your vaults. I found them in the house."

"Thank you," I said with a smile.

Jasper made the decision to try the Floo System on his own. Harry and I walked him through the steps.

"Make sure you speak clearly," I told him "I'd hate for you to end up in Knockturn Alley."

Jasper took some of the Floo Powder and eyed me, cautiously.

"I'll be right behind you and Ron, Ginny, and Hermione are waiting for you," I said, beaming at him.

He closed his eyes and threw down the powder.

"Diagon Alley!"

With a flash of green fire, Jasper was gone.

"Let's hope he ended up where he was supposed to be," I murmured as I stepped into the fireplace.

Jasper, Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny were waiting for me when I stepped through the fireplace. Jasper was beaming widely. It was one of the happiest times I had seen him since the accident.

"I did it!" he told me excitedly, as I stepped through.

I laughed.

"So I can see. You've made it through in one piece and you're where you need to be."

I kissed his cheek.

"You're already doing better than Harry," I whispered into his ear, beaming.

Jasper chuckled and turned to Harry who was frowning at me.

"That's not nice, Alice," Harry said.

I laughed, and hid my face in Jasper's arm.

"Come on," Hermione said, grinning. "We should get to Gringotts. You two have a lot of stuff that needs to be worked out."

Jasper stayed close to my side as we passed the narrow street of Diagon Alley. He looked around at the different shops, and I made sure I kept a hand tightly in his to make sure that he kept up.

"This place is amazing," Jasper said quietly to me.

"I know. I loved coming here when I was growing up."

"Is Gringotts like it is in America?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"They aren't as nice."

"Otherwise they're the same?"

I shrugged.

"I suppose so."

Gringotts remained at the end of the street, and it looked exactly how I remembered it. Any damage from the war had been repaired. The entire street had been.

"Did Mr. Ollivander ever go back to the shop?" I asked, looking around the street as we headed up the stairs of Gringotts.

Hermione nodded.

"It took him some time, but he came back."

"Is he okay?"

Ron nodded.

"He doesn't blame you, Ali."

I smiled and looked down at the ground.

"Good."

Gringotts hadn't changed during the remodel. It still looked the same as it had before.

"Did they replace the dragon?" I asked, looking up to the high ceiling. There were so many questions about the world I had left behind. It seems that every time a question was answered, I had a new one. But everyone seemed patient, and they answered questions when I had them.

"Yes," Ron said. "Charlie trained a baby and brought it from Romania."

As we continued to make our way up to the front, Jasper looked around the place.

"It's bigger than the bank in America," he told me quietly.

I chuckled, and squeezed his hand.

"You okay, love?"

He nodded.

"Do you think they'll let me go with you?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"I'm not quite sure. But even if they don't, Ron and Hermione will be here with you."

He sighed, and I squeezed his hand again.

"Good morning," Harry said, clearly. "We're here for a meeting with the head goblin."

The goblin peered down at Harry, and then to me and Jasper.

"If you and Mrs. Whitlock will follow me."

"And the others?" Harry asked.

The goblin looked to Hermione, then to Ron, then to Jasper, who was still holding tightly onto my hand.

"You're the husband?" he asked Jasper, pointing to our hands.

"Yes, sir," Jasper said.

"He can come, I suppose."

The goblin seemed happier at Jasper's calling him 'sir'.

Jasper, Harry, and I followed the goblin back to a row of offices.

We stepped into the office at the end of the hallway to be meet by a goblin sitting at a test, surrounded by various papers.  
"Harry Potter and Mary Alice Black Whitlock, as well as her husband, are here to see you," the goblin who had led us here said.

The goblin nodded, and gestured to the seats in front of him.

"Sit," he said.

The goblin watched Jasper very closely.

"He's not a wizard," the goblin said.

"No," I said, smiling at Jasper. "He's a Muggle."

"But nevertheless a magical creature of sorts."

Jasper nodded.  
"Vampires."

"I read the article," the goblin said turning back to me. "That was a very brave thing you did for your family. Foolish, but brave."

"Good things came from it," I said, smiling at the wedding band on Jasper's hand.

The goblins were nicer than I had remembered them to be. Maybe it was Hermione's work to better the lives of magical creatures.

"It's my understanding that you are here to sort out the legal things that has come up in Mrs. Whitlock's return. Is that right?"

"Yes," Harry and I said in unison.

The goblin turned to a stack of papers.

"How would you like to handle the vaults?"

"I want Alice to take back her vault, and her mother and father's shared vault, and I want to place half of the Black vault into her name," Harry said.

I turned to Harry surprised.

"Harry, Dad left the Black vault to you in his will."

He nodded.  
"Yes, but it should have been your money. In the times that I used the Resurrection stone, Sirius talked about one of his biggest regrets being that he couldn't finish changing his will in time."

"So half of the Black vault will be transferred to your vault," the goblin told me.  
I nodded, and he wrote some notes before turning to another set of notes.

"We also have the issue of housing. Mrs. Whitlock, you can technically claim three houses. You can claim the house in your mother and your father's name, which I have the address of 189 Cedar Road Avenue, and then there in Number 12 Grimmauld Place."

"And the third?" I asked frowning.

"There is a property left to you by a Mr. Remus John Lupin."

"Remus left me our cottage?" I asked, surprised.

The goblin nodded.

"Harry can keep Grimmauld Place. I would like to keep my parent's house, and I would at least like to take a look in Remus's house."

The goblin nodded, and handed me to a box.  
"When you died, we were ask to hold on to that key until Edward Lupin turned seventeen. Now that you are back, you can chose to sign it over to him if you wish. Andromeda Tonks says that everything is still there."

I nodded.

"I'll look around and then come to a decision."

"Just come back to me when you are ready with that decision."

"Of course, sir."

The goblin made notes on this sheet of paper, and moved it to the side, before pulling the paper back to him.

"Now the final thing concerns only Mrs. Whitlock," the goblin told Harry, before turning back to me. "Mr. Lupin also left you with a small amount of money. It's not much, but it's still something."

"Does Edward Lupin have a vault?" I asked, looking at my lap.

"He has his mother's vault, that is in control of his grandmother until he turns seventeen. Most of his father's vault was left to you."

I nodded.

"Give the money to him. I've already got a lot."

The goblin nodded.

"We'll notify his grandmother of the transfer."

"Thank you."

We sat quietly for a moment as the goblin made notes and shifted through papers.  
"I think that's all the information I needed," he said, pushing the papers to Harry and I. "I just need you both to sign them at the bottom, and you'll be good to go."

He pushed two quills and a pot of ink towards us, and Harry signed the papers before handing them back to him.

"Your transfers should be made by the end of the day."

"Thank you," I said, rising to my feet.

"Come back when you've made a decision on Mr. Lupin's house."

I nodded.

"I should be back tomorrow or the day after."

The goblin turned back to his work, and Harry, Jasper, and I began to move back to the front. When we made it, a goblin was waiting with Hermione and Ron.

"The lady says you also need to make a withdrawal," the goblin told me.

I nodded.

"Yes we do."

"Which vault?"  
"I need to go to 714," I said.

"And I need to go to vault 687."

The goblin nodded and turned to Ron and Hermione.

"Do you need to go to a vault?"

"209," Hermione said.

The goblin nodded.

"Follow me."

Jasper looked at me cautiously as we made our way down a different hallway.

"It's okay, Jazz," I soothed. "Just hold on tight."

We made it to the cart, and Hermione, Ron, and the goblin sat inside, while Harry, Jasper and I held onto the side.

"This is safe?" Jasper asked looking at the cart.

I laughed.

"Do you want to stay here?"

He shook his head, and quickly made his way to the cart.

"Trust me, Jazz. I'm not going to let you get hurt."  
"It's not me I'm worried about."

Before I responded, the cart took off with a jerk.

Jasper seemed to do well on the ride down. He held his breath though, and he finally exhaled when we came to a screeching halt in front of Ron and Hermione's joint vault.

"You get used to it after a while," Harry told him. "I remember my first ride."

Sometimes, I forget that Harry was raised by Muggles. I forgot that in Muggle banks, you simply tell the banker how much you wanted to take out, and they gave it to you. I remembered being amazed when Jasper and Carlisle first took me to a bank.

When Hermione and Ron returned, the goblin took his seat in the front and we came hurtling to Harry's vault.

"Why is your vault further down than the others?"

I shrugged.  
"Both my mother and my father came from old families. They had a good amount of money too. Mr. and Mrs. Potter gave Dad a lot of money when he was disowned, and Mum's grandmother left a good portion of her money to her."

"So all the money in there came from your parents?"

I shook my head.

"No. I worked, and I saved up money. Bellatrix put money in my vault on a few occasions. I think she was trying to give me some incentive to stay with the Death Eaters."

"But you never cared about money," Ron said. I was aware that the other three were paying attention to mine and Jasper's conversation.

"You're right. I didn't."

"So why would Bellatrix give you money?" Jasper asked, frowning.

"I don't know. I think that because I grew up with Remus, and we never really had money, they thought that now that Remus and I had broken up, and I had control of my vaults, I would be more open to having a lot of money."

When we made it down to my vault, Jasper and I stepped off.

"A few vaults over, and you'll reach the Black vault," I said to Jasper, as I handed the goblin the key.

When the door opened, Jasper's eyes widened.

"Alice, that's not a little bit of money," he said, in surprise.

"I told you I had money," I said, stepping inside the vault.

I picked up a few handfuls of Galleons, Sickles, and Knuts.

Jasper chuckled, and looked around.

"Is that the Black crest?" he asked, pointing to a bracelet that belonged to Regulus.

I nodded.

"It belonged to my uncle."

He smiled, and followed me back out of the vault.

"If you want anything, let me know," I told him.

"Thanks, Al."

When we made it back up to the ground floor, Jasper sighed in relief, and immediately wrapped an arm around my waist.

"I didn't like that," he said, shaking his head.  
I laughed again.

"Just wait until we get you onto the Knight Bus."

We made our way out of Gringotts, nodding at the guard as we passed.  
"Where to first?" Harry asked me.

"I want to see Fred and George's shop," I said, watching the building from where I stood.

Behind my eyes, flashes of this shop appeared.

 _"I'm so proud of you," I told Fred. My voice rang in my ears,_

"Alice," Jasper murmured in my ear. "It's okay. Don't cry."

I hadn't realized I had begun to cry. Now that Jasper pulled me back, I could feel the dryness in my eyes.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"Don't be," Jasper murmured, kissing my temple.

Harry offered me a small smile, and led the way to Fred and George's shop.

I was half expecting to walk through the doors, and see Fred and George smiling down at me, but I didn't. It was just George.

"Alice! You came!" George said, flying down the stairs.

"Of course I came," I laughed, as he pulled me into a hug.

"What do you think?" he asked, turning to Jasper, and gesturing to the store.

"It's great," Jasper said looking around.

"Let's look around," I told Jasper, taking his hand.

George smiled.

"Pick out something you like on the house."

I smiled at George, and Jasper began to pull me to a side of the store.

He reminded me of a child at Christmas. It was the small things of my world that seemed to amaze him. Fred and George's store caused many wonders.

"Hey, Al?" Jasper asked, calling my attention to a shelf displaying the latest additions to one of Fred and George's Skiving Snackboxes.

"Hmmm?"

"Do you think these will work on us?"

I looked at the various labels.

"I don't think the ones involving blood will, but I think the others might. Do you want one?"

Jasper smiled.

"I think they'd be fun to try, and helpful during school if I feel like things are too much for me to handle."

I laughed.

"I'll buy you a you can pick something else out for George's 'on the house' offer."

Jasper smiled and resumed looking at the store.

"What does this do?" he asked me, as he picked up Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder.

"It's a defence object," I told him. "It covers the surrounding area in complete darkness. Almost nothing can pass through it."

"Almost?"  
"During the Battle of the Astronomy Tower, Draco used it to smuggle us Death Eaters into the castle. To guide the way, he used the Hand of Glory."

Jasper frowned.

"Would this ever come of use to us?"

"Maybe if Victoria came for us. But I've looked. She isn't after us."

He placed the stone back on the display, and looked around the store.

"Did they make all of this?"

I shook my head.

"No, not all of it. Some of it was imported, like the Peruvian Instant Darkness Powder for instance. But most of it they did. The fireworks, the Wonder Witch line."

I closed my eyes, and I could see Fred's smiling face as I walked through the door of their shop for the first time.

"They were brilliant," I whispered.

"They still are," Jasper said, pulling me into his arms.

It was the first time that I had actually thought about Fred's death. I knew he was gone, but it never felt real. Now it did.

I shook my head, and focused on George's face that seemed to watch Jasper and I curiously.

"Jazz?"

"Yeah, Al?"  
"What's he feeling," I asked.  
"Who?"

"George."

He followed my eyes, and focused on him.

"He's relieved, and he's happy, but he's also afraid."

"Of what?"

Jasper smiled against my ear.

"You know I can't see that."

"I know."

I sighed, and turned back to the shelf.  
"So, do you see anything you want?"

"Do you suppose these work on vampires?" he asked, picking up a boxing telescope. "I think they'd give Emmett a laugh."

"I'm sure the punching will, but I'm not sure about the bruising. I'll go ask George," I said, smiling, as Jasper continued to look around the store.

I took the telescope from Jasper, and made my way over to the counter.

"He seems to be enjoying himself," George said, smiling.

"It's good to see him not so serious," I said. "He'd like to know if the bruising on these work on vampires."

George chuckled.

"You know, I've actually never had a vampire try it out. Wanna be the first?"

I frowned.

"I didn't particularly enjoy being your test run the first time. I had to walk into a Death Eater meeting with a black eye until we could get the bruising paste right."

George laughed.

"Well we've been going off of your recipe for the last ten years. Do you not trust your abilities? Come on, Al. I'll even give you the Skiving Snackbox for free if you do this for me."

I grinned, and opened the box.

"Do you have the paste on hand?"

He reached under the counter and stuck a container on top.

I opened the box, and looked at George.

"Here goes nothing."

I brought the telescope to my eye to be met with a small fist.

A small pop rang through the room, and I blinked a few times.

"Well I guess you got your answer," George said, passing me a small compact mirror.

Around my eye, a purple bruise began to form. It was darker than what my eyes would look like if I had went without hunting.

I laughed, and touched under my eye.  
"Amazing."

George passed me the bruise paste, and Jasper appeared at my side.

"Al, what happened?" Jasper asked. His voice was full of shock.

"The bruising works on vampires," I said, laughing.

"You tried it?" Jasper asked, mortified.

"George said he'll give us the Snackbox free," I shrugged.

"You are unbelievable," Jasper scoffed as George repackaged the telescope.

"Oh come on, Jazz," I said, picking up the bruise paste. "The bruise will go away in an hour."

"Maybe less for you," George said, handing Jasper the bag with our stuff inside.

I smiled, and applied the paste to under my eye.

"I'll be fine, Jasper."

"If you intend on using that on anybody, I'd make some paste to go with it," George said.

I smiled, and turned to Harry and Ginny who seemed to be looking at an display of Pygmy Puffs.

"I'm proud of you, Georgie. You've done great."

He smiled and looked around.

"I couldn't have done it without Fred. Or Harry. Or you and Lee."

"I think you could have done it without me," I said.

He shook his head.

"I would have never gotten the bruise paste right."

"Maybe if you listened more in Potions, you could have figured it out."

George laughed.

"It was hard without you here," he told me, closing his eyes. "I almost didn't know how to handle losing you and Fred both."

"But you did it," I said, placing a hand over his.

"Good things came out of this. You found love again."

"Hey, Jazz?" I asked, squeezing his hand. "Could you go over with Harry for a moment? There's something I want to talk to George about."

Jasper nodded, and kissed my cheek before moving to stand with Harry.

George waved me to the stairs, where we walked until reaching the top stair.

"Is everything okay?" he asked me. "You guys aren't leaving yet are you?"

I shook my head.

"No, no, nothing like that," I said shaking my head. "It's just that, there was something you told Harry at my funeral. I wanted to know about it."

"Okay. Go ahead."

"You had mentioned that for a time both you and Fred developed feelings for me. Is that true?"

George sighed, but smiled.

"Yes. When I realized Fred's feelings for you, I stepped back. I could understand it. The night Remus left, he found you, and he stayed with you."

"I'm sorry," I told him, shaking my head.

"What for?"

"I couldn't move on."

"But now you have."

We looked down the stairs at Jasper, who was holding a Pygmy Puff that Ginny had handed him.

"Do you really like him?"

George nodded, and put an arm around my shoulders.

"He's great, Alice. He's everything we all wanted for you."

"He really likes you guys," I said. "He likes being here."

"How bad was he?"

"After attacking Bella?"

George nodded.

"I think he was afraid I would leave him. But it took it really doesn't like feeling weak. I guess in that sense, he'll always be a soldier."

"Did he really teach you to fight without magic?"

I nodded.

"We had just started dating, and he didn't want me to get hurt. It meant a lot to him."

"How'd it work out?" he asked, as we began to make our way back down the stairs.

"I actually blasted him into a tree on accident. I wasn't expecting him to grab me, and without thinking, I casted a Body-Binding Curse at him."

Jasper turned and looked at us. I realized that we must have been back in earshot.

"I'll talk to you when I get off," George said, smiling. "I'll have to get Jasper to tell me the rest of that story."

I smiled, and gave him a small hug.

"I'll see you later, George."

Jasper returned the Pygmy Puff to it's cage, and we stepped outside to wait for the four others.

"Is everything okay?"

He asked me, leaning against the wall of the shop.  
I smiled and nodded.

"Do you remember how I told you that George told Harry that he and Fred at feelings for me at one point?"

Jasper nodded.  
"Well I was asking him if it was true."

"And it was."

I nodded.

"It was. But he backed off when he realized Fred had feelings for me."

I watched Jasper's face.

"How did that conversation turn into you telling George about me teaching you to fight?" he asked, smirking.

"We started talking about you," I told him, smiling. "And I had told Harry about you trying to teach me to fight, and I guess he told George."

Jasper smiled, and placed a hand on my hip.

"I think that was one of the days I realized how much I loved you," he said, meaning forward to kiss my cheek.

"One?"

Jasper nodded.

"The first, was the day we met. The more you told about yourself, the more I realized I had to have you. When you told me about Remus, I realized I could never let anything hurt you ever again. When you told me you loved me, I knew I could never let you go. There were moments for me, that made me realize how much I love you. Even now, as each day passes, I love you more and more."

I smiled and rested my head against his chest.

When Harry, Ginny, Ron, and Hermione came out, each was carrying a bag.

"We got some fireworks to set off tonight," Harry told me, gesturing to the bag that he held in his hand.

"Can you even set them off this time of year?" Jasper asked.

I nodded.

"As long as they're concealed from Muggles, yes."

"And they will be?"

I nodded.  
"The other wizarding families nearby will be able to see them, but they'll be concealed from the Muggles in the village. I'll go down before we set them off and make sure the sound charms are holding."

We began to make our way down the street again.

"Where to next?" Ginny asked.

"How about Quality Quidditch Supplies?" I asked. "I want another broom. I miss having one."

Harry smiled.

"Maybe after George gets off, we could play Quidditch."

I beamed.

"I haven't played Quidditch in a long time."

We made our way to the Quidditch store,Jasper continuing to look around the street in wonder. He laid eyes on Flourish and Blotts, and his eyes lit up.

"We'll go there next," I promised him, smiling as I we walked passed him, smiling.

"Do you think they'll right a book about you?" Ron asked, glancing over his shoulder at me.

"I'm sure Rita Skeeter will try," Harry said. "Like she did with Dumbledore."

Rita Skeeter seemed to be a fear amongst us all, except for Jasper. Jasper had no idea how much Rita Skeeter would twist my story around into something horrible. She was bring Jasper into it, and make him out to be a bad guy, I was sure of it.

"Did you see her at the press conference?" Hermione asked me.

I shook my head.

"She didn't have to be there in person."

Jasper looked between us all.

"I don't understand what's so bad about this woman," he told me quietly when we stepped inside the shop.

"Harry, are they still printing the book she wrote on Dumbledore?"

Harry nodded.

"Aberforth said she got some of the facts right. So people were interested in it."

I turned back to Jasper.

"I'll get the book on Dumbledore at Flourish and Blotts. Rita loves to twist things, and turn them into something horrible. I'm sure if we look around at my house, we'll find some of the newspapers that she wrote on Harry. You know more about Harry then you do about Dumbledore, so that may give you some more insight."

"When are you going to go look around your house?" Harry asked me, as I began to look at the various new models of brooms.

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "I know I'm probably going to go to Remus's after I rebuild my energy….although I do have a few days before it's at its lowest."

"When is it at the highest?"

"Today. But we've been moving around a lot, so it's not that bad."

Jasper smiled, and watched me as I moved around the store.

They had several new models of various different brooms. They had the newest Nimbus models, and the newest Firebolts.

I remembered having a Nimbus 1700, and then when it came out, I traded it in for a Nimbus 2000.

I settled on a new model of a Firebolt. I had never owned anything but a Nimbus, and I could remember how fond Harry was of his Firebolt.

"I'll probably need a broom cleaning kit too," I murmured more to myself than to the others.

While I bought my broom, Harry bought a new Quidditch set.

"Are you going to be playing Seeker?" Jasper asked me.

"Most likely. But if I get put on a team with Harry, then I could play Chaser."

When we left this store, I turned to the others.

"I'm going to take Jasper to Flourish and Blotts. If you guys want, you can go get some food, and we'll meet up with you when we finish."

Harry nodded.  
"You'll see when we make a decision on where to go."

I smiled and nodded.

I pulled Jasper back to Flourish and Blotts.

"Get anything you want," I told him, reaching up to kiss his cheek. "I'm going to go find that book."

He went to one side of the store, while I made my way to the other, looking at the shelves.

I caught flashes of decisions from someone's future, although, I wasn't sure who. There was green, and it all moved so quickly.

As I looked through the store, picking up a few books along the way, I began to think about Bella. Was she okay? Edward had told her that he didn't love her. Whether or not that's true, it killed her. I was sure of it.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by a familiar voice. One I didn't recognize right away.

"So it is you. Mary Alice Black. No wait, forgive me, it's Mary Alice Whitlock now."

I turned to meet Lucius Malfoy, who stood at a distance.

"Lucius," I greeted.

"Draco told us you were back. He said you came to see him the day you returned. He also said you brought your husband with you."

"I did."

"Is it true that you married a Muggle?" he asked.

"Yes. Jasper is a Muggle."

"You could have done so much better," he said. His voice almost sounded to be in disgust.

A growl escaped my lips, causing Lucius to flinch back from me.

"Who I love, who I married does not now, nor will it ever concern you. Let me remind you, that you are not now, and you never will be any better than I, Lucius Malfoy. "

His grey eyes searched my face.

"You think very, very lowly of me. I can only imagine what you think of yourself," he said, quietly.

I didn't answer him. I wasn't going to admit to Lucius that I didn't think much of myself. Instead, I turned on my heel, and went to find Jasper.

"Are you almost ready?" I asked him, looking at the stack of books he held.

"We'll have to come back before we leave," he told me.

I smiled, and led him to the checkout counter. Lucius was gone now. He probably left right after I found Jasper.

Once we checked out, I went through the bag to hand the book Rita Skeeter wrote about Dumbledore to Jasper.

"This is it?" he asked me, flipping through the book.

I nodded, and pulled him into the direction of the Leaky Cauldron.

When the wall folded in on itself, Jasper watched in amazement. I was busy placing all the books into my bag, careful to not place them on top of anything else.

"This is the Leaky Cauldron," I told Jasper. "This is where most people enter Diagon Alley."

"You've talked about it before," he told me.

I nodded.

"Yes. It was a big part of my life. When I went shopping for school, I used to come here and eat."

I could see Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny sitting at a table in the back. Two seats were empty.

Harry looked up at us as we sat down.

"You were gone for a while," Harry said. "We just got our food."

"Well Jasper found a lot of books he liked. And I ran into Lucius Malfoy."

"What?" Harry asked, surprised.

"He hasn't changed much, old Lucius," I growled. "Still the same arrogant prick he was seven years ago."

"Some people don't change," Hermione said.

I watched her for a second before turning back to Jasper who was studying me carefully.  
"What?" I asked him.

"I didn't hear anything," he told me, tilting his head. "I didn't hear you arguing or talking to anyone."

I shrugged.

"Lucius probably put up some sort of sound charm before he got my attention."

"What were you talking about?"

I sighed.

"He told me I could have done better than a Muggle. I told him that who I loved was none of his business and that he was no better than I because of who I loved."

Jasper's face appeared sad.

"Jazz, what's the matter?" I asked taking his hand.

"I'm causing problems for you."

I shook my head.

"No, Jazz. It's prejudice that is causing problems for me. Hermione is right. Some people never change. Some people have the same blood values that they've always had. Don't let Lucius get to you, Jazz."

I leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

Lucius had always been a problem for me. Even as a Death Eater, he always questioned my loyalty, although in the end, I guess he was right. His reasoning however, wasn't Harry. He believed that Harry had caused enough problems in my life that I would have enough reason to hate him. His reasoning for me not being loyal to Voldemort, was because of Remus.

"Where are we going next?" Ginny asked, pulling me from my thoughts.

I shrugged.

"I was thinking about getting some new robes, and maybe picking up a few gifts for the Cullens, Helen, and Tobias."

"Helen and Tobias mean a lot to you," Ron said.

I nodded.

"I owe them everything. They helped me save my family, and by doing that, they saved me. They led me to Jasper. After all that, they continued to check in on me."

"Is there anything else that you want to do while your here?" Jasper asked.

"I want to run by the Daily Prophet office. My story was supposed to be out in the paper. I wanted to send a copy to Helen and Tobias, and a copy to Carlisle and the others. I've also thought about resuming my subscription with the Prophet. The American paper isn't very good."

When we had moved away from Calgary, I had subscribed to an American Wizarding Newspaper. I hadn't kept it for more than a few months before I ended my subscription. Maybe it was because I was biased to the Prophet, but I overall didn't like the writing.

"Will they deliver to America?" Jasper asked.  
I shrugged.

"It's worth a try. Owls deliver them, and it doesn't take long for an owl to get from place to place."

"What will you do if they don't?"

"Then I will keep a subscription while we're here, and then get Harry to send copies to me when we go back."

"Have you thought about when that will be?" Hermione asked me.

I shook my head.

"I don't really want to think about leaving right now. We just got here, and I haven't seen any of you guys in a long time. Longer than the time that you haven't seen me. Believe me, you'll know the second we decide on a date."

They nodded.

When everyone was finished eating, we made our way back into the Alley, where we started by heading to the Daily Prophet office.

I picked up a few copies, and paid for them before placing them inside my bag with everything else.

"Maybe we could get Jasper some robes," Ginny said, watching Jasper, who was across the street looking at a street cart filled with bracelets and necklaces.

"What for?"

"Well you never know what event could come up while you guys are here."

"I'll talk to him about it."

Jasper came bounding back to my side, showing me the necklace that he had bought for Rosalie, and the bracelet that he had bought for Esme.

"They're beautiful, Jazz," I said, smiling, and I looked at them both.

The necklace was a silver chain, with a onyx diamond hanging from the bottom. The bracelet, was an alternating between sapphires, and emeralds.

"What are we going to get for Carlisle?" Jasper asked.

"Well I found a book on Magical Healers that he may be interested in," I said. "I figured I'd get it just in case."  
"And Emmett?"

"I may have to run back to George's shop and get a few of the trick wands for him."

"What about Edward?"

I hadn't thought about Edward. I wasn't sure where he was, or when he was coming back.

"I don't know," I said. "I'm sure we'll find something for him before we go back to America."

When we entered Madam Malkins, it wasn't very busy. There was a man standing in the back, looking at gloves, and a woman towards the middle looking at some dress robes.

"Do you want to get some robes, Jasper?" I asked, glancing at him as I began to move to a side of the store. "Madam Malkin has various different robes. She has Self-Ironing ones, chameleon skin gloves."

"What do they do? The chameleon skin gloves."

"They change colors to match your surroundings," I said, pulling him to the gloves. "Look, I'll show you."

I picked up a pair of the gloves, and slipped them onto one hand. Once I was sure the glove was in place, I put a hand on Jasper's shoulder. The glove changed to match the navy blue shirt that Jasper wore. I moved the glove to his hand, and watched as the glove went from navy blue, to the same white that matched Jasper's skin.

"What are these?" he asked me, picking up a pair of charmed-leather gloves.

"I'm not sure," I said, picking up a pair. "They must be new."

He placed them back on the shelf, and picked up a pair of dragon hide gloves.

"Are these made from dragons?" Jasper asked me.

I nodded.  
"They're supposed to protect the wearer. You use them in Care of Magical Creatures.

"Would we need them when we go to Hogwarts?"

I shook my head.

"We should be okay. But you can get a pair if you'd like."

He shook his head.

Jasper didn't end up getting anything from Madam Malkin's. He watched while she fitted me for a self-ironing robe, as well as a pair of self-repairing robes.

"It's not much," I told Jasper with a small smile, "however they last a while."

We went to a few more stores, including Scribbus's Writing Supply, Potage's Cauldron Shop, and towards four-thirty, we circled back to George's shop before it closed to get the things for Emmett.

I did end up finding something for Edward. A street vender sold classical music, which had been charmed to soothe the listener.

"I think it could help him," I told Jasper as we, now accompanied by George, made our way back through the Leaky Cauldron.

"Where are we going?" Jasper asked me, looking around as we stepped into Muggle London.

"We," I said, taking his hand, "are going to ride the Knight Bus."

When we made it to the corner, Harry held out his wand.

After a moment, we all heard the loud bang that caused Jasper to flinch.

"Good evening," Stan Shunpike said, poking his head out of the window. His eyes met mine, and a small smile crept onto his face. "I saw you were back in town, Alice."

"Hi, Stan," I said, with a smile.

He led us to the second floor, where he pointed to a few of the beds.

"Sit anywhere you'd like," he turned and gave Jasper a smile. "Trust me, you'll want to sit."

He turned back to me, as I began digging through my coin pouch to pull out enough money for half of us. Harry and I agreed we'd each pay for half.

"Whereabouts are you headin'?" he asked me.

"Ottery St Catchpole," I said. "All seven of us."

He nodded.

"Five Galleons and four sickles."

"For each person?" Jasper asked, with wide eyes.

Stan shook his head.  
"As one group."

After Harry and I paid the amount due, Stan tipped his hat before making his way back down to the first level.

"Get ready," I told Jasper, hanging onto the bed post.

After a second, we took off, all the beds moving around the floors. Jasper held tightly onto my hand, and we waited.

When we finally made it to our stop, Jasper quickly made his way off the bus, while I laughed behind him.

"You rode that thing while you were human?" he asked me in surprise.

I nodded.

"I found it quite enjoyable."

Jasper frowned at me.

"I can't see how."

I smiled, and we made our way up the hill.

When we got around to playing Quidditch, Bill came over, while Jasper, Hermione, Fleur, and Ginny watched. Molly and Arthur even came out to watch.

Harry was the Seeker for one team, and I was Seeker for the other. Bill and George were on my team, while Angelina and Ron were on Harry's. Ron and George played Beaters, while Bill and Angelina played Chasers.

My team won. I noticed that Harry didn't seem to be playing his best, so I was sure he was letting me win. But nevertheless, I was happy.

"Alice?" Angelina asked, after we had all gotten everything cleaned up. "Can I talk to you? Alone?"

I nodded, and turned to Jasper.

"I'll be right back. I swear."

He kissed my cheek, and I followed Angelina down the hill.

"So what's up?" I asked, as Angelina sat on the hill. I sat next to her, and she avoided my eye.

"Alice, you know that we are all so happy that you are here. Everyone has missed you, so much."

"But?"

"But I'm afraid of what's going to happen when you and Jasper go back to America."

I stared at my hands for a long time.

"I am too," I whispered.

"George will miss you."

"I'll keep in touch this time. Now that they know I'm alive I don't have to stay away any more."

"Can I ask you a question?"

I nodded.

"What happens when we die? What will you have to come back to?"  
"Your children and you grandchildren, I suppose. But I don't like thinking about the possibility of you guys being gone."

"Do you think that Jasper is ready to handle that?"

"He's had to deal with a lot in our fifty-seven years….but I think that will destroy me. I thought I was going to break down when I had to lose everyone twice, but I never thought about what would happen when you were all gone."

"When you go back to America, you'll have to let us come visit you. Now that George knows you're alive, he's going to check on you a lot."

"I'll talk to Carlisle about putting up a Floo System. It would make things easier if I'm trying to visit or the other way around."

Angelina smiled, but I didn't return it.  
The thought had now filled my head. What would I do when they were all gone?"

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know I'm putting this up late, and I'm sorry. I ended up with writer's block, and then I was caught up doing stuff to start my classes again, which started today. I had some time in one of my classes to work on it, and hopefully I can get into a good schedule working my homework, and my classes with writing.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	73. Phone Calls

_"To do what we love, we miss the ones we love. Long distance letters and phone calls and anything to make the distance disappear, is what it means to me." ~Hayley Williams_

* * *

Chapter 73- Phone Calls

I couldn't get the thought out of my head. I didn't tell anybody about my conversation with Angelina, but Jasper noticed that there was something off.

"What's the matter, Al?"

I shook my head.

"Nothing. I'm just tired."

He frowned at me, but he didn't press it. I was almost certain that Jasper believed I would come to him when I was ready.

The day after we went to Diagon Alley, while my energy was starting to decrease, I decided to go to Remus's. Jasper agreed to come along, more out of curiosity of the place I grew up.

Despite Jasper's disliking for it, we Side-Along Apparate with Harry and George who had agreed to come along with us.

"I've never been here before," Harry said, looking at the outside of the cottage.

"I've only been here a few times."

"Really?" Jasper asked, glancing at George with an eyebrow raised. "I figured that you would have come up here more considering the amount of time you were friends with Alice."

George shrugged.

"Remus preferred that Alice came to our house rather than us going to his."

"Do you have any idea why?" Jasper asked, looking between us.

"He didn't trust himself," I shrugged.  
"When did you come here?"

"The night Sirius died. We stayed until late. Then after we left, Remus left her. Fred and I came back, and we found her, and there was glass on the floor…."

"Her pictures always meant the most to her," Harry told Jasper.

"They still do."

I put the key into the lock, before turning to look back at them.  
"We're all right here, Al."

Jasper placed a hand on my back.

When I pushed the door open, everything was almost exactly the same. The couch was the same, and it was in the same place as it had been nearly a decade ago.

I looked to the walls, where new pictures hung in the place of where my old ones where. One of the him and Tonks, during what I assumed was their wedding.

Being here again, brought several memories that all hit me at once.

 _"I don't love you, anymore." Remus's voice echoed._

I blinked, pushing the memory from my mind.

"Come with me," I said, quietly to Jasper. "I'll show you my room."

I took Jasper's hand, and pulled him through the hallway.

I went into the room that was mine when I first moved in, until I was eighteen.

My room wasn't the same. It wasn't the same room. This room, was a nursery now.

"Well this was my room," I said, quietly. "I guess it's not anymore….but that shouldn't surprise me. I forgot. It was only a two bedroom house."

Jasper squeezed my hand.

This room, showed no evidence that I ever lived here. The pictures and posters that had once hung on the walls were gone now. I hadn't packed up this room when I moved out. A lot of it had been in mine and Remus's room, but there were still some things that belonged to me.

"Tonks must have taken it out. It's probably long gone by now."

"You and Tonks really didn't have a good relationship did you?" George asked me.

I shook my head.  
"We never did. After Remus….I couldn't forgive her."

"And now?"

I sighed.

"I wish I could have told her I'm sorry. I was hateful because I was angry."

I looked through the room before turning back to go to the room across the hall. Remus's room was exactly the same. The pictures that hung up now, were different however. Only one picture of me remained on the wall. I was a baby, and Remus was watching me intently in the Gryffindor common room.

I raised a hand to touch the picture, and a piece of the wall turned into a drawer. The drawer automatically slid out of its place. Several things laid inside of this drawer, but an envelope laid directly on top addressed to me.

I glanced up at Jasper, who was watching the letter. I turned back and opened it slowly.

"What does it say?" Harry asked.

"Dear Alice," I read, not looking up from the paper, "the only reason I could think of you being back here is because both Tonks and I are gone. I know that coming here is the last thing you would want to do, and I can't blame you for that. I hate how things ended with us, Al. I never meant it to turn out that way, and I can never apologize enough. I charmed this picture and wall to where it would only react to your touch. Inside, it includes everything that you left behind. I couldn't think of the possibility of Tonk throwing anything of yours away, so I kept them for a rainy day. Also, there is a journal I kept, as well as the letters that I wrote, but never sent over the years. I hope you found happiness, Al. You deserved so much more than I could ever give you. I love you. Remus."

I pulled the rest of the stuff from the drawer, and it automatically shot back in, forming the wall.

"I can't go through all of this now," I said, quietly. "I'll go through the letters and journals later. For now, I'm just going through my belongings while we're here. Just to see what was left behind."

"That's okay, Ali," Jasper murmured against the side of my head.

I moved the stuff over to the bed, climbing on top of it, sitting cross-legged.

The envelope had a charm on it, which allowed Remus to put a decent amount of stuff inside. On the top, I could see a large stack of pictures.

"I left almost all of them," I said. "With the exceptions of the ones in my scrapbooks, I left them. I couldn't bear to look at them." I flipped through the pictures, studying them carefully before passing them down to Jasper, Harry, and George.

I laid four out on the bed.

"These are the pictures I threw at him," I said, with a small smile.

Jasper picked them up, watching them move. He was quiet.

"Jasper?" I asked, quietly.

His eyes snapped to mine.

"I'm sorry."

"What are you sorry for?" I asked, taking his hand.  
He shrugged.

"You were happy, and he broke you. I never realized how much you loved him."

I leaned onto his shoulder, and wrapped my arms around him.

"I love you more," I said, pressing my forehead against his temple.

"I know that," he told me, smiling.

I kissed his cheek.

"I'm not sure what to do with these," I said holding up the pile of pictures of me and Remus while we were dating.

"If you don't plan on keeping them, you can throw them away," Jasper said.

I nodded.

"I don't see why I would keep them."

Jasper smiled.

"So we'll get rid of them."

"I'll take the journals and letters home," I said. "It will give me something to read."

Jasper was going hunting tonight. My energy was fading and he didn't think it was a good idea for me to go with him.

"I'll be there," George said.

"Yes, but you're bound to fall asleep sometime."

"I'll be back before you know it," Jasper said.

We finished going through the stuff I had left behind. Most of it, other than the journals, letters, and a few pictures, I was throwing it all away.

"More stuff is at your house," Harry said, as I relocked the house, before passing the key to George who swore he would return it to Gringotts before work Tuesday morning.

"We didn't really move much," George said. "Just some trash, and we cleaned out the kitchen."

"Thank you."

Harry nodded and took my hand.

"Ready to go back?"

I nodded.

I was starting to get tired. My lowest point however, shouldn't be for another two days.

"Come on then. Angelina is coming by so you can see Fred," George said, as Jasper tightly gripped his shoulder.

In a flash, Jasper and George were gone, and Harry and I were being pulled through the tight tube.

The Burrow came back into view, and I blinked, before looking for Jasper and George, who appeared behind us with a sudden crack.

Jasper wrapped an arm around my waist, and we began to head through the door into the kitchen where Molly was making what appeared to be lunch.

Angelina was sitting at the table, Fred sat in a baby seat that was perched on the table. As she looked up at me, I immediately turned my eyes to the floor.

George left mine and Jasper's side, and made his way to Angelina and Fred.

"Come on," I murmured, pulling on Jasper's hand. "I expect you'll be leaving soon."

Jasper followed me up the stairs, and once we made it to Fred and George's room, I automatically curled under the blanket.

"Ali, Darlin', what is wrong?" he asked, pulling me to him.

I didn't answer right away. I didn't know what to say.

Had I made a mistake in coming here? Was it better that they knew I was alive, or should I have continued to let them think I was dead? I had come here, because I wanted to see them, but did I ever stop and consider what it would do to them when I left again?

"Jasper, was coming here a mistake?"

I looked up to see Jasper frowning at me.

"Mistake?"

"Should we have come here? Does them knowing I'm alive make any difference?"

"Alice, I'm sure it makes all the difference in the world. Why would you think it's a mistake?"

I sighed, and sat up. I figured I might as well tell him.

"When Angelina and I went on that walk yesterday, she made a good point."

"And what was that?"

"What happens to them when we leave again?"

"We're not going to stay away forever, Al," he murmured against my temple.

"And what happens when they are all gone?"

"Gone?"

"Dead," I whispered, flinching at my own words.

Jasper hugged me tighter, and I hid my face in my hands.

"Alice we still have a long time before we have to worry about that. But when the time does come, I will be right here."

I was quiet for a moment, before looking up at Jasper's face.

"Are you sure you want me to go?" he murmured. "I can stay here with you."

I shook my head.

"You need to hunt."

He kissed my forehead.

"I'll bring you back enough to last you until your energy comes back."

I smiled, and leaned against his shoulder.

"I'll miss you," I murmured.

"I'll be back before you know it."

"Maybe I'll try sleeping a little bit."

He smiled.

"That will be good for you. You can dream of me. Then I'd never truly be gone."

I chuckled, before closing my eyes.

After a few moments, Jasper looked at his watch.

"Ali, it's time for me to go."

"Five more minutes," I mumbled, pulling on his jacket.

"If I don't go now, I'll have to stay away longer," he pointed out.

I sighed and sat up.

He leaned towards me, pulling me into a kiss.

"I'm stealing one of your shirts," I mumbled.

Jasper laughed, before hugging me tightly.

"You do that, Ali."

He pulled me off of the bed, and I looked at his face.

"I love you."

"I love you more."

I shook my head and smiled.

"Not possible."

His grin was just as wide as mine.

"If you let me change really quick, I'll walk you out."

He nodded, and I darted to the inside of my bag, quickly changing into one of Jasper's button down shirts, and a pair of sweatpants.

When I met back up with him, he was sitting on the top stair.

"Ready?" I asked him.

He looked at me and raised to his feet, grinning.

He pushed the sleeves of the shirt up, before taking my hand. He guided me down the stairs, before turning to face me at the door.

"I'll be back before you know it," he said, pressing his forehead against mine. "Call me if you need anything."

I smiled and nodded.

"Of course."

He gave me one last quick kiss before he was out the door.

Once Jasper was gone, the reassurance he had once given me was gone.

"Hey, Al," George said, stepping into the living room with Fred in his arms. "Do you want to hold the baby?"

I shook my head.  
"Not right now, George."

I headed back to the stairs, darting back into the room, and pulled a book off of the table. As I pulled back the covers, Jasper's sweatshirt laid on the bed with small piece of paper.

 _Thought this would help you sleep. It would seem like I was there. I love you._

 _Jasper._

I smiled, and set the book down, wiggling into the sweatshirt. Once it was on, I smiled, and laid down, my back facing the door, and my body was completely covered by blankets.

"Alice?" George asked, knocking on the wall. "Can I come in?"

I turned to face him, as he stepped inside, pulling a chair from the wall to the top of the bed.

"How are you feeling?"

"I think I'm going to take a nap soon," I murmured, placing the book on the table. "I'm starting to get more tired."

"I'll make this quick then. Alice, is everything okay with you?"

I nodded.

"Everything is fine."

George shook his head.

"I don't believe you."

"What is there to not believe?"

"You've been acting weird since you got back on your walk with Angelina yesterday. Did something happen? She won't tell me what you talked about, and none of us can figure out what could have possibly upset you this much. Al, you won't hold Fred anymore. You barely look at him."

I shook my head.

"I don't want to hold him while I'm like this. I'm afraid I might drop him."

George seemed to accept this answer, and he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Ali, please tell me what you and Angelina talked about."

"It was nothing, George."

"So why does it seem like it bothered you so much?"

"George, please!" I snapped. "Just drop it!"

George jumped back, his eyes wide.

I couldn't admit to him that I had began to question if me coming here was a good idea. I couldn't admit to him that it was his wife who had made me feel this way. I couldn't start problems in there marriage. Not when Fred was still so young. Not when I could see that George loved her a lot, and I was sure that any feelings that he had once had for me were long gone.

"I'm sorry," I whispered. "I didn't mean to shout. I'm fine George. I promise."

He pushed his chair back, and I flipped to where my back was facing him.

"Good night, Alice."

I nodded, and took my potion. I didn't take all of it. Just enough to put me asleep for an hour or so.

I slept peacefully. Despite being asleep, I could still hear conversations around me. George stayed with me. Angelina came up to say goodbye to George, as she was taking Fred home for the night.

"Angelina, please. Tell me what happened between you and Alice last night. She's upset about something."

Angelina didn't respond right away.

"I already told you George. I'm not telling you what we talked about. I'm sorry, but I can't. Alice can tell you if she wants, but I'm not."

"Fine," he sighed. "Don't. I'll see you when I get home."

"George, please—" Angelina broke off, but George didn't say anything more. I could hear her footsteps fade from the room.

"Alice?" George asked quietly. "I don't know if you can hear me. I'm not sure how this works…."

He trailed off before taking a deep breath.

"Ali, I missed you. You've been gone for seven years. I know that's nothing compared to the last fifty-seven years you've spent away from us….but I get it. You used to tell me everything, Al. Why is this thing with Angelina different? I get that you have Jasper now, but please Al, I want you to be able to talk to me."

I could see not telling him was hurting him. Would telling him hurt him more?

I began to stir, and after a moment, I woke up.

"Ali," George said, jumping back. I didn't mean to wake you."

I shook my head.

"I didn't take much of the potion," I said. "I was due to wake up soon."

"Are you going to go back to sleep?"

I nodded.

"Here in a little while."

"Did you hear me?"

I nodded again.

"George how important is it to you to know what is going on?"

"I want to know, Ali."

I sighed and nodded, before sitting up straight.

"Okay," I said, closing my eyes. "I've been wondering….is it a mistake that I came here?"

When I opened my eyes, George was looking at me with wide eyes.  
"What?" he whispered. "What do you mean mistake?"

"When Angelina and I were walking yesterday, she made a great point. What happens to you when I go back to America?"

"It'll be better, Ali. At least this way I don't think you're dead. At least this time you're not permanently saying goodbye!"

"But it'll hurt you that I can't stay."

"But you'll come back. You and Jasper."

"Of course."

"Then it's not an issue."

"And what about when you guys are all gone? What do I have here when you guys are dead? I had to live through everyone dying twice, Dad, Mama, Freddie, Re. Everyone. But you guys, I have to lose a first time. When you guys are gone, I'm still going to be like this. Forever twenty-one. Never moving forward. I will never die."

George flinched.

"Alice, Jasper will take care of you when all of us are gone. He'll be your family. On top of that, you have the Resurrection Stone. We're never going to always be gone."

"Georgie?"

He looked at me, and I continued.

"Would you truly be okay with us going back to America?"

"You're not going now are you?"

I shook my head.

"No. I still have a lot to do here."

George smiled.

"Then yeah, Al. I'd be okay if you go back."

I smiled, and George pulled me into a long hug.

"I still can't believe your here, Alice. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too."

I settled back into the bed, before grabbing the potion bottle off the desk.

"When are you going home?" I asked, setting the empty potions bottle back on the desk.

"When Jasper comes back."

I smiled and settled into the bed. Jasper's sweatshirt hung off my arms, and I was curled into a ball.

"Sweet dreams, Alice."

I drifted back to sleep. This time, I dreamed.

 _I was in Fred and George's room. George was gone. It was just me._

 _"Hey Ali," a familiar voice said._

 _I spun quickly to be met with Fred leaning in the doorway._

 _"Fred!" I exclaimed, pulling him into a tight hug. "How are you? How is everyone?"_

 _"They're okay. They just figured you could use me right now._

 _He pulled me to the bed I knew I was just asleep in._

 _"What is this place?" I asked Fred._

 _"I guess it's a netherworld of sorts."_

 _"A netherworld?"_

 _Fred nodded._

 _"It's a place that you go too when you sleep. It's a place between life and death. It's where you see us."_

 _"Why do I come here?"_

 _Fred shrugged._

 _"Who knows? But I'm here."_

 _I smiled._

 _"Yeah. You're here."_

 _"How is it?" he asked me, tilting his head to the side. "Being back at home?"_

 _"I've missed everyone, but I've missed so much."_

 _"But think about how much they've missed for you. You've only missed seven years. They've missed fifty-seven."_

 _I looked down at my lap._

 _"Have they forgiven me for leaving?"_

 _"Yes," Fred said, nodding. "They understand why you did it. You did it to keep them safe. They're just glad you're back, and that you're happy."_

 _"I can't remember a time when I was happier."_

 _"Maybe with Remus?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"No. Looking back on it now, I always felt like there was something missing. It was Jasper."_

 _Fred smiled, and watched me for a minute._

 _"What?" I asked when he didn't say anything for a minute._

 _"You haven't really changed over the years."_

 _"Is that a bad thing?"_

 _He shook his head._

 _"No. I've always loved you for you. This is you."_

 _I smiled._

 _"I wish you were here, Freddie."_

 _"I know, Al."_

 _I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say to him. When he was alive….when we both were for that matter, we never needed to talk. But it wasn't everyday I got to talk to Fred now, and I wasn't sure what to ask him._

 _"What's on your mind, Alice?"_

 _"I'm trying to figure out what to talk about. I know that we don't have a whole lot of time together, and I want to make the most of it."_

 _"We have until the potion wears off."_

 _I nodded and thought for a minute._

 _"How is everyone?"_

 _"They all miss you. Remus wanted me to tell you hello, and that he loves you."_

 _I smiled, and watched him._

 _"And Mom and Dad?"_

 _"They said that they loved you, and to remind you to be there for Jasper."_

 _"Is he okay?" I asked, looking down at my lap. "I've been so excited to be home that I've never really stopped to make sure that he was okay."_

 _"So when you wake up, check on him," Fred shrugged._

 _I smiled._

 _"I will."_

 _We talked about various things. About Jasper, and about the Cullens. We talked about our memories, and the matter of me never being able to join them in the place after this life._

 _"We'll always have our netherworld," Fred said, with a small smile._

 _We knew when it was time for me to go._

 _"Will you come back?" I asked him._

 _"Soon," he promised, with tears in his eyes. "But there are other people that want to see you."_

 _I smiled, and pulled him into a tight hug._

 _"I love you, Freddie."_

 _"I love you too, Ali."_

 _I began to feel myself slip away, and when I let go, Fred was gone._

As I began to drift back into consciousness, I became suddenly aware that there was someone else in the bed. I didn't have to open my eyes to know it was Jasper. He was humming the same song that he's always hummed for me.

"Jasper," I murmured quietly.

"Morning," he said, pulling me to him.

"What time is it?"

"Almost four."

"When did you come home?"

"About five minutes ago. George was starting to fall asleep, so I made it back just in time."

Despite having just woke up, I was tired, but I didn't want to go back to sleep. Not just yet.

"I brought you this," Jasper said, handing me a styrofoam cup. "There is more, but I thought that you could use it. George put a warming charm on it before he went home."

"Thank you, Jazz," I murmured, taking the cup from him.

He smiled, and kissed my forehead.

"How are you?" I asked him, pushing his hair out of his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been through a lot in the past few days. How have you been?"

"Ali, if you're referring to my thirst, I've been hunting twice in the few days that we've been here."

I sighed.

"I just want to make sure you're okay."

"I'm fine," he said, smiling. "Don't worry about me."

"I'm always going to worry about you."

As the day went on, Jasper seemed to be okay. He was definitely better than what he had been in the days since the accident.

When everyone was awake, and people had come to the Burrow for breakfast, Jasper helped me get downstairs.  
George sat at the table yawning, while holding Fred in his arms.

"You should have left after I went back to sleep," I said as Jasper helped me into the chair next to George.

"I promised Jasper I'd watch you until he got back."

"Well sometimes promises can be broken," I said, smiling. I sat a small vial of my energy supplement on the table. "This should keep you going through the day."

"Thanks, Ali," George said with a smile.

I looked down at Fred, who was smiling back up at me.

"Do you want to hold him?" George asked.

"Is that a good idea?" I asked, turning to glance at Jasper.

Jasper smiled.

"George and I will be right here, Alice. No harm will come to the baby."

I smiled and turned back to George.

"Okay. I'll hold him."

George smiled before passing Fred to me.

Jasper stayed true to his promise, and stayed at my side the entire time I held Fred.

"See," George said, as I passed Fred back. "I told you it'd all be okay."

I smiled weakly before leaning on Jasper's shoulder.

"I thought your energy would be at its lowest tomorrow," Hermione said, watching me carefully.

"I think it'll come tonight," Jasper murmured, watching me like everyone else.

"It goes lower than this?" Ron asked astonished.

Jasper nodded.

"She won't be able to do much in the next few days."

"How will she move?" Harry asked.

"I won't," I said.

"Unless I carry her."

I sat back up straight, and looked at everyone around me.

"I think the excitement from the last few days will cause the crash to be worse than usual," I said. "So I may not be up and moving until Wednesday at the least."

"Can you look ahead and see?" Arthur asked.

I shook my head.

"I'm too weak. I don't have control on my visions, and that's assuming I do see something."

"What will you be doing during this time?" Molly asked, looking at Jasper.

"I typically stay with her. She's more relaxed when I'm there."

Ginny smiled widely.

"I think that's sweet," she said.

As the day went on, I got noticeably weaker. As people passed in and out of the Burrow, I remained on the couch, with Jasper hovering close by.

When the night came, Jasper helped me to my feet and mostly carried me up the stairs to Fred and George's bedroom.

"I'm not ready to sleep," I mumbled after Jasper had helped me change.

"You'll have to sleep eventually," he murmured, placing my wand holster on the table.

"Maybe. But not now."

He smiled, and slid onto the bed next to me.

"Why don't you want to sleep?"

I raised a hand to his face.

"Because I slept the entire time you were gone."

"George told me. He said that you were dreaming at one point."

"How could he tell?"

I hadn't told anyone about my trip to the Netherworld. Not even Jasper.

"He said you were starting to mumble, but you were speaking so quietly that he couldn't hear what you were saying."

"Well he wasn't wrong," I murmured, curling up against his chest. "Although it wasn't exactly a dream."

"What do you mean?"

"Do you remember the first time I ever slept? I saw my parents?"

Jasper nodded.

"I remember they kept telling you that they were proud of you, and it was the first time you learned that Remus still loved you."

"Well this time I saw Fred, and he explained it to me. It's not a dream. It's a netherworld. It's this place between life and death. The person that's there, they feel like I need them the most."

"That doesn't sound safe," Jasper frowned. "A place between life and death."

"I'm already dead," I shrugged. "I don't see a problem with it."

Jasper glared at me.

"That's not funny, Alice."

"It wasn't meant to be."

He sighed, and tucked my head under his chin.

"So a netherworld, huh?"

I smiled and nodded.

"Sounds like you're starting your next great adventure. But this one is without me."

I shook my head.

"Never. You're always a part of my adventures."

Jasper smiled and kissed my forehead.

When I went back to sleep, I didn't return to the netherworld. I didn't dream at all for that matter. When I woke up again, the sun was starting to come up over the horizon.

"Good morning," Jasper murmured in my ear before kissing my forehead.  
"What time is it?"

"Six-thirty," he said, smiling. "How are you feeling?"

"Tired," I murmured.

"Do you want to go back to sleep?"

I shook my head.

"Not yet."

We were quiet for a moment before my phone started vibrating from its place on the dresser.

Jasper stood up to grab it, quickly looking at the caller ID before handing it to me.

"It's Carlisle," he murmured.

I nodded.

"Hello?"

"Are you okay?" Carlisle asked. "You usually answer before the first ring ends."

"Jasper had to get it for me," I croaked.

It seemed to click to Carlisle almost instantly.

"Your lowest point of energy is today."

"It started late last night," Jasper murmured, running a hand through my hair.

"Oh, you're there," Carlisle said.

"Of course I'm here," Jasper frowned. "Where else would I be?"

Carlisle chuckled.

"You're right. You've always been there with her. She's lucky to have someone like you."  
We were all quiet for a moment.

"You haven't called," Carlisle said, quietly.

"It's only been two days," Jasper frowned.

"We thought that maybe after the last call, it would be best to wait for you to call us," I said, closing my eyes as I leaned on Jasper's shoulder.

"What was so bad about our last call?"

I shrugged.

"You seemed very angry when Jasper and I questioned Edward leaving."

Carlisle was quiet.

"I couldn't figure out why you guys felt like I should have brought him back when we didn't do that for you."

"Because he was your first son," I said. "He's been with you for a long time."

"So have you."

"You know what I mean."

"Why did you want him to stay?" Carlisle asked. "You didn't."

"Carlisle, I thought you understood why we left. I had to go check on my family. James is dead now, and I missed them."

"I know that," he whispered. He was quiet for a second, and then before Jasper and I could say anything he said, "Alice, when are you guys coming home?"

"I don't know," I said, as Jasper squeezed my hand. "We haven't talked about it. We just got here. I don't want to leave yet."

"Esme misses you."

"We miss her too. We miss all of you," Jasper said, "but Carlisle, Alice hasn't seen her family in fifty-seven years. She's not going to leave them after a few days."

"I didn't think so."

"Can you blame me?" I asked, my voice cracking as I tried to raise it.

"No," he said. "I can't. I get it. They're your family."

We were quiet for a long time. For a moment, I thought Carlisle had hung up.

"We'll let you know when we have an idea when we're coming home," I said.

"I'll call in a few days," Carlisle said. "We'll get everyone together to talk."

"Where is everyone?"

"At home. I took on a shift at the hospital. I'm on my break, and I figured I'd see if you were okay."

"We're okay," I said, smiling weakly.

"You should call Edward," Carlisle said. "I'm sure he'll want to hear from you."

I nodded.

"We'll call him when we get off the phone with you."

Carlisle was quiet, and I could hear the faint sounds of an intercom.

"I've got to go," he said. "I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye, Carlisle," Jasper said.

The line went dead, and I closed my eyes.

"That was better."

"It was," Jasper agreed.

"Do you think it's still a good idea to wait until they call us?" I asked.

Jasper nodded.

"But we'll call Edward. We haven't talked to him since we left."

I heard the buttons click as Jasper typed in the familiar number.

The phone rang twice before Edward picked up. His voice was different. I almost didn't recognize him.

"Hello?"

"Edward?" Jasper asked. "It's Alice and Jasper."

"Alice, Jasper, how are you guys? How's Britain?"

"It's great," I grinned. "We've been staying at the Burrow with everyone, I've done interviews, and I've gone to seen Diagon Alley, and the house I grew up in."

"Don't forget about the dragons," Jasper said, smiling.

Edward chuckled, but it sounded forced.

"That's great, you guys. Carlisle says that you guys would be sending a copy of the paper that Alice was featured in."

"Yes," I said. "I borrowed Harry's owl to send it to them, and then I sent it to Helen and Tobias through the mail so Laurent wouldn't get suspicious. I would have sent one to you, but I didn't know where you are…."

"It's okay, Al. I guess right now I don't have a permanent location."

"Where are you?"

"I'm heading down the West Coast. I'm tracking Victoria."

I frowned.

"Edward is that a good idea?"

"I can't risk her going after Bella. And what if she remembers, and she comes after you to finish James' work?"

"She won't hurt Alice, I promise you."

"Then I have to do this for Bella."

I sighed.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked. "You're quiet."

Jasper smiled as he ran a hand up and down my side.

"Her energy is low. Today is the lowest point," he murmured, just like he had to Carlisle "She's tired."

"Should I let you go to sleep?"

"No," I said, quickly. "I don't know when I'll talk to you again. It's bad enough I rushed through Carlisle's call."

"Did he tell you guys that I left them?"

I nodded.

"He did. We asked why he didn't stop you, and he seemed to get defensive about it. I think he blames me."

"It's not your fault," Edward said.

"Would you have left if Jasper and I hadn't?"

"Probably."

I chuckled, and opened my eyes to find Jasper's brilliant gold staring back at me.  
"You've only been gone for a few days and your accent is already starting to sound like it's coming back," Edward said. The way he said it I could picture him smiling.

"I don't think it works like that," I said, grinning.

"I see it," Jasper said before kissing my cheek. "I missed your accent. I reminds me of when we met"

"Maybe it'll stick around longer," I smiled.

I closed my eyes again. I was tired, no doubt, but I didn't want to get off the phone with Edward just yet. I knew in my gut I probably wouldn't talk to him for a long time.

"Alice, can I ask you a question?" Edward asked suddenly.

"Sure. You can ask me anything. You know that."  
"If you couldn't have gone back to your family….if you could never see them again, would we have been enough?"

"What?" I asked, bewildered.

"Would we have been enough?" he repeated.

I nodded.

"Of course, Edward," I said as loud as I could. "Edward, you guys are my family too. Just because I came back to Britain, doesn't mean I'm not going to be gone forever, I just need some time."

My voice broke several times, and Jasper sent waves of calm towards me, causing me to relax in his arms again.

My words seemed to cause Edward to relax some.

"Do you know when you'll come back?"

"No," I said quietly. "I do know that I'm not ready to leave yet."

"That's okay," Edward said, his voice not much louder than mine. "You have time."

"Edward, promise me you won't close yourself off. I know the feeling of a broken heart."

"You didn't see the look in her eyes," Edward said, shaking his head. "When we were in the woods, I thought of Remus, and the way he left you. I told her I didn't love her, and she believed me."

"I know, Edward," I soothed. "I saw it. I saw it all. You're doing this to keep her safe. So hunt Victoria. Make Bella safe again."

"Will she be okay?"

"In time," I said. "But Edward, there will be a time when she is so heartbroken that she's reckless. I'm afraid she may do something stupid."

"No," Edward said firmly. "No, Alice, Bella promised. Don't be looking for her future either. We've done enough damage."

I sighed loudly.

"Fine," I whispered.

"I should go," he said quickly. "You should rest. You're tired. I know it."

"Edward, wait—"

But the line went dead, and I didn't get the chance to say anything more.

I sighed loudly and hit my head against Jasper's shoulder.

"It's okay, Al," Jasper soothed. "He just needs some time."

I knew Jasper was right, but deep down, I wondered if Edward was ever going to be okay.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **I know it's taking longer between chapters, but I'm trying. I really am. It's been hard the last couple of weeks because it seemed that every time I got caught up on my work, it'd all pile back up again. Right now, I am ahead, and I plan to use that time to write. I plan to have a chapter up by next Sunday, but if I don't get it up Sunday, I will try to get it up Monday or Tuesday.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter.**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	74. The Unexpected Visitor

_"To what happy accident is it that we owe so unexpected a visit?" ~Oliver Goldsmith_

* * *

Chapter 74- The Unexpected Visitor Alice's POV

As my energy was low, people came in and out to see me. Jasper stayed with me the entire time, and as people came in and out, he would tell me who it was if I didn't feel like opening my eyes.

"How long has this been happening?" Molly asked. I had been taking a nap, but I was still alert.

"Since she was changed. I met her a few days after she was changed. She told me about it."

"Do you know what causes it?"

"It's something with the venom mixing with the magic."

The two were quiet for a moment, and I fidgeted and Jasper moved his arm.

"I know I've said it before but I can see how much you love her," Molly said. "I haven't seen her happy in so long. Then I thought that she was dead…." Molly trailed off.

"Can you tell me about her when she was younger?" Jasper asked. "What was she like before Remus?"

Molly chuckled.

"Remus had come to us after Sirius was sent to jail. He said he couldn't think of anywhere else to go. He remembered me and Arthur, and my brothers Fabian and Gideon from the original Order of the Phoenix. He explained everything. About the full moon. Made me and Arthur swear not to tell the kids. We couldn't deny her. So once a month she came over. In the beginning, she cried for Remus but after a time Bill learned how to calm her. He showed her a camera, and she started taking pictures of everything."

"Bill got her into that?"

Molly nodded.

"After some time, she grew closer to Fred and George, but she still came back to Bill when she needed help with her pictures."

Jasper smiled against my forehead as he listened to Molly. I had started to wake up, but I was careful not to move. I wanted to listen to Molly's story.

"What happened when she started Hogwarts?"

"Well, she would spend a few days with us over each break. But when she started Hogwarts, Alice became very aware of her parents. She felt very, very alone. She was trying to come to terms with her mother's death, and her father being sent away….Remus couldn't help her. Especially when she was at school."

"Did she ever act out?"

"No. But people made fun of her for it….Remus went to Dumbledore, and then the arrangements for her to sit with Gryffindors started. She finally felt like she belonged."

"Why do you think that she wasn't placed in Gryffindor? She's brave."

"Of course she is," Molly said. "Jasper, the hat sorts people into their houses for a reason. Alice was not placed into Slytherin because she was a bad person, because she wasn't. She was put there because that's where the hat felt like she needed to be."

"Of course she's not a bad person," Jasper said, hugging me tightly to him. "She's my reason for living."

I smiled and opened an eye to find Jasper staring down at me.

"Were you listening?" Jasper asked, smiling.

"Just a little," I croaked, holding up a shaky hand.

Molly grinned at us.

"I'll give you guys a little bit."

Molly stood and made her way out of the room and I turned back to Jasper.

"How are you?" Jasper asked watching me.

"Tired," I mumbled, resting a hand on his cheek.

"I know sweetheart," he said, leaning forward to kiss my cheek.

"I'm tired of laying here," I groaned.

Jasper laughed, and he ran a hand up and down my side.

"Maybe when you're better, you can show me around Muggle London."

"I don't know much about it," I said.

"So we'll learn together."

I smiled and closed my eyes again.

"It's a date," I murmured.

For the next three days, I worked on gaining my energy again. By Wednesday, I could walk with Jasper's help, and I started getting flashes again.

"We can go see London tomorrow if you're feeling up to it," Jasper said.

I smiled and nodded.

"We can go through the Leaky Cauldron."

"We'll figure all of that out tomorrow," Jasper said.

"Jazz, should we start talking about when we leave here?" I asked, watching him.

"Why?"

"Everyone is asking us. I feel guilty for not having an answer."

"We can talk about this later tonight," Jasper told me, smiling. "Harry just came in. He's come to see you."

I nodded.

"Okay."

Jasper helped me stand and change before we slowly made our way down the stairs. I tried to walk on my own, but Jasper hovered by closely, and he held onto my elbows as we walked down the stairs.

"Morning, Alice," Harry said as Jasper and I stepped into the dining room. He was sitting next to Ginny and Bill was also sitting there with Fleur, Victoire, and Dominique.

"Good morning, Alice!" Fleur said smiling widely. "'Ow are you?"

"I'm better."

"You're up and walking again," Harry said. "That's always an improvement."

I laughed and sat in a chair next to Ginny.

Ron and Hermione stepped through the door, Hermione grumbling under her breath.

"Morning, 'Mione," Harry greeted, the smile on his face just as wide as it was when I came downstairs.

"Everything okay?" I asked as Jasper set a styrofoam cup down in front of me.

"She didn't sleep well last night," Ron said. "The baby kept moving."

"Isn't that supposed to be a good thing?" I asked glancing at Ginny and Hermione.

"Not when it won't let you sleep."

I had learned that Hermione and Ginny were not as far along as I had originally thought. I thought that they were both going to give birth any day, but as it would turn out, Hermione was about midway through her eighth month, and Ginny had just started her seventh.

"How does James feel about the baby?" I asked,

"He doesn't seem to mind it," Harry shrugged. "I think he's still too young to understand it fully."

"I would doubt him," Jasper said, smiling at James from across the table.

James grinned as he offered a piece of bacon to Jasper.

"You keep that, Jamie," Ginny said, smiling. "Uncle Jasper doesn't like bacon."

Ron looked between Jasper and me before setting down his fork.

"Hey, Alice?"

I looked over at him and he continued.

"What would happen if you and Jasper ate human food?"

I smiled as I thought of when Bella asked Edward the very same question.

"Well, you could eat dirt couldn't you?" I asked, grinning as I repeated my brother's words.

"It wouldn't taste very good," Molly frowned.

"That's how human food is for us," Jasper said. "We can eat it, it's just not good. We actually do eat sometimes when we're in school so the humans won't get too suspicious."

"Where does it go?" Hermione asked. "I don't think vampires can digest it properly."

"No, we can't," I said, leaning on Jasper. "But I don't think the breakfast table is the best place to explain that."

Everyone seemed to catch on and wrinkled their noses.

I glanced at the table in front of me.

I could remember eating here during the full moons. I remembered helping Molly cook, and feeling accomplished when everyone enjoyed what we made.

"Here," I said, reaching forward and taking a small piece of french toast. "I'll show you."

I tore off a small piece and chewed it slowly. The first chew wasn't so bad, but as I continued, the taste grew worse and I wrinkled my nose causing a small ripple of laughter to echo throughout the table.

"I'm sure if I were human it would be amazing, Molly," I said, taking a drink from my cup.

"I know that, dear," she smiled.

The day went on and the others went to work and Jasper helped Molly with the kids while I tried to gain back the rest of my energy. I tried to help, but after about five minutes, Jasper and Molly sent me into the living room.

"Go lay down, Darlin'," Jasper murmured, placing his hands on my hips. "Molly and I have it."

"I want to help," I said.

I knew I was still tired, and I knew that Jasper knew that too, but I didn't want to sit around either.

"I'm tired of feeling useless," I mumbled leaning against his shoulder.

"You're not useless," he said, firmly, moving one hand off my hip and pressed it against my cheek.

I held his hand there for a moment, before letting out a deep sigh.

"Fine," I said, letting him guide me to the couch. "I'll rest."

Jasper smiled, before darting up the stairs.

He was back down in an instant before sitting down on the couch next to me. I curled up into a ball, laying with my head in his lap. Jasper threw the blanket over me.

"Stay with me?"

"Until you fall asleep," he said, handing me the small potions vial.

I smiled contently, and Jasper pulled me into his arms.

"Ali?" he whispered.

"Yeah, Jazz?" I mumbled back.

"Thank you," he said, resting his cheek on my temple.

"For what?"

"Everything."

I smiled and leaned up to kiss him. I caught his jaw before relaxing again

"Of course, Jazz."

I fell asleep a few moments later.

I wasn't in a deep sleep when I felt when Jasper slip out from under me, kissing my forehead.

"I love you, my beautiful, beautiful wife."

I woke back up close to five. Jasper was back. At some point, he pulled me into his arms. He was talking quietly to Bill. I kept my eyes closed, careful to not to disturb Jasper from his conversation.

"Do you like it here?" Bill asked as Jasper ran his hand through my hair.

"I love it here. Alice has told me so much about everyone and everything here. She missed it."

"Was she happy with the Cullens?"

I could feel Jasper nod.

"Yeah. She was. She missed you guys though. She talked about how she wished she could have both me and you guys."

"She's happier with you around. I've never seen her love anyone so much."

Jasper buried his face in my hair and smiled.

"Everyone tells me that," he murmured. "I love her more than anything."

"Does she let you call her Mary Alice?" Bill asked. "None of us could get away with that. Not even Fred or George."

"I only call her Mary Alice when I'm upset with her."

"And I can guess that's not very often?"

Jasper shook his head.

"I can't stay mad at her."

My eyes fluttered open. I was facing Jasper, who happened to be stretched out on the couch.

I looked up at him, and he was smiling down at me.

"Good evening, Sleeping Beauty," he murmured before kissing my forehead.

"Where is everyone?"

"Fleur is taking the girl to see her parents," Bill said as I sat up and rubbed my eyes.

"You're not going with them?"

Bill shook his head.

"Fleur told me to stay here, and keep Jasper company."

"Does she see her parents often?"

"We take a portkey once every two weeks to France to see them."

I smiled.

"That's nice."

"Harry will be here in about half an hour with Hermione, and then Ron and George will be coming about twenty minutes after that."

"Are you all staying for dinner?"

"I am. But I think Hermione and Ron are going to her parents, George and Angelina are staying in, and Harry and Ginny are finishing the nursery tonight."

"I thought Hermione used a Memory Charm on her parents."

"She did, but after you died, she and Ron went searching for them."

"I've missed so much," I said, quietly. "I'm never going to catch up on it all."

"You will," Jasper murmured in my ear. "Give it some time, sweetheart."

Bill raised to his feet.

"I'm going to see if Mum needs some help with the rest of dinner."

I nodded, and Bill headed for the kitchen.

I laid back down in Jasper's arms, giving him a quick peck on the lips.

"How did you sleep?"

"Okay," I said, smiling.

"Just okay?"

I nodded.

"I didn't dream. I didn't go to the Netherworld….I just slept."

"That's okay, Darlin'. Humans don't always dream when they sleep."

"I enjoy dreaming," I said.

"I know," Jasper smiled.

I could hear Harry and Hermione making their way through the door. Hermione had been put on leave since the baby would come soon.

"Have you thought of a name?" I asked as I sat down at the table.

"We have one decided," she said, smiling. "For a girl, Rose. For a boy, Nicholas."

"You don't know the gender?" Jasper asked.

Hermione shook her head.

"We wanted it to be a surprise. I think the only one who knows would be the doctor and Alice."

I knew my energy was better now, so I could probably look ahead and see the gender of the baby.

I closed my eyes and focused on Hermione, and Ron, and the baby.

Once I got my answer, I opened my eyes satisfied.

I grinned at Hermione.

"I know it now. I think the name you have picked for the gender will suit the baby perfectly."

Hermione grinned before turning her attention back to the book she was reading.

When Ron and George came, George gave me a quick hug.

"Sorry I'm not sticking around, Ali," he said as I was getting Fred situated in the car seat.

"It's fine, George. You have other things you need to do. Your life can't stop because I'm here. You and Angelina need to spend time together."

George sighed.

"But you've been gone for so long."

"And I'll still be here tomorrow. Jasper and I are going to Muggle London tomorrow. Maybe I'll drop by the shop to see you."

"I'd like that," George smiled. "How about you and Jasper use the Floo system to the shop, and leave Diagon Alley through there?"

"Thanks, Georgie."

I passed the seat to George and hugged him again.

"I'll see you later."

"Bye, Al."

George was gone in a crack, and I turned back to the kitchen.

Molly and Bill were putting dinner on the table. There wasn't as much as there had been the past week that I've been here, and it was different with only five of us.

"Can you tell us more about what happened after the war?" Molly asked.

"What do you want to know about?"

"You searched for the Cullens for two years?"

I nodded.

"Was Jasper with you for all of those two years?"

I nodded.

"I didn't start looking for them until after I found Jasper."

"What were you doing before Alice found you?" Arthur asked.

"I was just traveling the country. But I came to Philadelphia because I felt like I had to be there."

"Where all did you go?" Molly asked. "What all did you see?"

"The longest time we spent in a place was New York with Helen and Tobias. We spent about six months there. We also went to Canada, Ohio, Texas. We went all over really."

"Where did you find them?"

"Helena, Montana."

"Did you ever come through here over the years?" Bill asked.

I shook my head.

"I was careful. I knew coming back here would risk someone from our world seeing me, and remembering me. I also feared that James would remember and come back for you guys. I avoided coming through Europe. I spent vacations on Isle Esme, an island that Carlisle gave to Esme."

"Can I ask you something about James?"

"Sure."

"You said you killed him….did he ever remember us?"

I nodded.

"He told me that the second he knew he was going to die, and the second he realized that it was true, he remembered everything….he lied to Bella. He said that the Cullens would get to keep me in exchange for him killing her. But he was going to start the hunt back up again, no matter what story he remembered. He figured now I had something bigger to fight for."

I watched Jasper carefully.

They had many questions for me regarding James, my time with the Cullens, and my life after the war. They also asked Jasper about his time in the Newborn Wars.

I insisted on cleaning up dinner, and Jasper followed me into the kitchen. He rested his chin on my shoulder as I moved the leftovers into separate dishes.

"Are you feeling better?" he asked, smiling against my cheek.

"Much. How about you?"

"I'm doing better than I was a week ago."

"Good," I smiled, turning to kiss his cheek.

"Do you think Edward is going to forgive me?"

"There's nothing to forgive," I said, setting the bowl on the counter and turning to face him. "It was an accident. It'd be something different if you intentionally attacked Bella, but you didn't."

Jasper sighed and nuzzled his face in my neck.

"It's going to be okay, Jasper," I murmured, hugging him to me. "I promise you, one way or another it's going to be okay."

I started thinking about going back to my house. Jasper would need me now more than ever.

"What did I do to deserve you?" he mumbled.

Once we finished, Jasper and I headed back upstairs, and he curled up on the bed.

"Maybe you should try sleeping for a change," I murmured, running a hand through his hair. "I think it'd do you some good. Maybe it'll clear your head some."

Jasper frowned.

"You need that potion," Jasper said.

"I can always make more."

"Are you going back to sleep?"

I shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I haven't exactly decided."

Jasper looked at the potion vial on the table before turning back to me.

"It's safe, right?"

I nodded.

"I've been taking it for months, and nothing has happened."

"Maybe I could sleep for a little while."

I reached back and grabbed the vial before handing it to Jasper.

"You don't have to take it now, sweetheart," I murmured.

Jasper shook his head.

"It's okay. You'll stay with me?"

I nodded.

"Of course."

He watched me hesitantly.

"Jazz, you don't have to take it."

He shook his head.

"I want to, Ali."

Jasper took the potion, and a few minutes later, he pulled me closer to him.

"Ali?" he mumbled.

"Hmm?"

"Thank you."

I wasn't sure what he was thanking me for, but I smiled and kissed his forehead.

"You're welcome Jazz. Sleep now, love. You've had a long couple of days."

Jasper smiled and closed his eyes.

"Goodnight, Ali."

"Night, Jasper."

I learned that Jasper kept philosophy and psychology books nearby. I picked one up and began reading.

I could understand why Jasper was so interested in these topics, but they didn't keep me occupied for very long. Before long, my attention turned back to Jasper, who was still sleeping peacefully.

About an hour or so passed before Jasper started mumbling quietly.

"What're you dreaming," I mumbled, brushing his hair out of his eyes.

Jasper looked the more peaceful than I had seen him in a few months. He had spent a lot of time worrying about me, and for that, I felt guilty.

I thought about looking into his thoughts but decided against it. I knew that if he wanted me to know, he would tell me himself.

I never fully understood what Jasper said while he slept, but from time to time, his arms would tighten around me.

He woke around two-thirty the next morning. He pressed his forehead against my temple and pulled me as close as he possibly could to him.

"What time is it?" he groaned.

"Almost two-thirty," I said, smiling as I flipped onto my side to face him. "How did you sleep?"

"It was peaceful."

I smiled and brushed his hair out of his eyes again.

"You looked so peaceful. I haven't seen you that peaceful in a while."

"You mean since the party?"

I shook my head.

"For the last couple months. You've been so worried about me lately…." I trailed off, before meeting Jasper's eyes.

"Can you blame me for worrying about you?" Jasper mumbled. "You've had a lot going on."

"But I've been okay for a while."

"I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"I won't, Jazz."

He sighed.

"I know that."

We sat quietly for a moment before Jasper pushed himself up to where he could see my face better.

"Alice?"

"Hmmm?"

"We never got to talk about when we were leaving."

I sighed, and sat up, adjusting myself to where Jasper and I were looking at each other.

"When do you think a good time to go is?"

Jasper watched me carefully.

"We agreed that we want to go back to the Cullens, right?"

I nodded.

"Well I don't want us to stay so long that you can't bring yourself to leave, but I don't want to stay for such a short amount of time that we have enough time to do everything."

"So what is the maximum amount of time that we can stay?" I asked, looking down at the bed.

"I'd say a year."

I sighed and hid my face in my hands.

I could feel Jasper scoot over on the bed to where he was almost directly in front of my face. His hands wrapped around my wrists and pulled them away from my face. After setting my hands on my lap, he placed his hands on either side of my face.

"Ali, honey, in the end, the decision is up to you. If you decide that you don't want to go back to the Cullens, then I'll stay here, and we can live happily in your world. If you decide that you want to leave tomorrow, I'll be right there. I just want you to be happy."

I closed my eyes and leaned my forehead against his.

"I feel like any decision I make is going to hurt someone," I whispered.

"Remember what we agreed on? Say we go back to the Cullens, and we aren't happy there. We'll come back here. Even if we do stay with the Cullens, we can come back here a few months every year, or we can come back once a month."

I sighed and held his hands in place.

"Maybe we can rejoin them while they're still in Ithaca," I murmured.

"I can go take some classes at Cornell," Jasper said.

"I can take a year off, maybe do some homeschooling."

Jasper pulled back from me but still kept a tight hold on my hands, rubbing circles into the backs of my hands.

"When will they leave Ithaca?"

"We've never stayed in a place longer than five years."

Jasper nodded.

"Okay, so say we leave here in the next year, what semester can we make it back for?"

"If we go back at the end of January, we can make it back for the spring term."

"Is that enough time, Alice? Can you leave them in five months?"

I nodded.

"You said so yourself. I'm not going to be gone forever, and we'll keep in touch between visits."

Jasper smiled.

"So what day in February?"

I closed my eyes again.

"The first."

"Why the first?"

"The spring term starts on the fifth. It gives us time to get settled, and you can set up your classes, and get supplies."

"But the plane ride will take—"

"We'll use a Portkey."

"Okay," Jasper said, nodding. "So it's been figured out."

I sighed and hid my face again.

"How do you think they're going to take it?"

"They'll understand, Alice."

Jasper pushed my chin up to where my eyes met his before leaning in to kiss me.

"I promise you, Ali. It'll all going to be okay."

I groaned.

"What's wrong?" Jasper asked, suddenly worried. "Are you okay?"

"This isn't how it's supposed to go!" I exclaimed, pulling back from Jasper.

"Alice, what are you talking about?" Jasper asked, wide-eyed.

"You're hurting, Jazz! You're hurting and yet you're more worried about me! I'm supposed to be comforting you!"

Jasper pulled me to him, shushing me.

"Alice, sweetheart, listen to me. Please, just listen to me for a moment."

I looked up at him, and he smiled.

"You're right, I am hurting. I am hurting because I caused Edward to leave his mate and because I caused our family to have to move all over again. But when you and I came here, and I saw how happy being here made you, I couldn't help but be happy too. Seeing you happy, makes me happy. In a way, you are comforting to me. Even if you don't feel like it, you are."

The way Jasper was smiling made it impossible not to believe him. I couldn't deny that Jasper seemed to be happy here, and in the time before we would leave, maybe he'd be okay. Not fully better, because I was sure that that would take some time, but at least a little bit okay.

I kissed Jasper's jaw before settling back down in his arms.

"Let's rest for a little while longer," Jasper murmured, before he rolled over, making sure that my back was facing the wall.

We went back downstairs close to eight, both fully dressed for the day ahead of us. I wore my camera around my neck but kept my bag attached to my side.

"What time are you leaving?" Molly asked, looking between Jasper and me.

"In about fifteen minutes," I said. "We shouldn't be out too late."

Molly smiled.

"Alice, you're all grown up now. Stay out as late as you want."

I smiled.

"Molly, thank you for letting Jasper and I stay here. I know I could have gone to my house but it was better to be here where everyone gathers."

Molly beamed.

"Alice, you and Jasper are always welcome here, and you can stay as long as you like. And should you decide that you want to go stay in your house, we can always get it hooked up to the Floo System."

"That shouldn't take too long to do," I murmured. "I don't know why I didn't think of that."

Molly smiled.

"I'm sure you would have in time. But you've had a lot on your mind."

I smiled and toyed with my camera.

"I should start taking pictures before we go back," I told Jasper quietly.

Jasper smiled and leaned over to kiss my cheek.

"We'll have to get everyone together."

Jasper and I left a few minutes early. I had decided I would get a gift for Molly and Arthur to repay them for letting Jasper and I stay with them.

"We should start thinking about moving into my house for the rest of our time here," I murmured.

Jasper smiled

"We can always go tomorrow to clear it out now that you're feeling better."

I smiled.

"We should definitely do that?"

"At least we'll always have a house here."

I smiled.

"Maybe one day, should we leave the Cullens for a short time, we could come here, and get jobs."

"What would we do?"

"I could start my Auror practice again. Or maybe, I could try to be an Unspeakable! I'd certainly have enough time for it."

We had made our way down the stairs into the shop. George was at the front desk, writing something down.

"Hey, Georgie," I said, hopping onto the counter. "How's business?"

"It's slower during the school year. Sometimes parents will come through to get stuff for their kids for holidays or birthdays, but kids come through during the summer."

"It was rather busy the day we came."

"That's because we were having a sale that day," George smiled. "Are you using our Floo to get back to the Burrow?"

I shook my head.

"I think we'll run back. I want to stretch my legs."

George smiled.

"If I don't see you tonight, I'll definitely see you tomorrow."

"If you're staying for dinner tonight, we should be back before you leave."

George beamed at Jasper and I, before looking at my camera.

"Take loads of pictures," he said.

"Can I get one of you in the shop?" I asked. "I don't know when I'll get the chance to do this again."

George nodded, and I pulled him from around the counter to where he was standing in front of the various items.

"Ali, if you want, I can take the picture so you can be in it," Jasper said, smiling.

"I have an even better idea," I said, grinning.

I pulled out my wand, and waved it once, causing a tripod to appear on the floor in front of me. I set up the camera on top, and set a timer, before pulling Jasper to stand next to George.

I stood in between the two, and the camera went off with a click.

I looked back at the picture before showing it to Jasper and George.

"Perfect," I said, smiling.

Jasper chuckled and kissed my temple.

"You should get going, Alice," George told me. "I have no idea what time the Muggle shops open, but I open in five minutes."

"I'll see you later," I said, giving him a one-armed hug before waving the tripod away.

"Have fun, and take pictures."

Jasper and I went through the almost empty ally. People waved, which we both kindly returned. The Leaky Cauldron was more crowded than the ally. People were eating breakfast and drinking coffee.

"Alice!" Tom said from behind the bar. "I haven't seen you in a while."

"Good morning, Tom," I said, stopping in front of the bar. "Jasper, this is Tom. He runs the Leaky Cauldron. Tom, this is Jasper, my husband."

"I won't be running it much longer. I retire at the end of the year," Tom said, with a smile. "Anyways, it's nice to me you Jasper."

"Was Alice in here often?"

"Alice worked for me for a time in between terms at Hogwarts. One of my best employees."

Jasper grinned.

"Alice never told me that."

"It never came up," I shrugged.

Tom chucked.

"It's good to see you, Alice."

"It's good to see you too. I'll come back through before you retire."

Tom made his way to the end of the bar to fill up a woman's coffee cup.

"So you worked at the Leaky Cauldron," Jasper said as we walked into Muggle London.

I nodded.

"When I turned fifteen, I bounced between the Leaky Cauldron and Flourish and Blotts. I was trying to bring as much money as I could."

Jasper smiled.

"Did it work?"

I nodded.

"I used to come in late. Half the time, I don't think I ate."

Jasper frowned.

"That's not good for you."

"I know. But it doesn't do any good to lecture me now does it?"

Jasper smiled.

"I guess not. But it doesn't really do me good to lecture you at all."

I laughed.

"Where should we go first?"

"Do you know where anything is?"

I nodded.

"I know where Buckingham Palace is. We can start there, find a map."

"Lead the way."

I smiled and nodded.

"Follow me then."

Walking at a human speed, it took us almost half an hour to get to the Palace. The people in front of us had more than likely just woke up, and were still sluggish.

Jasper stayed close, holding tightly onto my waist.

"Are you okay?" I asked to quick for the human ears.

He nodded but remained to hold on tightly to my waist.

"It's okay, Jasper, I promise. I'm not going to let anything happen."

"I know," he whispered.

When we finally made it to the castle, it was almost time for the Changing of the Guards ceremony.

"Did you ever see this when you lived here?" Jasper asked, looking up at the castle.

I nodded.

"Fred, George, and I were roaming through Muggle London one day after they got back from Egypt. We came across here, and I told them everything Remus told me about the queen."

"Remus came to Muggle London?"

I nodded.

"Hope, his mother, was a Muggle."

"Did you know his parents?"

"I only met his father. Hope died sometime before I moved in with Remus. She was sick….Remus didn't like to talk about her."

I was surprised by how little Jasper actually knew about Remus. There were somethings that had just never come up.

Before leaving the castle, I managed talking a man into taking mine and Jasper's picture. After several pictures, we did leave and began our search for a map. In my time in both the Wizarding World, and in the Muggle world, I hadn't learned of very many sites, and what Jasper did know of, we wouldn't know where to find them.

Once we found a map, we started to walk towards the river Thames while Jasper studied the map.

"We could go see Big Ben and Westminster Palace," Jasper said as we walked. "I think that's something everyone sees when they come to London and they're next to each other."

I smiled.

"So we'll go see those two. And then after that?"

Jasper looked down at the map again.

"We could go on London Eye. You loved the Ferris wheel at the carnival we went to."

Jasper had taken me to my first carnival years ago. We hadn't been to one in a while, due to living in small towns, but I enjoyed myself the few times we went.

I grinned.

"Sounds like a plan."

Jasper and I seemed to make it to Big Ben in almost no time. People were more awake now than what they were when we first got to London.

As Jasper admired the clock tower, I looked up at the sky. It was still clouded over, but I feared that the weather would change.

"I should have double checked before we went so far from the Leaky Cauldron," I groaned.

"It's okay, Darlin'," Jasper murmured, hugging me tightly to him. "Just look ahead, and check if you worried."

I decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to check, to give Jasper an idea of when we had to leave.

"The sun is going to come out in about four hours," I said, sadly, when I reopened my eyes. "We don't have as much time as we wanted."

Jasper chuckled.

"That's okay, Al. We have a long time to come and see the rest of the city."

He kissed my temple and took the camera from around my neck.

"Come on, let's get a few pictures."

We left Big Ben and visited Westminster Palace briefly before heading to the London Eye. On the walk over, however, I heard the brief ring of my phone, but before I felt the vibration, it flashed to my ear.

"Hello?"

"Alice, it's Carlisle."

"Is everything okay?"

"Have you and Jasper been in London any time recently? More specifically in the Muggle side?"

"Yes, we're there now."

"Expect a call from Edward sometime in the next five minutes."

Suddenly the line when dead.

"Alice?" Jasper asked, squeezing my hand. "Is everything okay?"

"I just had the most peculiar conversation with Carlisle."

"What about?" he asked, pulling me to a stop in front of him.

"He asked if we had been in Muggle London recently, and I told him we were there now, then he told me to expect a call from Edward sometime in the next five minutes." I frowned and looked up at Jasper. "Why would Edward call us?"

"Could Edward be in London?"

"I doubt it….you don't think Victoria could be here could you?" I asked panicked.

"Calm down," Jasper murmured, brushing my hair out of my eyes. "It's going to be okay. Let's wait to hear from Edward, then we'll head back."

I nodded, and Jasper led me to a bench.

"Let's wait here for Edward to call," Jasper murmured in my ear. "I promise you, it's going to be okay. If Victoria is here, we'll keep them safe."

He hugged me to him and we waited.

The three and half minutes we waited for the phone to ring, felt like an eternity. I watched the people who passed by us on the street, while Jasper whispered in my ear, and focused on keeping me calm.

"You're okay," he murmured over and over again.

I heard the shrill ring of the phone before anyone else did, and it flashed to my ear before the first vibration.

"Edward?" I asked, my voice trembling.

"Alice, where are you and Jasper at right now?"

"We're on a bench near the London Eye. Is everything okay?"

"I'm in London," he said, much to my surprise. "I need your help. Can you meet me at King Cross Station?"

"Give me twenty minutes," I said quickly before hanging up.

"Alice?"

"Edward is here! At Kings Cross Station!"

I stood up and pulled Jasper with me.

"Slow down, Ali," Jasper chuckled.

We made it there in a little over twenty minutes. In places where there was few to no people, we would run, and then quickly walk in others.

Edward was sitting outside of the station. His eyes were closed. And a small book bag sat at his feet.

I sat down next to him, and he opened his eyes and looked at me.

"Welcome to London," I told him.

"Thanks."

"We should head back to Diagon Alley," I said, looking up to Jasper. We have to get back to the Burrow. The sun will come out soon."

"Should you warn them ahead of time? About Edward?"

I nodded.

"I warn them when we get to the Leaky Cauldron. To many Muggles here."

"Sorry to cut your sightseeing short," Edward said, as we started to walk. "It's important."

"I gathered as much from your tone."

"You know your accent is starting to come back, right?" Edward asked with a hint of a smile.

"Did it ever really go away?"

Jasper shook his head.

"It was just less pronounced."

I laughed, and the pair followed me.

When we made it into the Leaky Cauldron, heads turned again.

"You weren't gone long," Tom said, with a grin.

"Something came up," I said, heading past the counter back to the entryway.

Jasper and Edward followed me through the Alley until we reached George's shop. There were more people inside, but it still wasn't very busy.

George looked up when I pushed open the door.

"Alice? Jasper? I thought you were running home. And I thought you'd be staying later." His eyes wandered away from me, and to Edward. "Who is this?"

"This is Edward Cullen. We were coming back later, and we were running, but then Edward turned up, and he needs my help. Can we use the fireplace?"

George smiled.

"Of course, Alice." He paused and turned to Edward again. "I'm—"

"George Weasley," Edward finished extending his hand. "I'm Edward Cullen. Alice and Jasper's adopted brother."

"It's nice to meet you."

"I'm sure we'll catch up later," Edward said, as I hoped over the counter and headed up the stairs.

"Bye, George!" I called as I bounded up the stairs.

"I'll see you later, Ali! Bye Jasper!"

Once we got into the upper room, I paused in front of the fireplace.

"Edward, you'll come through with me. Jazz, are you okay going through on your own?"

Jasper nodded.

"I've done it enough times now."

"Remember," I said, stepping into the fireplace with Edward in tow. "Loud and clear."

"You got it, Ali."

"Ready?" I asked, looking at Edward.

"I guess as ready as I'll ever be."

I grinned and threw down the powder.

"The Burrow!" I cried.

Jasper and the shop snapped out of view, and Edward and I went traveling through the various fireplaces.

When we made it back to the Burrow, I stepped out while Edward slipped on to the floor.

"Molly?" I called.

Jasper followed through before I got a response.

"Alice? Are you guys back already?"

Molly stepped out of the kitchen.

"Who is this?"

"Molly, this is Edward. Edward Cullen. Edward, this is Molly Weasley. My mother figure."

"It's nice to meet you, Molly," Edward said, stepping forward. "Alice has told me and the others so much about you and your family."

Molly smiled.

"It's nice to meet you too, dear."

"Edward needed my help with something," I told Molly, holding tightly onto Jasper's hand. "We're going to go upstairs and talk, but I should be back in time to help with dinner."

"Take your time, Alice. I've managed dinner on my own for a long time."

I smiled and led Edward upstairs.

"She seems nice," Edward said. "She's worried about you though."

"Why would she be worried about me?"

"Well, she's afraid whatever I've asked you for help with will upset you."

I frowned.

"Will it?"

"I don't know yet," Edward said.

Once we got into the room, I shut the door and motioned to a bed.

"Sit," I said, sitting on Fred's old bed. "What's going on."

Edward took a deep breath.

"As you know I've been tracking Victoria," Edward said, looking at the floor. "I read her thoughts, and she was heading through here. She's said she was on her way to Poland. I headed here because I thought you could help me figure out where she's going, and to help keep your family safe while she was in the area."

"Victoria," I said slowly. "She's here?"

Edward closed his eyes and nodded.

"No," I groaned. "No, no, no."

"I'm sorry, Alice. I'm so sorry. But I promised to keep you safe, and I'm going to follow through on that promise."

Jasper hugged me to him.

"Alice," he murmured in my ear. "Ali, it's going to be okay. You're going to find out where she is going, and Edward is going to go after her."

"I shouldn't have come," I whispered. "I've put them all in danger."

"No, no," Jasper said, squeezing me to him. "We're going to keep them safe, I promise."

"We'll have to get to work straight away," I said, looking at Edward.

Edward nodded.

"Of course."

"Well then let's get started."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know this chapter is up late, but I ended up getting swarmed with work. I got sick Tuesday and ended up missing classes. I am hoping to free up my schedule by dropping my Latin class, but we'll see how well that works out.**

 **I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but what I do know is that Edward will be present for the next two chapters.**

 **I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	75. Reclaiming the Old Things

_"Old things are better than new things because they've got stories in them." ~Unknown_

* * *

Chapter 75- Reclaiming the Old Things

We didn't start working until after I talked to my family. I spent the time sending Patronuses to the people I was around most often and asked that they all came to the house that night.

"Is everything okay, Alice?" Harry asked.

I watched the floor. I couldn't meet their eyes.

"Edward has brought me news," I said, as Jasper sent out waves of calm throughout the room. "Unfortunately, it's not the greatest news."

"Alice, you know you can tell us anything," George said, taking my hand. "What is it?"  
"As of right now, Victoria is in England.

I couldn't take my eyes off of the floor. For a moment, nobody spoke for a minute, and despite Jasper trying as hard as he could, I couldn't stay calm. I was upset, I was angry, and most of all, I was afraid.

"Are we in danger?" Molly asked me.

"I don't know," I said. "Last time I saw Victoria, she didn't remember. But maybe now that Edward is hunting her with the intent to kill her, maybe she does."

"There is no guarantee she's here for Alice," Edward said. "When she headed over here, she was thinking about a grave."

"Is she from here?" Harry asked.

I shrugged.

"I've never talked to her. Only James. I know that they were here looking to expand there coven. That's how they found me."

"Maybe you could look ahead," Jasper told me. "See what information you can find about the grave?"

I nodded and waved a hand. My sketchbook and pencils appeared in my hand.

"Edward, did you see a name?" I asked. "It may help to narrow down where she's going."

He shook his head.

"I couldn't see."

"I'm sure I can find her all the same," I said.

I closed my eyes and began focusing on Victoria and her immediate future. If she was going to Poland as she said, then she would be going to this grave soon.

 _The image of a graveyard filled my sight. Victoria was noticeable due to her brilliant orange hair._

 _"Anne," she said quietly. "Mama, James is gone."_

 _She looked down at her lap._

 _"He was killed. But I'm going to avenge him. I just have to lead Edward Cullen off my path. Then I'll head back to Forks for the girl."_

I blinked and looked down at the sketchpad. The scene from my vision was perfectly laid out.

"What'd you see?"

"She's trying to lead Edward off of her course so she can go back for Bella."

Edward's eyes widened.

"Where is she going, Alice?"

"I don't know yet," I said, shaking my head. "I'll have to look around more."

Edward nodded.  
"We'll have to get to work….and I guess I'm sticking around here a little bit longer."

Jasper and I watched each other for a moment before I turned back to my family.

"She doesn't know Jasper and I are here. But just to be safe, I am going to put up some new around your houses. Something Victoria can't get through."

"Should we send a message to Charlie?" Arthur asked, looking from me to Jasper.

I nodded.

"He shouldn't have to worry, but just to be safe."

I turned to Jasper and back to Molly.

"Molly, could I actually talk to you for a moment?"

Molly nodded and raised to her feet.

"Is everything okay?" she asked, as we stepped into the kitchen.

I nodded.

"I just wanted to thank you for letting Jasper and I stay here."

"Of course, Alice! You guys are welcome here anytime."

"We talked last night, and tomorrow we are going to go clean out my place, and we're going to stay there. Victoria does know that Edward is here, so I don't want to have his scent trace back here. But if it traces to my house, we can take her."

"Alice, promise me you'll stay safe. We already lost you once. I don't think any of us could take it if we lost you again. "

"I promise I'll be careful," I said, smiling.

Molly hugged me.

"Will you come back in the mornings with everyone else?"

I nodded.

"Jasper and I will still help with the kids when we're not helping Edward."

"You're a good person, Alice," Molly said with a smile. "Don't forget that."

She turned away from me to stir something in a large pot.

Jasper stepped behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Edward and I are going for a walk," he murmured in my ear.

"Give me a moment, and I'll come with you."

Everyone else was about to eat, and I had offered to take Fred with me.

"We'll be back soon," I promised as I placed a blanket between Fred and I.

Edward, Jasper, and I slipped through the back door as Molly began to hand out plates.

We made our way down the hill. Edward turned and looked at me.

"I'm sorry," he told me, looking back to the ground.

"For what?"

"Everything," he told me. "I couldn't understand why you still had so much hurt from Remus leaving even if you didn't love him anymore."

"You get it now," I told him. "You're more awake now that you've experienced heartbreak."

"I shouldn't be heartbroken," he said, shaking his head. "I left her."

"But that doesn't mean you stopped loving her," I said.

"She doesn't know that."

"That's what you wanted," Jasper said. "You played your part well. Bella believes that you don't love her."

"Yet she's still not safe," Edward frowned, glancing at Jasper and I.

Much like I did many years ago, when we moved to Canada when Edward looked at us, I shifted away from Jasper rather than towards him.

"Don't do that, Alice," Edward said.

This time I didn't argue. I just simply leaned against Jasper.

I looked down at Fred, who was staring back up at me happily.

"He's quiet," Edward said, looking over my shoulder.

"He usually is," Jasper told him.

"Whose is he?"

"George and Angelina's. He looks like his father."

I smiled and looked back up at Edward.

"You can stay here as long as you want," I said. "Even when we leave, you can stay at my place."

"It's okay, Alice. I promised I'd make you and Bella safe from Victoria. I'm going to keep my promise."

"And when Victoria's gone? Then what?"

"I don't know," Edward said shaking his head. "I'll probably travel a little bit more."

"Are you ever going home?"

"Are you?" he asked, coldly.

"Yes, actually," I responded, my tone matching his. "In February."

Edward looked surprised.

"But that's only a few months away."

"If things don't work out when we go back to the Cullens, we'll come back."  
"We don't want to become too attached to this place," I said before Edward had the chance to ask what Jasper meant. "But I think it's too late for that."

I smiled down at Fred, who stretched his tiny arms out.

"Does Carlisle and Esme know when you're coming back?"

I shook my head.

"No. I'd rather you didn't say anything to them about it either."

"Why not? They miss you guys."

"I know that. But we're not telling them yet."

"Did you tell them?" he asked jerking a thumb to the house.

"No. But they always knew it wasn't permanent. We're going to talk to them about it closer to the time that we're going to leave. For right now, we're going to enjoy our time here."

"I wouldn't call spending all day in a house enjoying your time."

"I won't be spending all my time in the house," I snapped. "I'm making plans with Minerva, and I'm going to give Jasper the tour of Hogwarts, and she's talked about me speaking for a few classes, we've been to Diagon Alley, press meetings at the Ministry, we've seen London. Jasper has already met so many of my family and friends. In the short time that we've been here, we've done so much. Don't you say for a minute that I'm wasting my time here!"

Edward looked at the ground, and through Jasper, I could feel his guilt.

"I know you're upset, Edward. I get it. I really do. But it will do you no good to take that out on your family. If you do that, and if you drive them all away, you will live a very lonely life."

I looked back up at Jasper.  
"I'm going to take Fred back to George and Angelina. I'll be back in a little bit."

He nodded and kissed me before I turned on my heel and headed back for the house.

When I stepped inside, everyone smiled at me.

"You're back sooner than we thought," Ron said.

"Where's Jasper and Edward?"

"They're still walking. Edward and I had a disagreement, so I figured I would come back up here for a little while."

"Can I ask what it was about?" George asked as I took a seat next to him.

"He asked about Jasper and I going back to America, and I told him that we didn't want to worry about when we were leaving yet because we wanted to enjoy our time here. He made a remark about spending my time in a house isn't what he would call enjoying my time." I shook my head and looked up at the ceiling. "I could stay here for days and it wouldn't bother me. I loved it here growing up."

Molly grinned at me widely when I looked back to the faces staring back at me.

"You and Edward don't seem to get along very well," Harry said.

"Usually we do, but we have our spats now and again. Right now it's understandable. He's upset."

"Can I ask you a question?" Ginny asked, watching me carefully.

I nodded.

"You know you can ask me anything."

"If Victoria was a threat to you, why would Edward lead her here when he knows you were here?"

I shrugged.

"I can see where she's going. I know that she isn't going to Poland. I see flashes. She's trying to figure out where to go."  
"Do you think she knows you're here?"

"If she catches my scent, I'm sure she could figure it out….Jasper tells me I smell different than most vampires. My scent is unique and very, very memorable."

"Does that scare you?"

I nodded.

"It did. For many decades. I was always afraid James was going to come back for me. In recent years, I was scared he'd remember and come after you guys."

I shook the thought from my head and looked down at Fred.

"I'm glad it never got that far."

I grinned and looked back up at the table.

"What are your plans for tomorrow?" Hermione asked.

"I have to put up charms around your houses, and Jasper, Edward, and I are going to clean up the old house. Jasper and I are going to stay there for the rest of our time here."

"Will you still come back here?" Arthur asked.

I nodded.

"We'll come back to help Molly with the kids. We'll probably spend a lot of the day here. We just thought it'd be nice to have a house that's ours."

Fleur, who had come back about midday with the girls, grinned widely.

"I theenk zat eez nice!" she exclaimed.

I laughed and looked back towards the door. There was no sign of Edward and Jasper.

"You're curious about what they're talking about aren't you," George said, watching me.

"How'd you know?"

"I've known you for a long time. I know how you are."

He extended his arms and took Fred back.  
"Go on," he said, beaming. "Go be with Jasper."

"Will I see you tomorrow?" I asked. "In case I'm not back when you leave?"

George nodded.

"I'll come to help you with the house."

"Harry and I can help too," Ginny said.

I smiled.

"Thank you, guys!"

I gave George a quick hug.

"If I don't see you before you leave, I love you and I'll see you in the morning!"

I quickly bounced out the back door.

Edward and Jasper sat at the bottom of the hill, where I would go set up the charms.

"She's very happy here," Jasper said as I walked down the side of the hill. "I almost considered not leaving if it would make her happy."

"She's not mad at you, Jasper. She's not just saying that to make you feel better. She's actually not mad at you."  
"He's right you know," I said, sitting cross-legged next to Jasper. "I'm not angry with you, or upset. I'm just happy you're here with me."

He smiled and pressed his forehead against mine.

"Where's the baby?" he asked, looking down to my arms as he snaked an arm around my waist.

"With his mother and father. George took him so I could come back down here with you guys. I have to start getting the charms up around these hills."

"How far will they spread?"

I shrugged.

"I haven't figured that out yet. But I should get started."

I jumped to my feet and pulled my wand from the holster on my wrist. I began to move around in front of Jasper and Edward, muttering chants, causing protections spells to shoot upwards from my wand.

"I'll never get tired of watching that," Jasper said to Edward from behind me. "Magic will always amaze me."

I smiled and began moving towards the Lovegood's house.

"Where did you learn protection spells?" Edward asked, watch me walk around the way in front of them.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts mostly."

"Mostly?"

"I learned some as a Death Eater. Severus helped me make one too."

"Why would Death Eaters need protection spells?"

"In case the Order came around. Or if they were trying to keep people out of a certain place." I looked back to the pair before continuing. "The night Severus killed Dumbledore, we put up a protection spell leading up to the Astronomy Tower. Unless you have the Dark Mark, you couldn't pass through. That kept anyone from the Order from getting in the way."  
"Why didn't you stop it?" Edward asked.

"I was ordered not to. Dumbledore knew that Voldemort was beginning to question Severus's faith. Everyone was. Dumbledore had to try and let the Order believe that Severus had betrayed them and that I was the only spy for them. Originally Draco Malfoy had the task of killing him, but he knew that Draco wouldn't be able to do it, so he told Severus that if Draco wouldn't do it, then Severus had to. Dumbledore told me that I had to let Severus kill him, and I had to tell the Order that Snape had, in fact, betrayed the Order."

"What about your faith?"

"At that time, Voldemort wasn't worried about it. Severus and I knew that if the time came to where my alliance was questioned, he would go about testing me a different way."

"And he did."

I nodded.

"Henry and his family was my test."

Jasper raised to his feet and pulled me into a hug.

"Don't be sad," he murmured in my ear. "Please, don't be sad."

"I'm surprised that's all it took for Voldemort to believe you," Edward said.

"Of course he'd believe her," Jasper murmured pulling me to the ground and on his lap. "She murdered a child for him. Hell, she murdered anyone for him. I know my Alice. She'd never intentionally hurt someone. He must have known that too."

I smiled against Jasper's neck before pushing myself back up off the ground.

"Where are you going?"

"I'm going around the hill to finish these protection spells," I told Jasper.

Jasper and Edward followed me around the hill, watching as I placed charms around the hill.

"Now I'll know if a vampire tries to come through the charms."

"How can you get that specific?" Edward asked.

"The one Severus and I made, you have to focus on who or what you don't want to pass through."

"If vampires can't get through, how will we get through?" Edward asked.

"With these," I said, waving my wand. Three dragots appeared in my hand which I gave one to each of the boys before putting one inside of my pocket. "As long as you have that on you, you can get through."

I fell back into place next to Jasper, who immediately returned his arm to around my waist.

As we walked back up the hill, Edward turned to me.

"How will you know if someone is trying to get through?"

I held up my dragot.

"I'm going to cast a charm on this. It will mimic the Dark Mark, and when a vampire tries to get through, it will heat up."

Ron and Hermione were still there when I stepped inside.

"You guys haven't left yet?" I asked with surprise.

"We're about to," Ron said.

"How's the baby?" I asked, sitting next to Hermione on the couch.

"It's moving around a lot," Hermione said with a smile.

I was sure that the baby would come early, but there wouldn't be any complications. I could see that.

She picked up my hand and pressed it to a side of her stomach. I could feel the baby kick my hand, and I smiled.

"It won't be too much longer," I said.

Hermione grinned.

"Will you come by the hospital?"

I nodded.

"Of course. Just send Ron for me."

I raised patted Hermione's stomach before turning to Jasper.

"We should go upstairs and pack up our things."

He nodded and headed for the stairs.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," I said, smiling at Ron.

"Bye, Al," Ron said, giving me a one-armed hug.

"Bye, Alice," Hermione said, patting my arm before holding her hands out to Ron.

I darted up the stairs behind Jasper and Edward.

"Whose room was this?" Edward asked me.

"Fred and George's," I said, looking around the room. "When I stayed the night up here, Fred would always give up his bed and sleep on the floor." I laughed and looked at the picture on the desk. "I miss him."

Jasper pulled me to him.

"Maybe Molly has some things of his that you can take with you."

"I do," Molly said from the doorway. "In the beginning, George struggled with coming to terms that you were gone. He thought you'd come back in search for something of Fred's, so we moved some things of Fred's to your house."

I smiled and pulled Molly into a hug.

"Thank you," I murmured. "For everything."

"Of course, Alice. You know you will always be welcome here, right?"

"I know," I said, pulling away from her.

She patted my arm.

"I'm going to go say bye to Ron and Hermione. I'll come to check on you guys before I go to bed. Feel free to take anything that is still in here. George wouldn't mind, I'm sure."

I nodded and fell back into place next to Jasper.

Molly slipped away from the doorway and down the stairs.

"She was thinking about the day they found your body," Edward told me quietly.

"Why?" I asked, turning to him.

"They are still in shock that you're alive," he said. "Molly is also afraid that when they all are gone, you're going to be alone."

Jasper shook his head.

"She'll never be alone. Not as long as I'm alive."

Jasper hugged me to him, and I smiled widely against his shoulder.

"Come on," I smiled. "Let's get this room straightened back up."

Edward helped, and as I went, I looked at the things of Fred's that were still in the room. I decided to take the picture that was on the desk, but I left everything else as it was.

"All we have left is a few blankets, the clothes from today, and books. I also have to arrange everything we bought in Diagon Alley."

"What all did you get?"

"I'll show you when we head down."

Jasper, Edward, and I each collected as much as we could carry and made our way down into the bag.

In the far corner sat the bags and boxes from Diagon Alley.

"I'm going to go back and get everyone some souvenirs. Although we could go by sometime this week and get yours that way we can take it with you, and I have a good idea on what to get."

"You don't have to buy me anything," he said, shaking his head.

"It'll help you find Victoria."

We worked on putting everything away before we moved into the corner. I showed Edward the various things that we got from the alley, and when we got to the stuff from Fred and George's shop, Edward pulled the box to him curiously.

"How does this stuff work?" he asked.

"I'll show you," I said, picking up one of the Fainting Fancies.

I stood up, unwrapping the candy.

"What did you pick?" Jasper asked, worried.

"A surprise," I smiled, tearing the candy in half and handing it to Jasper. "This is the antidote. Feed this to me, and I'll wake up."

I brought the half of the candy I held to my mouth and chewed.

Within seconds, everything went black, and I felt myself fall.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed, but I felt Jasper's strong arms around me. My eyes fluttered open and Jasper was watching me wide-eyed.

"That one can come in handy," I laughed. "It will make my being sick more believable."

Jasper glared.

"You should have told me which candy you chose! You hit your head!"

I laughed again, which made Jasper glare at me more.

"Don't be mad," I said, pulling his face to mine. "You know it can't actually hurt me."

"But what if it did?"

"It won't."

He closed his eyes and rested his forehead against mine.

"If you use that at school, how will you get the antidote?"

"They'd likely call Carlisle or an ambulance which will take me to Carlisle."

He shook his head and kissed my forehead.

"You always have an answer for everything."

Jasper and I were so absorbed in each other, I almost didn't hear Edward slip out of the bag.

"What's he feeling?" I asked.

"He's hurting, Al."

I sighed and shook my head.

"Maybe I'll go talk to him."

"Is that a good idea? I don't want him to snap at you and hurt your feelings."

I smiled.

"I'm a big girl, Jazz. I'll be okay."

"Just give him a minute to collect his thoughts."

Jasper laid down, pulling me with him.

"Lay with me just a little bit longer."

I nodded and closed my eyes.

After about five minutes, I got up and made my way out of the bag, and down the stairs. Edward wasn't in the house. Molly was sitting downstairs knitting, Arthur sitting on the floor at her side, scribbling notes about something.

"Did Edward say where he was going?" I asked quietly.

"Down the hill," Molly said, looking up from her book. "He didn't look very happy."

"I don't expect he would be," I said, shaking my head.

"Hey, Alice?" Molly asked, with a small smile.

"Hmm?"

"What's Jasper's favorite color?"

"Blue," I smiled. "I think he looks best in blue, and over time, that became his favorite color."

"Light or dark?"

"I think either one would be fine."

She smiled returned to her knitting, and I made my way to the door and down the hill.

Edward was laying on the ground, watching the stars.

 _Can I sit?_ I asked, standing behind him.

He looked up at me and nodded.

I laid down next to him and looked up at the stars.

"Did Jasper send you?"

"No. I came out here on my own."

"Did he try to stop you?"

I shook my head.

"No. He was just afraid we'd argue."

"I don't blame him….we have argued a lot in the past few months."

"Are you okay, Edward?"

He looked at me.

"Honestly, no. I miss her, Alice. I could never understand why Jasper couldn't stand being away from you, but now I do."

"So why not go back? Or write her a letter?"

Edward shook her head.

"She'll never forgive me."

"I think you're wrong."  
"Of course you do," he said, closing his eyes. "You like to believe in the best possible outcomes of everything."

"How can I not? I've had so many bad things happen in my life. But then I died….and it made me realize how many things I missed."

"I don't want that for Bella," Edward said. "Rosalie wanted a baby. When you were with Remus, you wanted a baby, but you can never have that."

I shook my head.

"I don't want any kid. I want Jasper's kids."

"You get the idea. I want Bella to have a normal life. She can't have that with me."

"Define normal."

"No vampires. Just humans."

"I never had that, and I turned out okay."

"But you were born into this world."

"And Hermione? She wasn't."

Edward groaned.

"Alice, please! I have to do this!"

"Fine," I said, putting my hands up. "Don't call or write. Just leave her be."

"She has to get over me…all of us."

As we spoke of Bella, my vision began to fade, and it was replaced with something else.

 _Bella was sitting in front of a computer. She was very still._

 _I could see the computer screen. She had an email draft pulled up. It was addressed to the email address that I had disabled when I saw Edward deciding to leave. She was typing quickly and very quietly. The only sound I could hear was from the clicking of the keyboard._  
 _"Dear Alice," the email read, "You've disappeared, like everything else. Who else can I talk to, I'm lost. When you left, and he left you took everything with you. But the absence of him is everywhere I look. It's like a huge hole has been punched through my chest. But in a way I'm glad… the pain is my only reminder that he was real… that you all were… I miss you, and I hope Jasper is okay. I never meant for any of this to happen. They're saying you're sick, and that you may not pull through. I heard people talking about it at school….News spreads fast in a small town. Tell Jasper that I'm okay and that I'm not angry. Bella."_

I blinked a few times as the image faded.

"What was that?" Edward asked, glaring at me. "You promised you wouldn't look for her!"

"I didn't," I said, dazed. "I haven't looked for her since the day you left Forks."

"Then why would she appear!"

"I can't always control it, Edward. Now if you're going to get angry at me for something that I can't control, then I can't help you with Victoria, and I need you to go. One thing is for certain, I will not have you yell at me in front of them."

I jumped back up on my feet walking past Edward.

 _I'm sorry that everything I do is the wrong thing,_ I thought, as I darted back up the hill.  
"You weren't gone long," Molly said.

I shook my head.

"Since Edward met Bella, we haven't been able to keep up a conversation for very long."  
"Can I ask why?"

"He's upset because I can't always control my visions. I just had one with Bella, and he got upset with me."

Arthur frowned.

"This is supposed to be a happy time for you."

I shrugged.

"He'll get over himself. Is Jasper still upstairs?"

Molly nodded.  
"Sometimes I think he's afraid to come to talk to us without you there."

"Don't take it to heart," I smiled. "Jasper likes you very much. I just think he's afraid to say the wrong thing."

Molly shook her head.

"He could never."

I smiled and made my way up the stairs.

Jasper was laying on the bed with his eyes closed. He was breathing shallowly, almost like he was asleep.

I crawled next to him, laying my head on his chest once I got comfortable.

"How did it go?" he murmured, wrapping his arms around me, turning on his side.

"I saw Bella."

"Oh no," Jasper said, immediately. "What did you see?"

"She wrote me an email. She wants me to tell you that she's not angry with you, and that's she's okay."

I knew that Jasper could guess what I was thinking because the next thing I knew, Jasper had repositioned us to where he was hovering over me.

"Ali, sweetheart, I'm fine, I swear. Being around you and your family makes it better, and seeing you happy makes it better."

"Jasper?"

"Yes?"

"Do you think that my family could be your family?"

Jasper smiled.

"I'd like for your family to be mine. This is an environment that I enjoy."

I beamed, and Jasper leaned down to kiss my cheek before settling down next to me.

"So what happened after you saw Bella?"

"Edward got upset with me, and I told him that if he was going to be upset over the things I couldn't control, then I couldn't help him with Victoria, because I didn't want to be embarrassed in front of my family."

"Embarrass?"

"It's embarrassing when he yells at me because of things I can't control. That's why I got upset that one day when he told me that I should be able to control it after all this time."

Jasper hugged me to him.

"I'm sorry, angel," he murmured.

"I'm just going to let him calm down," I said.

"Good idea."

Jasper and remained like that for a while, waiting for daylight to come. Edward didn't come back.

"We should get changed and go downstairs," I said. "Everyone will be here soon, and it won't be too long after they eat that I have to go put enchantments up."

Jasper nodded and pulled me off the bed.

"Come on," he murmured, pulling the bag off of the table.

I dressed in a pair of black jeans and a flowy grey top. Jasper pulled on a burgundy button up with blue jeans.

I looked down at the Dark Mark. This was the only time since coming here I wore a shirt that showed it.  
"Do you think they'll mind?"

Jasper took my arm and ran his thumb over it.

"They've been around it for years now. I don't think they have a problem with it."

He brought my arm closer to his face and kissed the Dark Mark.

As he turned to head towards the stairs, I grinned and jumped onto his back.

Jasper seemed to grin as wide as I did as he turned to look at me.

"Comfortable?" he laughed.  
"Very," I said, burying my face in his honey-blonde hair. Jasper made his way out of the bag, and I remained on his back. As he stepped out of the bag, he swooped down to get it before passing it back to me.

"Do you want me to get off?" I murmured in his ear.

He shook his head.

"You can stay there."

I grinned as he made his way out of the room and down the stairs.

Edward was sitting downstairs in the living room talking to Arthur.

He looked up as he saw Jasper and I come down the last stair, and Ginny and Harry, who was already sitting at the table, grinning at Jasper and I.

I hopped off of Jasper's back and took a seat next to Harry.

"Do we all know who is helping?" I asked.

"George, Ginny, and I for sure. Hermione is staying in bed today, but Ron may drop by."  
"Are they okay with me coming by to get the enchantments set up?"

Harry nodded.

"That's why Ron said something to me. Just make sure you tell them when you get there."

I nodded.

"I will. I'll probably stick around their house a little longer, and help Hermione for a little bit. No doubt she's getting restless. I'll probably do their house last."

Harry nodded.

"Sounds like a plan."

George appeared in the middle of the living room a few minutes later, causing Edward to jump back.

"Morning," George greeted with a laugh.

"You get used to people popping in on you after a time. It's when they're still learning how to do it, and they land on you while you're sleeping. That's the problem," I said, leaning over the back of the couch.

"That happened one time, Ali," George grumbled.

"Twice actually," I smiled.

Jasper laughed.

"You never told me about that," he said.

"I didn't?"

He shook his head.

"Nope."

"It was before an Order meeting, and I had been sleeping at Grimmauld Place, and Fred and George were learning how to Apparate, and they found out what room I was in, and went to Apparate in there but they ended up landing on top of me. George did it again a few weeks later because he found it funny."

George grinned at Jasper.

"She ever use a Bat-Bogey Hex against you?"

"What is that?" Edward asked frowning.

"It's exactly what it sounds like. It causes a person's bogies to turn into bats and they crawl out of your nose."

"I think she's threatened Emmett with it once," Jasper said.

"Has she ever used magic against you?" Harry asked, joining us in the living room.

Jasper grinned and nodded.

"Has she told you about when I taught her to fight?"

"Vaguely," Harry said.

"She told me all about it," George grinned.

"Oh no," I groaned, hiding my face in my hands. "Jazz, it was an accident!"

"What happened?" Arthur asked.

"It was the first day we were training, and she was actually starting to get the hang of things, and I grabbed her when she wasn't expecting it. She hit me with a Body-Binding Curse and I flew across the field and hit a tree."

My face was still hidden by my hands as cackles of laughter rang around the room.

"I was so afraid he was going to hate me," I mumbled as Jasper swiftly scooped me into his arms and sat down on the ground with me.

"I could never hate you," he murmured, pulling my hands from my face.

I smiled up at him, and he leaned forward to kiss my cheek.

 _Alice?_ Edward called loudly, calling my attention. Over many years, Edward would find specific ways to catch my attention.

I turned and looked at him, showing him he had my attention.

 _I'm sorry, Alice. I'm sorry I got upset. You were right. I had no right to take it out on you. I talked to Molly….she told me more about your visions and them developing. I still would like for you to help me, but if you can't, I understand._

I looked at Edward for a long moment.

 _Of course, I'll help you._

We both smiled and turned back to the conversation in front of us. Nobody seemed to notice our conversation. Nobody but Jasper.

They ate in the living room that morning. Everyone remained exactly where they were while Molly, Jasper, and I brought out the food.

"I should have cooked," I said, shaking my head. "As a thank you."

"It's no problem, Alice, honestly," she said, shaking her head. "It's not like your never going to come back here."

I smiled.

We told Jasper and Edward stories of the war, and they told stories about me growing up.

"I can remember when we first met Alice," Molly said, with a large smile. "It was her parents' first Order meeting. Alice was only two. She was amazed by small things, so Dumbledore would bring his phoenix, Fawkes, for her to play with. I'd bring Bill and Charlie from time to time to keep her occupied."

"Am I wrong to say that she's still amazed by small things?" Jasper asked, grinning against my ear.

I turned to face him, pouting my bottom lip.

Jasper laughed, and gently kissed me.

"You know I still love you," he said, grinning widely.

I smiled and leaned my head against his shoulder.

Molly smiled at us.

"Look at her now," she said, glancing around the room. "Seven years ago, if someone had told me I'd be watching you move back into your old house with your husband, I wouldn't have believed it. But here you are, and we can not be more proud of you for everything that you've done."

I smiled and looked down at the ground.

"Thanks, Molly," I said.

When everyone finished eating, Jasper and I raised to our feet.

"Jasper and I will go work on enchantments, and then come back here when we finish. Then we'll come back here."

"What about me?" Edward asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Stay here with Molly," I said, smiling. "I think she'd like to talk to you."

Molly nodded and turned to Edward.

"Can you help me take the dishes back to the kitchen?"

Edward nodded, and Jasper and I moved to the fireplace.

I popped into Bill and Fleur's house first. They were still at the Shell Cottage, and they knew that I'd be coming.

"Good morning, Alice," Bill greeted, with a large smile.

I looked around the room in front of me.

"Everything looks the same as the last time I was here."

I had come here a few days before Harry and rest of the lot had come. I told Voldemort that they were expecting a report soon. I went to Bill because I knew his house would be safe. Nobody would raise any questions.

 _"I think he's starting to question my faith," my voice rang clearly in my ears. "If I don't make it out, you have to make sure that Harry does what he is destined to do. Make sure that everyone knew that I died to save them."_

 _"You're going to be fine," Bill said, firmly._

Jasper squeezing my hand snapped my attention back to the house.

"Alice?" Fleur asked, her voice filled with worry. "Can I ask, 'ow do ze charms work?"

"It's very simple. They will work harder to conceal Shell Cottage. One of the charms will prevent any vampire from coming through the enchantments."

"But what if you and Jasper want to come to visit?"

"We can get through with these," I said, holding out the Dragots. "Only if we have these can we pass through."

"And if you lose it?" Fleur asked, "and zey fall into ze hands of zis Victoria?"

I shook my head.

"You have nothing to worry about Fleur. Jasper and I will keep them in a place where we will always have them."

"We trust you, Alice," Bill said, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Do what you need to do."

"Jasper, you can stay in here if you want," I told him, squeezing his hand.  
"Can I come with you?" he asked me, his voice barely audible to anybody but me.

"Of course," I murmured, bringing his hand up to my face.

"We'll be back in a few moments," I said, looking at Bill and Fleur. "It won't take long."

I pulled Jasper out the front door with me and looked around.

The warm sun was beating down on my face, causing me to shine like a million diamonds.

Jasper smiled.

"Beautiful," he murmured, brushing his fingers lightly against my skin.

I smiled and held his hand to my face for a moment.

"Come on," I smiled, pulling his hand again. "Let's go put up these charms."

Jasper stood behind me as I moved around the outside of Shell Cottage. Bill and Fleur, as well as Dominique and Victoire, watched me from the window. I could hear the two girls chatting very quickly to their parents about me and Jasper in the sun.

"So pretty!" Dominique exclaimed, and I moved closer to the kitchen window.

"She is, isn't she?" Fleur said, with a smile.  
"Is she Vella too?" Victorie asked.

"No," Bill said. "Just a vampire. A very, very extraordinary vampire."

I laughed and made sure that the Fidelius Charm was still strong.

After all of the charms were put up, and some were reinforced, I walked over to Jasper, who was sitting just beyond the charms, looking out at the sea.

"What's wrong, Jazzy?" I murmured, taking his hand.

"I'm just thinking," he murmured.  
"Can I ask what about?"

"You," he chuckled. "Always you."

"What about me?" I asked, resting my chin on his shoulder, my lips brushing up against his cheek.

"Am I wrong to take your away from your family?"

"Our," I murmured. "And no, you're not. We aren't staying away forever. We have agreements. We go back at the end of February, and if it doesn't work back, you and I will settle here permanently. If things do work out, we'll come back and visit, and they'll visit us. You're not taking them away from me, Jazz. Not if we come back."

Jasper smiled and turned to face me. He rested his forehead against mine.

"We'll always come back," Jasper said before gently kissing me.

I smiled and stood up again.

"Come on, love," I murmured. "We should head back in.

Jasper held onto the coin he had in his pocket, and I held onto mine.

When we stepped through, Bill and Fleur stepped outside, the girls left at the window.

"Everything is safe now," I said. "Victoria has no possible chance of getting through, and if she tries, I'll know."

"You said there's a chance that Victoria doesn't even know about us right?" Bill asked.

I nodded.

"The chances are pretty good that she doesn't know about you guys. However, I don't want to take that chance."

Bill hugged me.

"Thank you, Alice."

"Of course," I murmured, patting his shoulder. "I made a promise years ago that I would keep you safe. I will keep my promise. I could never live with myself if something happened to you."

When Bill let go of me, Jasper immediately pulled me back to him.

"How many more do you have to do?"  
"Everyone else's," I laughed. "I came here first. This was a familiar place for me. I've been here before. I have no idea what to expect for the others."

"Are you going to see Charlie?"

I shook my head.

"Not today. I'm going to owl him and find a good time so I don't show up unannounced. I'd rather not upset a dragon."

Fleur laughed, which caused me to smile.

"Ze girls enjoyed watching you," she told me, smiling.

"I'm glad they enjoyed it."

"I like watching her too," Jasper murmured.

I smiled and looked down at the ground.  
"We should get going," I said, smiling. "We've got other houses to do, and I'm going to check in on Ron and Hermione."

"Let us know how it goes."

"I will."

Jasper and I stepped around Bill and Fleur, and headed back to the fireplace, heading to Harry and Ginny's house. Nobody was home, as I expected, so we immediately walked outside.

"We shouldn't be here very long. When we get to George's, Angelina will be there with the baby, but we have to be quiet in case he's sleeping."

Jasper laughed.

"Okay, Alice."

"How do you not get tired of this?" I asked as I moved around the outside of the house. "I've done a lot of magic over the last fifty years."

Jasper walked close behind me, his voice was still very quiet.

"You as a whole amaze me."

"Why?"

"Because some days, I still can't believe you're mine."

"You sound like me," I laughed.

"I'm serious, Al," Jasper grinned, turning me to face him after I finished a charm. "I look at you, and I can't possibly imagine how someone can love me as much as you do."

"I love you more than you could ever know," I said, raising a hand to his face. He held my hand in place.

"My Alice?" he asked, smiling against my hand.

"Forever," I said.

After a moment, Jasper dropped my hand gently back at my side, and he let me resume the charms. It would seem that each house took less time than the last, and Jasper and I would talk about various things, none of them relating to the last.

We made it to Ron and Hermione's a little after ten.

"I think they're upstairs," I murmured to Jasper quietly.

We quickly and quietly made our way up the stairs. I could hear Ron and Hermione talking in quiet voices.  
The bedroom door was open, Ron and Hermione laid on the bed, with Ron talking quietly to Hermione's stomach while Hermione grinned at him. I knocked on the open door, and they both looked up.

"Hey," I said, smiling. "How's the baby?"

"It's starting to move around a lot," Hermione said.

"It's probably getting into position," I said, stepping closer to the bed.

Hermione took my hand and placed it on the side of her stomach.

"Feel that?" she asked, looking back up at me.

I could feel the baby press it's hand against mine, which made me smile widely.

"It definitely won't be long now. I would be surprised if you went into labor throughout tonight."

She beamed at me before looking around me to Jasper.

"Good morning, Jasper," she said, smiling, and waving him over to the bed.

When Jasper fell into place, I took his hand, and placed it on Hermione's stomach, in the same spot that mine had been in seconds ago.

"Do you feel that?" I asked him, smiling.

He grinned and nodded.

"I do."

"Can you hear it?" Hermione asked. "With Legilimens?"

I shrugged.

"I've never tried. But I could."

Hermione looked up to me hopefully.

"Could you?"

I nodded and turned my focus from Hermione to the baby. With enough focus, I could hear the quiet thoughts of the baby.

 _Get them to talk more. I like it when they talk._

I smiled and looked up at Hermione. I was very careful to keep from revealing anything about the gender to everybody. I wouldn't even tell Jasper.

"It wants you and Ron to talk to it more. It likes when you talk."

Hermione grinned.  
"Really?"

I nodded, before focusing again.

"The baby is trying to figure out why two sets of hands are colder than the rest. It's very curious about the world beyond its home."

"Just like it's mother," Ron smiled.

"Alice are you sure that the baby won't have any complications if it does come tonight?"

"You said you were almost thirty-eight weeks. There shouldn't be at this time, but I looked ahead, and I can assure you that the baby is safe."

Hermione grinned at me.

"I'll go make you guys some tea," I said, smiling.

"Do you know—"

"I can find everything okay," I interrupted before Ron could finish.

"And do you know—"

"I don't think the way you and Ron drink your tea has changed in the last seven years."

Hermione grinned before settling back down on the bed.

Jasper followed me down the stairs.

He leaned against the counter while I moved around the kitchen.

"How sure are you that the baby is coming?" Jasper asked.

"I've been getting flashes of Ron and Hermione with a baby," I said. "We were all saying goodbye to Edward. He's not staying for more than two weeks at the most."

"And you're sure that there will be no complications?"

I shook my head and pulled two cups from the cupboard. I didn't answer until I had finished setting up the cups.

"Don't you trust me?" I asked, frowning at him.

He walked around the counter and pulled me to him.

"Of course I do," he said, smiling. "I trust you with my life."

I smiled and rested my forehead on his shoulder.

"And I trust you with mine."

As Jasper kissed the top of my head, the tea kettle behind me whistled.

"How do you know where everything is?" Jasper asked as I pulled down two teabags.

"The cupboards are set up similar to the ones at the Burrow," I said. "And of course, the labels."

Jasper laughed, and picked up one of the cups and handed it to me.

"Right, the labels, of course."

He followed me back up the stairs and pushed open the bedroom door.

"Here you go," I said, handing a cup to each of them. "How many Muggles are in the area?"

"None immediately close."

"So I'll be safe putting up charms?"

Hermione nodded.

"You should be."

I nodded and turned back to Jasper.

"Are you coming? Or would you like to stay up here?"

"I'll stay," Jasper said.

I nodded and reached up to kiss his cheek.

It didn't take long before all of the charms were put into place. I pulled the final two Dragots from my pocket, and tied them to this charm before marking it with an 'h' and 'r.'

When I returned to the room, Jasper was sitting in a rocking chair in the corner, smiling.

"What made you sure that you loved her?" Hermione asked. Neither her nor Ron seemed to notice me standing in the doorway, and I didn't announce myself. I listened quietly to Jasper's answer.

"I knew that I loved her when I met her," Jasper said. "But what made me really sure, was when she first smiled at me. I knew that I had to do whatever I could to keep that smile on her face."

He smiled over at me, and Ron and Hermione noticed me.

"What about you?"

"I've told you that part already," I said, darting across the room, and sitting at Jasper's feet.

"Tell me again," Hermione said.

"I knew I loved him when I saw him for the first time, during the vision in my transformation."

"Tell me your first thought when you saw him."

"I thought that I had died," I said, leaning back against Jasper's legs. "The transition is painful, so believe me, I wanted to be dead. I thought that Jasper was an angel who had come to take me to whatever was next. But I woke up, and I saw the vision more clearly, and I knew I loved him."  
"She was so afraid I wouldn't love her back," he murmured.

"How could I not be?" I asked, turning to face him. "I didn't think anyone could love me. And I sure as hell didn't think you would love me when you found out everything I've done."

Jasper smiled and shook his head.

"At the end of the day, it's no worse than what I've done."

"It's hard to believe that Jasper couldn't love you," Hermione said.

I shrugged.

"I think that a small piece of me believed he would change his mind about me….go back to Maria. Then he married me, and that made me sure."

Hermione smiled.

"I think your love story is one of my favorites."

I smiled.

"I didn't think you liked love stories," I teased.

"I don't usually, but you guys…." she trailed off shaking her head.

After a few more minutes of talking, I jumped to my feet.

"How about lunch?"

"How long has it been since you cooked?" Hermione asked warily.

"Not that long," I said, defensively. "I cook a few years ago, for a party that Esme was invited to. Everyone loved it. Not to mention, I've been helping Molly with dinner most days since we came here."

"She's not wrong," Jasper said.

"I could eat," Ron said, jumping to his feet.

I stepped closer to the bed to help Hermione up.

"Come on then," I said. "Craving anything special?"

She shook her head.

"We'll figure something out, won't we?"

We ended up making a baked chicken pesto, and I put a roast in the oven for their dinner.

"Have you gotten the hang of these things?" I asked Ron, pointing to the various Muggle things around the room.

"Sort of. I still need help some days."

I laughed.

"I'm glad to know I'm not the only one."

"You've been doing better over the years," Jasper said, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"Every time I think I get the hang of things, they come out with something new," I said, shaking my head.

"But you can drive now, you can work the computers, phones, and televisions. You're doing fine."

He kissed my temple as I sighed.

"You can drive?" Ron asked, raising his eyebrows. "I never thought that I'd see the day where Mary Alice Black would get into a car, let alone drive it."

"Jasper taught me how," I said. "He's taught me about the Muggle world, and its history. His favorite era is the Civil War."

"Why is that?"

"I was a Texas major in the American Civil War," Jasper said. "A lot of the history books get it wrong."

"You were a soldier in both lives?"

Jasper nodded.

"Maria found me one night while I was evacuating women and children to Galveston."

"You never made it to the end of the war?"

Jasper shook his head.  
"No. My parents thought I died in the war."

"Has your name been listed in any of the books?"

"A few," Jasper said. "I'll show them to you sometime before we leave."

Hermione smiled and returned her attention to her food. I moved Jasper's wrist to where I could see the time."

"We should get going, Jazz," I said, looking up at him. I turned back to Hermione and Ron. "The roast should be done around six. If there are any changes with the baby, let me know."

"Good luck with the house," Ron said.

"Thank you."

After quick hugs from Ron and Hermione, Jasper and I headed back to the fireplace to get to the Burrow.

When we stepped through, Harry, George, and Ginny, Molly, and Arthur were sitting in the living room. James was wedged between Harry and Ginny on the couch, rambling to George about a toy broom Harry had got him.

"Everything go up okay?" Harry asked as I stepped next to the couch.

I nodded.

"Jasper and I have Dragots that allow us into the protective barrier around your houses if we don't come through the Floo System. I can also tell if another vampire tries to get through."

"Thank you, Alice," Harry said, smiling.

"Of course. Whenever you're ready, we'll Apparate over to my house."

"We're ready when you are."

I grinned.

"Then let's go."

I Apparated with George, while Jasper went with Harry and Edward with Ginny.

Before leaving the Burrow, I pulled Harry to the side.

"Try and land outside of the view of the house. I want it to be a surprise."

"You got it," Harry said, smiling.

"Thanks."  
I darted back over to George's side, and then yet again, the Burrow vanished from sight.

George and I landed closer to the house than what Jasper, Harry, Edward, and Ginny had. I could hear Jasper talking in a fast voice, and I was sure Harry wouldn't be able to keep up.

"Where's George and Alice?" he asked panicked. "They left before we did, shouldn't they be here?"

"Calm down, Jasper," I heard Harry say.

I began to follow their voices, and when I appeared into view, Jasper pulled me into a hug.

"Why did we land so far from you?"

"Because I asked Harry to bring you here," I said, pulling his face to mine.

"Why?" he asked, frowning.

I smiled, and let go of his face before swinging myself onto his back, and covering his eyes.

"Because the house is a surprise."

Jasper chuckled and held out a hand

"Ginny, can you guide Jasper to the house please?"

Ginny laughed and took Jasper's outreached hand.

Edward, George, and Harry followed behind us, all three smiling at Ginny and I, who led Jasper to the front yard.

"Where do I stop?" Ginny asked.

"Right here is fine," I said, as we stepped into the fence.

Ginny dropped Jasper's hand, and I leaned forward to his ear.

"Welcome home, Jazz," I murmured before dropping my hands, and replacing them around his neck.

Jasper looked up to the house in amazement. This is yours?"

I nodded.

"The Potters, people in the Order, and from Hogwarts helped Mum and Dad get this. Now it's ours."

The house itself was made from bricks, and it sat on top of a small hill. It had stone stairs that led to the door. A large willow tree sat at the bottom of the stairs, and a swing was tied to it.

"Come on," I said, smiling as I jumped off of Jasper's back, and guiding him to the house.

When we got to the door, I fished the key from my back pocket.

"I'll give you a tour before we start cleaning," I said, smiling, as I unlocked the doors.

Everything was exactly how I left it.

"It will look better once we straighten up," I said, looking around the room. In the back corner, my mother's piano had a box sitting on the stool. The pictures I had left behind, like the portrait of my parents at their wedding, still hung on the wall. The furniture remained in the same spots, but they now had covers on them.

"There isn't much here," I said, "but it's home."

"That's okay," Jasper said.

"Maybe one day we can go shopping. We'll probably stay here when we come to visit."

Jasper grinned.

"Any excuse to shop."

I smiled and looked around the room.

"Who did the piano belong to?" Edward asked.

"Mom. Both Mom and Dad could play, but it belonged to Mom."

I smiled as I moved closer to the piano.

"Remus once told me that Mom and Dad had wanted to teach me how to play, but Mom died, and Dad was sent to prison before either had the chance."

Jasper must have detected a change in my emotion that I didn't, because, in an instant, he was at my side, a hand on the small of my back.

"Al, show me the rest of the house," he murmured in my ear.

My eyes snapped away from the piano and to Jasper's face. The smile returned, and I took Jasper's hand again.

"Okay, let's see the house."

I led him out of the living room and down the hall.

"Through there is the kitchen, and back there is the dining room," I said, pulling him towards the stairs.

"In here," I said, pushing open a door, "is an office. When I was younger, it was a playroom, but when I moved back in, I turned it into an office so Severus and I would have a place to work."

"What about that door?"

"It goes to one of the bathrooms," I said, opening the door and flipping on the light so Jasper could see inside.

"You designed this on your own?" Edward asked.

I nodded.

"Severus helped me do the shopping for it before the school year started."

"Were you still doing Auror work?"

"For a little while."

We left that room and headed for the stairs.

"Okay," I said, stopping in the middle of the hall. "The door across the stairs is another bathroom. Edward, this room down here is where you'll sleep."

I led him to the room, everyone following closely behind.

"If you chose not to use it, that's fine, but if you need time to yourself you can come here if you'd like."

"Thank you, Alice," Edward said stepping inside. He sat his book bag on the dresser before we stepped back out and pulled the door shut.

"Through here," I said, pushing open another door, "is another guest room, and through here," I paused to move around Jasper and open up the last door, "is our room."

Jasper and stepped inside and looked around.

"Through there is a storage space," I said, leaning on the doorway.

"Was this always your room?"

I nodded.

"When I moved back in, I went to one of those Muggle furniture stores, and replaced the bed, and repainted the walls, and so on. The room next door was my parents' room. I didn't change anything, but while I was fixing up the house, I slept in there."

"It's great, Al," he said.

"I'm glad you like it," I said, smiling widely at him. "We should probably go through all of those boxes if Harry, George, and Ginny want to get back to the Burrow. And I have to stop at the Ministry before they close to set up the Floo System."

"You didn't have it before you died?"

I shook my head.

"I Apparated or flew everywhere."

"Are all of the boxes down there Alice's?"

Harry shook his head.

"Most are, but some belonged to Fred, Andromeda brought some of Remus's things. I think there were a few things that belonged to Severus that Malfoy brought. They had already packed them for Alice, and we were all kind of hoping Alice would come back so they brought them here."

I smiled and darted through the house, back to the living room, with everyone else following behind me at a human pace.

When everyone else joined me, I was going through a box of Remus's stuff.

"Find anything interesting?" Jasper asked.

I shrugged.

"Not really. Remus didn't have much—"

As I spoke, I pulled out a long black case and paused.

"What is it?"

I opened the case slowly and pulled the object from inside.

"It's Remus's wand," I said, in surprise. I looked up at Harry. "Why wouldn't she want Teddy to keep this?"

Harry shrugged.

"I guess she felt that you should have a piece of him too."

I wasn't sure what caused it, but something inside of me snapped. Suddenly the anger I felt towards Remus returned.

"Maybe this should go to Teddy," I said, too quickly for Harry, George, and Ginny to understand. "Maybe all of this should go to Teddy."

I returned the wand to the case and began to put everything back in the box. As I went to kick the box away from me, Jasper caught my wrists and pulled me to him.

"Shhh," he soothed. "Ali, calm down. It's okay."

"I thought I was okay," I said, my voice barely audible.

"It's okay," Jasper whispered in my ear. "I've got you. Calm down, Ali."

Jasper continued to send waves of calm to me, and behind me, I could hear Edward talking quietly to Harry, George, and Ginny.

"I'm sorry," I whispered to Jasper.

"Don't apologize," Jasper said.

He let go of one of my wrists, reached into the box, and pulled out the wand.

"Andromeda gave this to you because he was still your godfather. After everything you've been through together, he's still your godfather, Al."

"I don't want to keep something that's going to hurt you."  
"It's not going to hurt me, Al. But if it's going to hurt you, and you can't keep it, then we'll give it to Teddy."

"I think it's only right that Teddy has it," I said. "Not because it hurts me, but because he'll never know his father. I have memories."

"Okay. So we'll put aside Remus's things for Teddy."

I nodded, and Jasper let go of me.

"Come on," he said, "let's go through this stuff."

Everyone started on a box, holding up things, which I decided whether or not I would keep it. I would take most of the stuff we threw out to the second-hand shops in Diagon Alley.

"Alice?" George asked, scooting closer to me.

"Yes?"

"What about this?"

He handed me another wand box. I opened it and stared down at it in wonder.

"Is this Freddie's?"

George nodded.

"Mum and I were talking this morning, and we both thought that maybe you should have it."

"Are you sure?" I asked, looking up at him.  
George nodded.

"You're going to be around a lot longer than any of us, so it will eventually make its way to you anyways. Besides, I know you'll take great care of it."

I pulled George into a tight hug.

"Thank you, George!" I exclaimed.

"Can't breathe," he gasped.

I immediately let go and smiled sheepishly at the wand in my hand.

Amongst Fred's things, I was left his wand, a few jumpers that Molly had knitted, and a ring that he had bought when he had gotten enough money.

"George, are you sure you don't want any of this stuff?" I asked, looking back at him.

He nodded.

"Of course."

I smiled, and set it to the side, before turning to the stuff that belonged to Severus.

In his things, I was left some notebooks with potions, spells, and notes, and the replica of the Sword of Gryffindor.

"Everything else is your stuff," Harry said. "It didn't feel right to give it away, so we packed a lot of it in boxes."

"I'm glad you kept it," I said. "There are some things here that belonged to Dad that I left behind."

"Alice said she made replicas of her things when she was faking her death," Edward said. "Who has those?"

"A mix of us all," George said.

"I have the replica of her wand," Harry said.

"I have her jewelry, and her crystal ball."

George flashed me a smile and I grinned widely.

"I still carry those around," I said. "I've even added some tarot cards to my collection."

"You've always used tarot cards," Ginny frowned.

"But I've never owned them."

"Maybe you can give me a reading later," George teased.

"I'll take you up on that."

The room was lighter than what it had been before. We continued to go through my things. I threw out copies of books that I had more than one copies of, and as we made space on the bookshelf, more books were added.

I had found various things I had left behind. I found heirlooms of the Black family. When George saw me looking at something with the Black family crest on it, he turned to Jasper grinning.

"Did you know that your wife is probably the shortest person in her family? Most of the Blacks were tall, but not Alice."

"My mother was short," I said, frowning.  
"Not as short as you," George said, ruffling my hair. "Besides, she wasn't a Black. She was a Nott."

"You never met my mother," I huffed.

Jasper laughed and leaned over to kiss my temple.

"I may have to get rid of most of these clothes," I said, looking through the boxes. "It's a shame. I actually liked some of these."

"We can always get more clothes," Jasper said. "Maybe we can shorten down the clothes from our closet, and then get new things."

I smiled.

"We'd have to into Muggle London," I said. "Or to Paris."

Harry laughed.

"Still likes to shop?"

"I need something to pass the time," I said. "Besides, I wasn't that bad in my human life."

"She's not wrong," George said. "She didn't have a lot of time or money, but when she did, she would drag Fred and me all over Diagon Alley."

"I did some shopping in Knockturn Alley once," I said. "When I was first recruited as a Death Eater. Somewhere around here I still have books on the Dark Arts that I got there," I paused for a minute before jumping to my feet.

I jumped to my feet and held a finger up.

"Wait here," I told Jasper.  
I darted back up the stairs, to my room, and into the closet. In the closet, I had a floorboard that I could pull out and hide stuff in. This was where I had hidden things I had got from Knockturn Alley since I didn't want to be a part of that.

I pulled out the various books on the Dark Arts, as well as the enchanted music box I had recovered from Grimmauld Place.

I returned down the stairs and placed them out on the floor.

"This is dark magic?" Jasper asked picking up the music box.

I nodded.

"It puts people to sleep," I said. I turned to Edward. "I had an idea. About how we can find Victoria."

"Okay."

"During the war, the Death Eaters put a Taboo Curse on Voldemort's name. Anybody who said his name could immediately be tracked. Xenophilius Lovegood used to try and get Harry captured in exchange for his daughter, Luna who we had taken and was hiding in Malfoy Manor. I was thinking, maybe we could put a Taboo on Bella's name. If Victoria were to say it, then we could find her."

Edward shook his head.

"What if her parents were to say her name? We would track them instead."

"What about on something else she would say?"

Edward shook his head.

"We can't narrow it down to any one thing."

I nodded.

"Okay. It was just an idea."

"Are you keeping these?" Harry asked, looking at the books at my legs.

"Would I be horrible if I did?"

Harry shook his head.

"You could never be horrible."

I couldn't deny that my time as a Death Eater made me curious about the dark arts. I didn't want to devote myself to them, I was curious about what attracted people to them.

"I wouldn't say that makes you horrible," Edward said. "It was curiosity."

I shook my head.

"After all the things I've done, you would think I would get rid of them without a thought."

"It's in the human nature to be curious," Ginny said from her spot on the couch.

"I'm not human."

"By technicality."

"You know I'm not even technically alive, right?" I asked, with a small smile.

"You're alive to us," Ginny said. The tone of her voice signaled to me that I couldn't change her mind. Ginny Weasley was one of the few people in the world who was just as stubborn as I was.

Edward chuckled as he stood and made his way to the piano at the back of the room.

"You're not wrong about that," he said.

"About what?" Jasper asked.  
"I'll tell you later, love," I murmured, as I looked inside of the books.

"Have you read those letters from Remus?"

"I read the one from the house….I just haven't found the right time to read some of the others."

"Maybe tonight, after we all leave."

"Maybe," I said.

From my things, I decided to give away a lot of clothes from both the things I had brought with me when I was changed and the things I had bought in America. I kept almost all of the objects, however. It was hard to part with them.

Jasper was admiring the collection of Divination objects on a shelf in the study.

"You can use all of these?" Jasper asked, dropping an arm around my shoulder.

I nodded.

"I can read your palms, your horoscope, tarot cards, your tea leaves, I can interpret your dreams. I can see your decisions."

Jasper smiled down at me.

"You've never actually shown me how the tarot cards work," Jasper told me. I smiled and pointed to the table.

"Sit."

The others, who had been watching us in the doorway, stepped into the room and filled in the extra chairs.

I pulled a stack of tarot cards from the shelf before sitting down across from Jasper.

I shuffled the cards before spreading them out on the table.

"We're going to do a reading on your past, present, and future."

Jasper nodded. He was watching me curiously, as was everyone else.

"Pick your first card," I told him, gesturing to the cards.

"That one," Jasper said, picking up the third card from the right.

"And your next one?"

Jasper slid the sixth card from the left to me.

"Pick one last card."

He picked the card directly from the middle.

I moved the other cards except for these three out of the way.

"Past," I said, flipping over the first card. "The High Priestess. You were secretive. The circumstances of your behavior made you strong. You were a bit of a dreamer and found solace in your imagination. However, you had a sharp edge and felt guarded or defensive. You were deeply in touch with your emotions, sensual, alluring, but also a little bit sad. Present, Nine of Swords. You are distraught by a bad experience and preoccupied with negative, anxious thoughts which may or may not be rooted in reality. Because of luck, you have narrowly avoided consequences, and your sorrow will soon be coming to an end. Through your brush with the dark side, you gain confidence and are imbued with a new sense of bravery and purpose."  
I paused and looked up to Jasper, who turned his eyes from the cards and was watching my face in awe.

"Future," I said, flipping over the final card. "Six of Swords. In the future, you will be forced to take a serious journey. On this journey, you will be protected and single-minded. Upon reaching your destination, you will be freed of anxiety. During the journey, you must keep your head down and grit your teeth. Despite the experience that will set you on your journey in the first place, you will be surprisingly calm and have mental clarity."

"Amazing," Jasper said, reaching out to touch his cards.

I beamed at him happily.

"You think so?" I asked as I took the cards back.

Jasper nodded.

"I truly do."

I smiled.

"Jazz, are the two of you staying here while I'm at the Ministry? I shouldn't be long. Maybe an hour or two at most."  
Jasper thought about it for a moment.

"Could I stay here and explore the house?"

"Go ahead."

"I'll get started on unpacking."

I smiled and kissed his cheek before looking up at the clock on the wall.

"I should go," I said. "It's going on four o'clock now."

My house wasn't that far outside of London. It took me only about fifteen minutes to get to the phone booth that would lead me to the Ministry of Magic.

"Welcome to the Ministry of Magic. Please state your name and business."

"Mary Alice Black Whitlock. I am here to discuss the placement of the Floo System in my home.

"Thank you," the voice said. "Visitor, please take the badge and attach it to the front of your robes."

The silver badge came from the coin return which I pinned to the front of my top.

"Visitor to the Ministry, you are required to submit to a search and present your wand for registration at the security desk, which is located at the far end of the Atrium."

The floor of the box shuddered, and I was sent down into the ground.

I waited patiently as the lift slowly made its way down to the Atrium.

I made my way through security and immediately headed to the lifts. It didn't take long to get to the sixth level.

I was directed to the office of a man who was able to help me.

"Mrs. Whitlock?" he asked extending his hand to me.

I nodded and shook his hand. Much like everyone else, she shivered at the touch of my hand.

"What can I do for you today?"

"I've recently moved back into my old house, and I'm wanting to connect the fireplace to the Floo System."

"Was it disconnected after your death?"

"It was never connected. I used to Apparate everywhere, but during my transformation, I lost the ability."

The man nodded and turned to a file cabinet.

"I'll get you the instructions on how to set it up, and I'll give you enough Floo Powder to get you by for a few months."

"Thank you."

"Of course."

He stood from his desk and moved to another part of the room.

A few moments later, he returned with a paper and a bag filled with Floo Powder.

"This should last you until December," he said.

He passed me the bag, and the paper, as I raised to my feet.

"Thank you, I said, smiling as I took the things from him.

"Come back here when you need more, or if you have any questions."

I thought for a minute.

"I do have a question, actually."

"Go ahead."

"My husband and I plan to go back to America at the end of February. At that time would I have to disconnect the Floo System?"  
"Are you selling the house?"

I shook my head.

"We'll still come back from time to time, and when we do, we'll stay there."

"Then no. As long as the house is in your name, you can keep it intact. As for the house in America, that is up to the people at MACUSA."

I nodded.

"Thanks," I said. "That's all I needed to know."

"Have a good day, Mrs. Whitlock."

"You too."

When I made it back to the house, Jasper and Edward were upstairs, Edward in his room, and Jasper in ours.  
I stood in the doorway of the room, watching as Jasper, who sat on the bed, flipped through a photo album that I had accidentally left behind. He seemed to be studying one picture.

He looked up at me and smiled.

"You're back," he said with a smile.

"I am. How's unpacking going?"

"Almost done."

"What're you looking at?"

"It's a picture of you," he said, waving me over.

I was beside the bed in a second, and in another second, Jasper had pulled me into his arms.

He was looking at a picture that was taken the day that I was born. Dad was sitting in a rocking chair, grinning down at me.

"He was so young," I said, quietly. "He swore he'd protect me forever that day. When he was around, he was a good father….I hope in the end he knew that."

"I'm sure he did," Jasper mumbled, his lips brushing against my temple.

I smiled and looked over at the table. The letters and journals from Remus sat there.

"Maybe I should read one of those," I said.

Jasper leaned over to the table and grabbed the stack and journals before passing them to me.  
"Can I hear?" Jasper asked.

"Of course," I smiled.

I took the letter from the bottom of the stack before setting everything else to the side.

"This one is dated on two weeks before he left," I said, as I unfolded the paper. "It says; Dear Alice, I know I could never say this to you, so I figured if I wrote it down, I could change my mind. Writing to you...it makes me feel like I'm talking to you. For a while, I've been thinking about us. The more I think, the more I realize, the only way for you to have a good life is if I let you go. It's strange, isn't it? Us being together? I raised you after all, and I've known you since you were a baby. I'm your father's best friend, and while he seems okay with the idea of us together, I know that deep down, he knows that there is somebody better for you out there. We shouldn't feel this way about each other, but for some reason, we do. I can never give you what you want, Alice. I can't risk putting the burden of giving you a child like me. You deserve more than that. Maybe if...when I let you go, you can go to the States. I know you've always wanted to go there. Maybe you'll find a husband, settle down, and have the life you deserve. I don't know what to do, Ali. I want to stay, but at the same time, I know I have to go. I wish I could talk to you about this...but I have to figure this out on my own. I know in the end, I have to do what's right for you, and if I have to let you go, then I will. I love you always, Remus."

I folded back up the letter and set it on the bed next to me.

"He was thinking about this for a long time."

"It would seem that way," Jasper said, picking up a journal. He showed me a page of a pros and cons list that Remus had written out. There was no date.

"He put a lot of thought into it," I said, reading the pros and cons list. "Pro, I love her. Con, she's too young, she's my best friend's daughter, I raised her."

"Alice?" Jasper asked, looking down at me.

I tore my eyes away from the book and met his golden eyes.

"Yeah, Jasper?"

He shook his head.

"Never mind."

I watched him for a moment, before closing the book and setting in on the bedside table.  
"Jasper?"

"Yeah, Al?"

"Welcome home."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I'm sorry I haven't uploaded in a few weeks. Things got crazy. I tried dropping Latin, and I succeeded….for a whole three hours. I was then put back in the class, and I am having trouble getting my counselor to see me. From that, there have been tremendous amounts of stress, and I had writer's block again. I knew what I wanted to write, but I couldn't figure out how I wanted it to look. I am going to try and get a chapter up by next Sunday, but I don't want to make an empty promise.**

 **I hope you enjoyed,**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	76. Teddy Lupin

_"I am sorry too," said Lupin. "Sorry I will never know him . . . but he will know why I died and I hope he will understand. I was trying to make a world in which he could live a happier life." ~Remus Lupin, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows_

* * *

Chapter 76- Teddy Lupin

It didn't take long to adjust to the transition from the Burrow, to our house. The first few days, Jasper, Edward, and I stayed at the house, trying to find what we could about Victoria. I used the crystal ball to help focus my visions.

"How is it going?" Molly asked as I helped her make dinner one night about three days after Edward's arrival.

"We have a few possible locations."

"Care to share?"

"Well, we think maybe China for one, Russia for another. We also think she may be going to Italy, although that is the most unlikely choice."

"Is there a reason?"

I shrugged.

"Italy only came up once."

What I didn't tell Molly is that Jasper, Edward, and I thought she may try to go to the Volturi. We thought it was unlikely as Victoria was a nomad.

"Between Russia and China which do you think is more likely?"

"I think she's going to head for China," I said, leaning against the counter. "Once she gets across Japan, she can head for the West Coast."

"Do you think she's going to head directly for Forks?"

"Once she can shake Edward off of her trail."

Before we could continue any further, James came bounding into the kitchen, shrieking with laughter before hiding behind my legs.

"Al!" he shrieked. "Help!"

He extended his small arms to me, and when I picked him up, he didn't respond to the cool temperature of my skin.

As I looked around the corner, Jasper was sneaking around the side, and when he finally appeared again, James shrieked with laughter once more before burying his face in my shoulder.

I laughed along with James, who peered out to look at Jasper who inched towards us.

"What's he doing, Jamie?" Molly asked James, a large grin appearing on her face.

James jabbed a small finger at Jasper before turning back to me.

"Help!" he exclaimed again.

I grinned at him before darting around Jasper and through the living room. Jasper chased after us, and all the while, James's laughter echoed through the house. Jasper finally caught up, his arm snaking around my waist, and gently pulling James and me to the ground with him.

"Got you," he growled against the base of my throat.

I beamed before looking back up at James.  
"James, guess what," I said, standing him upright. "Daddy is here."

His face lit up before he bounded away to the kitchen.

 _How's Jasper?_ Edward asked me. _He looks like he's adapted well here._

I smiled and nodded.

 _He loves them, and they love him all the same._

Jasper looked at us questioningly.

"I'll tell you in a little while."

He nodded and in the same instant, Harry and James came back into the room, James babbling to Harry about Jasper.

"He seems to like being here with you and Jasper," Harry said a few moments later as I helped him set the table. "What happens when you leave again?"

"We'll come back Har. I've already told you this."

"I know."

Harry watched me for a few moments.

"You haven't really changed much, Al," he told me. "You're happier though, with Jasper."

"Before I killed James, I hadn't had to fight for a long time."

"Now you have Victoria."

"Victoria," I nodded. "I don't think I'm going to be the one who kills her. Unless she comes here, I think that'll be Edward's job."

We both looked over to Edward and Jasper, who sat in the living room.

"How is the search for Victoria going anyways?"

"We're just trying to figure out where she's going to go now. We know she thinks she's leading Edward to Poland, and I won't see the decision until she makes it. "

"Why does she want Bella? You killed James. Shouldn't she be after Jasper?"

"I thought she would have. But the way she sees things, Edward killed James. So he's going to go after James. Eye for an eye. Edward took her mate, so she'll take his."

"So why did you leave her unprotected?"

"So she could have a good life, away from all of this."

Harry frowned.

"What's wrong with it?"

"Edward wants her to have a normal life. A _human_ life." I shook my head. "I personally thought it was a bit ridiculous to leave her unprotected, but Jasper and I decided we would leave the Cullens for a while, so we came here instead of going to Ithaca."

"How did they take it?"

"They understood, or at least they said they did. I don't believe them. I think they wished that we had stayed."

When I looked up again, Edward was watching me carefully, so I closed off my mind. I almost missed him say to Jasper, "I hate to say it, but I think you may be right."

When Edward, Jasper, and I, returned to the house, we immediately returned to the study to continue our search for Victoria.

I pulled a crystal ball from the shelf.

"Maybe if I can focus right, I can see her decision before it's made," I murmured more to myself than to the others.

I closed my eyes, and my hands hovered over the ball.

The more I focused, the clearer the picture became, and it became clear that it was some time in the not so distant future. A decision had been made.

I focused on the signs around her. She wasn't worried about concealing herself.

My eyes snapped open once I caught sight of a sign.

"Russia. She's going to Russia."

"When?"

"She leaves the day after tomorrow," I said, focusing my attention on the crystal to show them the vision. "She's going to head to Norway, through Sweden and Finland into Russia. She's afraid Edward is going to be waiting for her."

"Thank you, Alice," he said, with a small smile.

"Of course."

"I'll leave a few days after she does," Edward said. "Make her think I went to Poland."

I nodded.

"It's a good idea. She won't expect it."

"Are you going to take the charms down?"

I shook my head.

"No. Not until she's gone. Permanently. Then I'll come back here and take the charms down."

I returned my attention to the crystal ball.

"What are you looking for now?" Jasper asked, placing a hand on my leg.

"Nothing in particular."

It wasn't a lie. I had no idea what I was looking for. All I knew was that it was something in Jasper's future, or maybe in his past. I was almost certain he was hiding something.

My mind would remain closed off from Edward for the rest of his time with us, and I was certain that it was frustrating him. While I helped Molly make meals, he and Jasper would talk quietly in a corner out of my hearing range. Even when I focused, I could only make out bits and pieces of what they were saying.

"Talk to her, Jazz," Edward had said quietly the day Victoria after we figured out where Victoria was heading. "You know she'd understand."

Jasper simply shook his head, and as he looked up at me, I quickly turned my head back to the chicken I was cutting for Molly.

I spent nights making a map for Edward, marking the best routes to go, and trying to find where on the West Coast she would be heading.  
"She won't go for Bella if she knows your following her," I said, quietly. "She's going to try and lose your trail again. I'm afraid she's going to figure out the loopholes in my visions. James knew about me, about my gift. I wouldn't doubt he told Victoria."

The next day, we didn't go to the Burrow. Molly told us to spend the day to ourselves since it wouldn't be long before Edward would leave us again.

I was practicing my Legilimency, and Edward was letting me use him for practice. I managed to cross through several layers of his mind before I hit one layer, filled with sadness.

 _Don't go back_ _for her._ Edward was thinking to himself. _She could never love you. A soulless monster._

The thought had taken me by surprise, and I pushed myself out of Edward's mind, back to my seat on the couch.

"You weren't supposed to hear that," Edward whispered.

"Do you really think that of yourself?"

Edward nodded.

"You're wrong," I told him. "You do have a soul."

Edward shook his head.  
"I don't. Do any of us?"

I nodded.  
"We all do, Edward."  
He shook his head.

"You're wrong."

I raised to my feet.

"Stay here. I'll be back in a little while."

"Where are you going?" Jasper asked as I made my way to the fireplace.

"I'll be back."

I used the Floo System to Floo into Kingsley's office. He was sitting at his desk, overlooking what a quill was writing, looking up only when I stepped through the fire.

"Alice?" he asked in surprise. "I wasn't expecting you here today."

"I need permission for something," I said.

"Please, sit."

I nodded and made my way to the chair.

"What's going on?"

"My brother, Edward, is in town. I was helping him find Victoria, the mate of the vampire who hunted me. He believes that he is soulless, and I want to show him what it really means to be soulless. He won't listen to me any other way."  
"I don't understand what you're asking me."

"I want your permission to go to Azkaban Prison, and to see Bartemius Crouch Jr."

Kingsley frowned.

"Alice, surely you know what it's like there—"

"I've been told that the dementors were sent away from Azkaban. The guards are human now."

"The old Death Eaters are there."

I nodded.

"I know."

"Why do you want to do this again?"

I sighed.

"Edward keeps telling himself that he's a soulless monster. I want to show him what that actually looks like."

Kingsley sighed.

"I can't talk you out of this." It wasn't a question.

I shook my head.

"Have you ever been able to?"

He sighed.

"You remember how to make a Portkey?"

I nodded.

"Make one. I'll tell the guards you're coming. See who you need to see. Who will be with you."

"It will be me, Jasper, and Edward."

He nodded.

"Let me know how it goes."

"I'll come back here before the day is out."

He nodded.

"I'll hold you to that."

I returned to the fireplace, and in the next second, was ducking into my living room.

"Come on," I said, heading to the kitchen. "The three of us are going on a trip."

I grabbed an old broom out of the cleaning cupboard.

The pair were still in the living room when I returned with the broom.

I sat the broom on the floor, before pulling my wand off of the coffee table.

"Where are we going?"

"You'll know when we get there."

After I finished setting up the Portkey, I turned to them.

"Hold on tightly to this. Don't let go until I tell you."

As soon as the three of us were holding on, the Portkey took off.

Once I knew we were in the right spot, I looked at them.

"Let go!" I called over the roaring winds. The pair let go and fell back down to Earth. I followed behind them. Much like Harry had the first time he used a Portkey, Edward and Jasper, landed face first on the ground.

I laughed, much like I had when Fred and George told me the story.

"Are you alright?" I asked, helping them up.

"I don't like that method of travel," Jasper grumbled.

I chuckled and watched them as they looked up at the prison.

"Alice, where are we?" Jasper asked slowly.

"Welcome to Azkaban," I said.  
"Azkaban prison?" Edward asked in surprise.

I nodded.

"Follow me."

I approached the guards at the door, and they watched me.

"Hi," I said, extending my hand. "My name is Mary Alice Whitlock. The Minister gave me permission to visit the prison."

The guard nodded.

"Before you go in, can I ask you a question?"

I nodded.

"Why would you want to come here?"

"To prove a point."

The guard accepted this answer and moved to the side. Jasper and Edward followed me in.

"They're not going to come in with us?"  
"Everyone here seems to trust Alice," Edward said.

"A lot of the people here, I worked alongside as a Death Eater. They won't hurt me."

"But they know you were a spy," Jasper said.

"And they also know I was smart enough to deceive the darkest wizard of our time. Besides. They can't hurt me."

I turned back to the passageway, and up the stairs before entering the rows of cells.

Prisoners hit the bars as we walked down the rows.

"Azkaban is on an island in the North Sea, and it's not on any map, Wizard or Muggle. That's why we took a Portkey. The first inhabitant of Azkaban was a dark wizard named Ekrizdis. He practiced dark magic, and he used to lure Muggle sailors to their doom. When he died, the Ministry of Magic found the island, and came to investigate."

"How did nobody find him before?" Edward asked. "If all these people went missing, how could nobody notice?"

"It's not that they didn't notice. It's more that nobody knew where to look. Kind of like the Bermuda Triangle, and the people who go missing there."

Before any of us had the chance to say anything else, at the end of the row next to the stairs, I heard somebody start to talk.

"Well, well, well," an all too familiar voice said. "If it isn't little Mary Alice Black."

I turned to face the cell where the voice came from.

"Alecto Carrow," I said, in surprise.

"I was surprised to hear the news that you offed yourself. I said to Amycus, didn't sound like the Alice we knew. But then we heard the guards talking, and rumor had it that you were alive and that you had a husband know."

"Where's Amycus? I doubt they'd put you near each other."

"I'm right behind you, love."

I peered around Edward and Jasper, to look at the cell. Amycus moved into the light.

"Look at you. Haven't changed a bit, have ya', Alice?"

I shook my head.

"Maybe not. But the years have no doubt changed you."

"Come to Azkaban to visit old friends, or are you here to finally join us?"

"You are not my friends, and I was working for the Order. I was pardoned for every crime I committed."

"You're a traitor, that's what you are."

I sighed and shook my head.

"Amycus and Alecto are not our reason for visiting Azkaban."

"They're the ones who took over when Dumbledore died, aren't they?" Jasper asked, looking between the twins.

I nodded, and he hovered protectively over me.

"Hear that Amycus!" Alecto crooned. "She's told stories about us!"

"Pay them no mind," I said, shaking my head. "They're just looking for a rise."

"Your little wife there isn't as innocent as she pretends to be," Amycus said, turning his attention to Jasper. "Has she told you about the Muggles she's killed, and the witches and wizards, and even children that she's tortured."

"She's told me everything," Jasper said, glaring at the cell. "And she may not be innocent, but she's a better person than you'll ever be."

I smiled at Jasper before taking his hand.

"Come on. Let's get to where we're actually going."

As we continued down the rows, and up more stairs, I heard the familiar voices. Dolohov, Mulciber, and Jugson.

When we got to the place I was looking for, I stopped and turned.

"You believe you're soulless," I said to Edward. "But that's not true. This is what it's like to be soulless."

I moved to the side so Edward and Jasper could see who was inside.

"Who is that?"

"Edward, Jasper, meet Bartemius Crouch Jr. He received the Dementor's Kiss on June 24, 1994. The Dementor's Kiss is a fate worse than death. He lost his soul, and now he's nothing more than a shell. His body will die soon….it shouldn't have lasted this long without its soul."

"This is why you brought us here?"

I nodded.

"I wanted to show Edward that without a soul, you can not exist.

"There can be different types of soulless, Alice," Edward said, shaking his head. "Not just a shell."

"No, Edward," I said, making him look at me. "There is no difference. You have a soul or you don't. Your soul is what makes you alive. It makes you, you. You're not soulless, Edward. You're just heartbroken."

I had no clue if what I was saying made any sense to anybody but myself, but from a few cells down, a voice caught my attention.

"You remind me of your mother."

I frowned. It wasn't a voice I recognized, but whoever it was recognized me. Then again, so did a lot of the prisoners here.

"My mother?" I asked moving towards the cell.

"Alice," Jasper said, quietly as he caught my wrist. "I don't think this is a good idea."

I shook him off and moved closer to the cell.

"You knew my mother?" I questioned.

"It would be strange if I didn't, now wouldn't it?"

I frowned again.

"Who are you? Step into the light."

The man was tall, almost as tall as Emmett. I didn't know his face, yet he still knew mine. He was older. Older than my mother and my father, but not as old as Lucius Malfoy. His face was sunken in though. Azkaban, much like it was to most of its inhabitants, was not kind to him.

"You don't know me, Mary Alice? I don't suppose your mother told you about me, or your father. I can see why they didn't. After our father disowned her for running off with the blood-traitor Sirius Black, I didn't expect her to talk about me."

"You're her brother," I said, stunned.

Mum and even Dad for that matter didn't talk much about our family. As a child, as far as I was concerned, the Potters, the Weasleys, and Remus was my family. I was sure that he was around while I was a Death Eater, but he was one of the ones who kept his distance from me.

He nodded.

"I won't lie, I was a bit upset when I learned of her death. Despite everything, I cared about your mother. Right until the very end."

I didn't know how much I believed him. I stepped back from the cell and fell back into place next to Jasper.

"I forgot he was here," I whispered.

"Someone else is here," Edward murmured to me. "Someone who knows you. He heard your voice a floor or so below. "He's remembering you, and Remus."

I frowned and turned back to the door.

I returned to the floor below Bartemius, and below my uncle, whose name I wasn't sure of. I had only known him as Nott.

I knew almost immediately who I was looking for. I heard the chuckling come from the end of the rows of cells.

"Mary Alice Black. It's been a long time." The voice was weaker than what I remembered it being, but he was older now, and likely, much like the body of Bartemius Crouch, wouldn't have much longer left.  
"Fenrir Greyback," I whispered.

"I thought you were dead," he said, his voice no longer sent chills up my spine. "But then the news went around the prison of your return, and I had to see what you were up to, Pixie."

A small piece of me, for a small second, forgot that he could no longer hurt me, and I shrank back into Jasper's arms.

"He can't hurt you anymore," Jasper whispered in my ear, so low, only I could hear it.

Fenrir looked between Jasper and me, and a wicked smile appeared on his face.

"So this must be the husband. I guess I was wrong, all those years ago. Maybe somebody does care about you," he paused for a minute, the same evil grin on his face, "unless, he's using you simply for what goes on inside that little head of yours, Pixie."

"Come on, Al," Jasper murmured. "Let's go."

I couldn't look away from Fenrir. I could remember a long time ago when I feared him. I feared him because I knew what he was capable of. I had seen what he had done to Remus, and then to Bill. I was told by many that I was more powerful than he, but until this second, that never mattered to me.

Jasper's words rang in my ears. _He can't hurt you anymore._

As Fenrir opened his mouth to say something else, my wand was out of its holster and pointing directly at him.

"You won't do it," he said, in a low voice. "You're still afraid, Pixie, we all see it. You're skin may be stone, but in your heart, and in your pretty little head, you're still an afraid little girl who everyone left behind."

I shook my head.  
"You're wrong. Who says I won't?"

"I know you won't because if you do, you're going to end up in the cell next to me. Just like your father."

Jasper wrapped a hand around my arm and pulled it back down to my side.

"No, Alice," he murmured. "You know that this isn't you. Hurting him now does you no good. He's right, you'll end up in a cell here."

I tore my eyes away from Fenrir, and back to Jasper.

"We should go," I whispered. "We should go now."

"I told you, Pixie. You're not brave enough."

A small red jet of light shot out of my wand and hit Fenrir in the chest. His knees buckled, and he fell to the ground.

"Alice, what did you do?" Edward asked, bewildered.

"I stunned him. He'll wake up shortly, and I'll tell the guard on our way out."

We made our way back down the stairs, and through the rows, not stopping at the various voices that called after us.

"Did that visit teach you anything?" I asked when we returned to the house.

"I know you think we have souls," he said, trailing off. "But I think it is possible to not have a soul, and not be a shell. Look at the Carrows, Greyback, and Voldemort even."

I shook my head.  
"They all have souls, Edward. Voldemort's soul was separated, yet it still existed. The Carrows, and Fenrir Greyback, they all have souls. Dark souls, but souls nonetheless."  
Edward didn't say anything else. Instead, he retreated back to his room, leaving Jasper and I alone in the living room.

"Do you want to talk about it?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

Jasper frowned.

"Talk about what?"

"There's something you're not telling me, but you said it to Edward. Do you want to talk about it?"

Jasper shook his head.

"It's nothing."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded.

"I promise," he said, kissing my forehead. "I'm fine."

I smiled and leaned my head on his chest.

"Do you think he's going to listen to me?"

Jasper shrugged.

"I don't know, sweetheart. But I do know that it was a great lesson for me."

"Really?"

He nodded.

"I learned more about the history of the prison, I learned more about the people you worked with while you were undercover, and I learned the true definition of being soulless."

I looked up at Jasper. His eyes, which were between gold and black, watched me carefully.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I asked, pressing a hand to his face.

He took a hand off of my hip and held my hand to his face.

"I'm okay. I swear."

I stood on my tiptoes and kissed him.

"If you need to talk, you can always come to me."

"I know," he murmured, before scooping me up in his arms and moving to the couch.

When it actually came time for Edward to leave, we brought him to the Burrow to say goodbye.

"It's been great having you here," Molly said. "We've been so glad to meet one of the many people who has helped Alice find herself again."

I smiled and hid my face in Jasper's side.

The goodbyes were quick, and before long, Jasper and I were walking Edward to the bottom of the hill.

"Call us when you're sure it's safe," I said, hugging Edward tightly.

"Call me if anything changes."

"We will," Jasper promised, putting a hand on the small of my back.

"Everything is going to be okay," I murmured, more to myself. "We're all going to be okay."

I pulled a map out of my pocket and gave it to Edward.

"This shows the best route to take, and I listed all possible places she may go next. Remember, she's going to try and lead you off of her trail. Don't take the bait. Just find a loophole."

He nodded.

"Thanks, Alice."

"Oh, and Edward?"

He raised an eyebrow.

"I know it hurts, but the pain fades….and if you wish, c I can always take the memories."

Edward shook his head.

"No thank you. I'd like to keep my memories of her."

Within the next second, Edward was gone, and Jasper and I were left.

Despite us having spent several days away from the Burrow, Molly insisted Jasper and I take some time to ourselves. Just the two of us. We hunted one night but otherwise stayed home.

Jasper had become very interested in the forms of Divination. I began to teach him several things from my world.

"What's Arithmancy?" Jasper asked, studying one of the books on the shelf.

"It's a more scientific way to predict the future," I said. "Come here. I'll show you."

I pulled out a piece of paper and a pen, and wrote Jasper Whitlock across the paper.

"It's easier to use your birth name," I murmured as I set to work.

Jasper watched me carefully.

"Your character number is eight, your heart number is three, and your social is five. Remember those numbers."

He nodded, and I moved to grab my book off the shelf.

"The book says, and I quote, 'Eight indicates the possibility of great success in business, finance, and politics. Eights are practical, ambitious, committed, and hard working. They can also be jealous, greedy, domineering, and power-hungry. Eight is said to be the most unpredictable of numbers and can indicate the pinnacle of success or the depths of failure; the potential to go either way is present from the beginning."

Jasper frowned.

"Does that sound like me?"

I shrugged.

"I'm an eight. Not all the traits apply, but some do. A lot of the times, people with strong connections tend to have the same character number. James and my dad were both sevens, Molly and Arthur are both fives. It's not a bad thing."

Jasper smiled and pulled the book to him before he set into reading.

Later in the day, I began to focus on organizing our stuff, going through the things we had brought with us, and deciding what we would get rid of and what we would bring back to America.

"Hey, Al?" Jasper called from the living room.

"Hmm?"

"There's an owl here. I think it's for you."

I darted from inside the closest and to the living room.

I pulled a treat from the box on the bookshelf.

"Here you go," I mumbled to the owl, as I set to work untying the letter from his leg.

"Who's it from?" Jasper asked, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Harry," I said. "He says, 'I know Molly told you guys to take the day together, but I was wondering if you could meet me at the Burrow around five. I have somebody who I think you would like to see."

"What time is it now?"

"Almost five. The owl must have got lost along the way."

"Should we head over?"  
"You can stay here if you want."

Jasper shook his head.

"I'm curious."

I nodded and made my way to the fireplace.

"Let's go then."

Jasper and I decided that rather than making two trips, we would go through the Floo System together. He held tightly onto my hand as we twisted through the small tubes leading through the cities.

As we stepped through the fireplace at the Burrow, I instantly heard eight heartbeats. One of them I noticed, beated a lot quicker than the others. It was like a child's heart, but even then, it sounded different.

"Harry?" I called.

"Just a second, Al," George called.

Jasper and I waited for a moment. I saw flashes of something, but no set decision.  
"Do you know what's going on?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at Jasper.

He shrugged and wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Couldn't tell you," he murmured into my hair.

"Jasper, can you cover Alice's eyes?" Ginny asked, peering around the corner.

"What are you guys doing in there?" I asked as Jasper placed his hands over my eyes.

"It's a surprise," Ginny said, "and don't look ahead and ruin it for us. Jasper, can you guide her into the kitchen."

As we got closer, and everyone's scents started to mix together, I noticed one that stood out from the rest. It was different.

"Al, there's someone who wants to meet you," Harry said.

Jasper moved his hands away from my eyes and moved them onto my sides.

A boy came out from behind George. His hair was bright bubblegum pink, but his eyes, matched Remus's. As the boy looked from me to Jasper, his hair shifted to spiky black hair, and brilliant golden eyes.

"Teddy," I breathed.

He smiled up at me and waved.

"Teddy," Harry said, calling his attention. "This is Alice. Do you remember us telling you stories about her?"

Teddy nodded.

"She left the stories about Mummy and Daddy."

I smiled. It was now that I noticed, Teddy wasn't much shorter than I.

"Grandma says Daddy loved you very very much," Teddy said, touching next to my eye.

"He did," I said. "But he loved your mummy a lot more."

Teddy smiled.

"Do you think so?"

I nodded.

"I do."

"Who is that?" Teddy asked pointing at Jasper.

"That's Jasper," I said. "He's my husband."

Teddy approached Jasper without hesitation, and held out a hand.

"My name is Edward Remus Lupin," he announced proudly.

Jasper smiled, and took his hand.

"Hello, Edward Remus Lupin, my name is Jasper Pierce Whitlock."

I stood up and moved over to Harry.

"He's grown up so much," I said quietly, watching Teddy and Jasper for a moment.

Harry smiled.

"He has, hasn't he?"

"How much did Andromeda read to him?"

"He knows that you and Remus dated for a time before he and Tonks got married. Andromeda told him just about everything. He asks about his Aunt Alice often."

"Just about?"

"We decided to exclude things about your time as a Death Eater. We didn't want him to associate you with them."

"Thank you."

Harry nodded, and Teddy bounded back to me.

"Why did you go away?" Teddy asked. "Grandma said you went to go see Mummy and Daddy, but then I heard her talking to Harry. They said that you came back."

"I had to go away to keep you and our family safe."

"From what?"

Teddy was a curious child, I could see that right away. In many ways, he was like his father.

"There was a bad man after me," I said.

"Is he not anymore?"

I shook my head.

"No, Teddy. I made sure that I was going to keep you safe forever."

He leaned closer to me.

"Harry missed you. He talked about you a lot."

I smiled.

"I missed him too."

Teddy looked at Jasper, and then back at me.

"Harry showed me a picture of me of you, but you looked different. Your eyes were brown, not gold, and you had scars on your face."

"Some things changed since then," I said. I looked up to Harry. "How much does he know?"

"Not much."

I looked back to Teddy.

"What do you know about vampires?"

He pondered it for a moment.

"I know that they drink blood, and that they don't age."

"That's what happened to me," I said. "I was turned into a vampire to lead the bad man away from here."

"And it worked?"

I nodded.  
"It worked for a long time," I said, smiling.

Teddy took my hand, and pulled me to a chair.

"Can you tell me a story about Daddy?"

I looked up to Harry.

"When do you take him back to Andromeda?"

"I have him until Monday."

"Do you think one day, before you go back to America, I could come stay with you?" Teddy asked me.

"I think that'd be great, as long as it's okay with Jasper, and with your grandmother."

"Why would you need my permission?" Jasper frowned.

"It's your house too," I smiled.

Jasper smiled and looked at Teddy.

"I think that'd be okay with me."

"So can you tell me a story?" Teddy asked.

I nodded, and looked at the table.

"Let's see, let's find a story about you Dad."

I tried to think of a happy memory of Remus. One where I wasn't mad at him.

"I remember the first day I went to Hogwarts," I said, smiling. "I was placed in Slytherin house, and I was afraid that your father was going to make me leave."

"Harry said you lived with him?"

I nodded.

"I moved in with him when I was four years old. Younger than you are now."

"Why would he want you to go away?"

I shrugged.

"Your dad, Harry's parents, and mine were in Gryffindor, and at this time, Slytherin was seen as a bad house."

"But you're not bad!" Teddy exclaimed.

"But I didn't know that," I smiled. "I had a panic attack so bad that they had to bring Remus to the school. They left us in Professor Dumbledore's office, and let him calm me down."

"Did he?"

I nodded.  
"He sat with me for a long time. He tried to reassure me that he wasn't mad. He told me, 'Mary Alice Black, you are one of the most brightest, most kind person I have ever met. You were not put in Slytherin because you were evil, or destined to become evil. The Sorting Hat always has a reason, and that reason may not be clear now, but one day it will be.' I was reassured by many over the next several years that I was not an evil person."

"Did you ever find out the reason?" Teddy asked, his curious eyes beaming up at me.

I nodded.

"I was able to deceive one of the darkest wizards of all time, and I helped Harry win the war."

"Is that how you got that?"

He pointed to the Dark Mark on my arm.

I nodded.

"It is."

"Was Dad proud of you?"

I sighed, before taking Teddy's small hand in mine.

"I don't know the answer to that question, love. I was upset with your father for a very long time, and before he died, I never got the chance to ask."

"Did you love my dad like he loved my mum? Or like he loved you?" he asked.

I nodded.

"For a long time. But that's a story for another time, when you're much older."

Teddy accepted this.

"It's important for you to know, that your father was a great man," I said. "We had our problems, but I owe him my life. He had to give up his life to take care of me. Everything I am, I owe to your father, Teddy. And you, you remind me of him. From the time I've seen you, I can see that you are kind, and smart, and curious in the same way he was."

Teddy beamed at me, before hugging me.

"Are you going to stay here forever?"

"Not forever, but I swear I will always come back, and maybe one day, Grandma, or Harry can bring you to America to see Jasper and me."

"Alice," Harry said, calling my attention. "I already talked to Andromeda. She knew I was bringing him to see you, and she knew I would have to work tomorrow. She said if Teddy wanted, he could spend a night with you."

"Can I stay tonight?" Teddy asked, looking between Harry, Jasper, and me.

"If it's okay with Alice and Jasper."

"It's okay with me," Jasper said.

I looked at Teddy and smiled.

"It's okay with me too."

I turned to Jasper.

"We'll have to go to the store. Maybe I can have everyone over for dinner tomorrow, now that the house is set up."

"That would be lovely," Molly said.

I turned back to Harry.

"Can you give us an hour to get ready, and then drop him off?"

Harry nodded.

"Of course."

I turned to Jasper.

"We have to get to Muggle London, so we'll Floo to the Leaky Cauldron."

"I can Apparate with you guys if you want," George said.

"That'd be great."

"Come on then. Not a moment to waste."

Upon leaving Diagon Alley, I began to make a mental list of everything I would need.

"What does Teddy like?" I asked George. "I know nothing about him. He's grown up so much."

George shrugged.

"He's not particularly picky. Although he does tend to enjoy Muggle snacks."

"Good, because almost everywhere in our world is closed."

"What about food for tomorrow?" Jasper asked.

"I think for dinner I am going to make a roast and potatoes. As for lunch and breakfast….I still have to figure that out."

I pondered ideas in my head, bouncing things around that I had seen Muggles eat in diners and at parties.

Jasper watched me, amused, as we entered the store.

"How about omelets?" Jasper asked. "You've made them for breakfast before when humans came."

"That's a good idea," I smiled. "Now for lunch."

I thought for a few moments, looking through the sales papers. I clapped my hands together, and turned to Jasper.

"Chicken quesadillas," I said. "In restaurants, people order those a lot."

Jasper chuckled and nodded.  
"Then it looks like we have a plan."

The three of us set out through the store, grabbed the ingredients that we would need for the various meals, as well as snacks for Teddy. When we finished, and we were safely hidden away in an ally, George apparated us back to the house.

"Where is he going to sleep?" Jasper asked as I put the food away.

"We'll put him in the room that Edward stayed in," I said. "We'll be just down the hall if he needs us, and we can hear him."

Jasper leaned against the counter.

"When will he get here?"

"Five minutes," I said. "Harry will likely stick around for a half an hour or so."

Once we finished putting away groceries and making sure we had enough dishes, I could hear Harry calling from the fireplace.

"Al? Are you home?"

"Come on through, Harry!" I called, loud enough to where he could hear me.

Harry stepped through, and then I could hear Teddy's much quicker heartbeat follow.

"Where are you guys?"

"Kitchen!"

Teddy came bounding in, Harry following closely behind him.

"Did you live here with Daddy?" Teddy asked, taking a seat.

"Teddy!" Harry exclaimed.

I looked at Harry and shook my head.  
"It's okay, Har. He's just curious." I turned my attention back to Teddy. "No, Teddy. I lived here with my mummy and daddy until my father was sent away."

"What about your mummy?"

"She died when I was four years old."

"Where did you and Daddy live?"

I took his hand and guided him into the living room where I had hung up some of the pictures from my childhood.

"See that cottage, behind your father and me?"

I pointed to the picture where Remus and I stood. I was no more than nine in the picture. Teddy nodded.

"That's where we lived."

"It's small," he said.

"It was," I said. "Two rooms. When your dad married your mum, and she got pregnant with you, they turned what was my room into your nursery."

"I lived there too?" Teddy asked, wide-eyed.

I nodded.

"For a few months."

Teddy watched me for a moment.

"Did Jasper know Mummy and Daddy?"

I shook my head.

"I didn't meet Jasper until after I was changed into a vampire."

Teddy smiled, and bounded back to the kitchen, and I followed smiling.

"He's already eaten dinner," Harry told me. "He may get hungry before bed, so a light snack wouldn't hurt. He goes to bed at 9:30, but sometimes I'll let him stay up a little bit later."

I nodded, and placed a hand on Teddy's shoulder.

"I think we'll be alright, won't we, Teddy?"

Teddy grinned and nodded at Harry.

Harry motioned Teddy for him.

"Be good for Alice. Remember, you know a lot about her, but she hasn't seen you since you were a baby, and for her, that was a very very long time ago."

"I'll be good, Harry."

Teddy smiled as Harry ruffled his hair and turned to me.

"I should go. Ginny wants to go check in on Ron and Hermione."

"Tell them I said it shouldn't be much longer now."

Harry smiled before hugging me.

"I'll see you soon."

As Harry exited the room, I turned to Teddy who was watching Jasper.

"Teddy, do you want to see the rest of the house?"

Teddy nodded eagerly.

I led him through the rooms, showing him where the bathrooms where, and where he would be staying. I decided that it would be fun to show Teddy the stars.

"Come on then," I said, as I set up the Muggle telescope. "Look through there, and tell me what you see."

"Stars," he said quietly.

I moved the telescope.

"And now?"

"The moon." He paused and looked at me. "Why does it have holes?"

"Things in space hit it, and they make the craters. Did you know your last name means wolf?"

"It does?"

I nodded.  
"What does Whitlock mean?" he asked. "Harry said your last name is Whitlock now."

I nodded.

"It has two meanings," I said. "The first, white enclosure. The second, white hair."

"Do first names and middle names have meanings too?"

I nodded.

"They do. Your first name, Edward, means guardian or protector."

"What about my middle name?"

"Remus? It tells a story, about one of the founders of a city in Italy called Rome."

"Will you tell it to me?"

"How about I tell it to you at bedtime?"

Teddy agreed to this then looked up to me again.

"What does your name mean?"

"Well my full name is Mary Alice. Mary means rebellion, and Alice means of the nobility. My first last name, which is Black, means fair."

"And Jasper's?"

"Jasper means treasurer. His middle name, Pierce, means rock."

"How do you know all of this?" Teddy asked.

"In my human life, I spent a lot of nights unable to sleep, or even in situations where I wasn't allowed to sleep. So I kept my mind busy. I did puzzles, studied names, and looked ahead for the future of my family. And vampires don't sleep so when I found the Cullen family, who Jasper and I live with now, I went back to old habits. Jasper taught me of the Muggle world, and when we weren't doing that, I studied the old things."

"How long were you away from here?"

"When I was changed, my creators took me back in time, to 1948 where I would meet Jasper. So I was gone for fifty seven years."

"How old are you?" Teddy asked.

"I guess that depends if you want to count the years I was away for."

"Count from the day you were born," Teddy said.

"I was born June 20, 1976. So that would make me twenty nine."

"And if you do count the years you were gone?"

"Eighty-six."

Teddy frowned.

"I think I'll count you to be twenty-nine. You look to young to be eighty-six." He paused and looked at Jasper. "Did you go back in time too?"

Jasper laughed and shook his head.

"No, Teddy. I only go forward."

"So how old are you?"

"I was born in 1844, so I guess that makes me one hundred and sixty one."

Teddy's eyes widened, which caused Jasper and I to laugh again.

"He's old isn't he?" I teased.

"He's older than Grandma!"

"How old is Grandma now?"

"Fifty-two."

"That's not so old," I said. "Carlisle Cullen, my adoptive father, he's three hundred and sixty five. And there are vampires older than he."

Teddy looked amazed.

"Who is the oldest person you know?"

"A vampire named Amun I think."

My first thought was one of the members of the Volturi, but I didn't want to expose them to Teddy. In the event that they found out about him, I was afraid I'd signed a warrant.

"How old is Amum?"

"Well he was born sometime in 2500 B.C. I think that would make him around four thousand, and some years."

Teddy was amazed.

When it came time for bed, Teddy climbed into the large bed, and I sat next to him.

"Can you tell me about Rome now?"

I nodded.

"It was a long long time ago. Two brothers, twins, believed to be the son of the war god, Mars, were born. Their names were Romulus and Remus. The brothers were raised by wolves."  
"What happened to their mother?"

"She was imprisoned. The boys were destined to become the kings of Alba Longa, and her father didn't want to lose his throne, so he imprisoned her, and ordered for Romulus and Remus to be killed."

"Why would he want to kill his own family?"

I shrugged.

"I don't know. But over time, Romulus and Remus grew up, and they decided they were going to build their city. They couldn't agree on which hill to build it on, so they decided to turn to the gods. Remus saw six birds and Romulus saw twelve and they believed this to be the gods giving Romulus the divine right. This caused the brothers to start fighting, and in the end, it is believed that Romulus killed Remus. Romulus went on to found Rome, and became its king."

"That story doesn't have a very happy ending," Teddy said frowning.

"No, I suppose it doesn't. But it's a good story nevertheless."

"Alice?"

"Yes, Teddy?"

"One day, can you tell me about Daddy? Grandma says you knew him more than the others did. She read the journals you left for me, but I want to hear it from you."

"Maybe tomorrow," I said. "It's time to sleep now."

I stayed with Teddy until he drifted to sleep before returning to Jasper.

"It doesn't take him long before he falls asleep," I told Jasper, leaning on his shoulder.

"How're you feeling?"

"I'm okay. It's odd seeing him so grown up. He seems so much older than seven."

"Who is he more like?" Jasper asked.

"Remus. He has bits of Tonks in him, but he's like his father."

Jasper rested his cheek on the top of my head. He was more quiet than normal.

"What's wrong, Jazz. I know it's something."

Jasper, shook his head.

"Nothing."

"Please tell me," I said, squeezing his hand. "It's something, and it's been bothering you for days."

Jasper sighed.

"I can't hide anything from you, can I?" he asked, kissing the top of my head.

"Never."

Jasper sat up straight.

"It feels wrong. Like I'm making you choose between me and them. And I don't want to do that."

"What are you going on about?" I asked, my thumb circling the back of his hand.

"A part of me is afraid, that when February comes around, and it's time to leave, you won't want to come back to America with me. Back to the Cullens."

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked, moving away from him, to where I could look at him.

"Because you've been away for a long time."

"So? It's not like I'm never coming back, and they can come to see us whenever they want. Jazz, sweetheart, we had a deal."

I pulled him into a tight hug.

"In February, we're going back to America. I'm coming back with you. If things don't work, then we come back. But never, ever think I will not come with you."

He buried his face in my neck.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't be. You've done nothing wrong."

"When I slept, I had a dream, that you were going to leave me. I was so afraid I was going to wake up, and you were going to be gone."

"You never told me that."

"I didn't want to worry or upset you."

I pulled away from him and kissed his forehead.

"I love you, Jazz, and I'm not going anywhere."

It was strange to think of Jasper being afraid of losing me. I had always been so afraid I would lose him. But it would seem that his fear was much greater than mine. I just hoped I had convinced him.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I have news. No worries, it's good. After nearly a month, I have dropped out of Latin, for good this time. I took a week trying to adapt to my new schedule, and I wrote whenever I could. Hopefully now I can push out chapters more. I hope you guys are happy with this story so far. We unfortunately don't have a lot longer before we return to America, but don't be sad yet, because we have many things to do, people to see, and events to witness. So I hope to have a chapter up soon!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	77. Hogwarts

_"Help will be always be given at Hogwarts to those who ask for it."~Albus Dumbledore_

* * *

Chapter 77- Hogwarts

Time passed by much more quickly now. At the end of September, Ron and Hermione had their baby, which they named Rose Granger-Weasley.

"When you told us about Rosalie, we both thought that Rose was a beautiful name," Hermione told me. "Do you think she'll mind?"

I shook my head.

"I think if anything she'd be honored. One thing Rosalie wants more than anything is a baby," I said as I snapped a picture of Ron, Hermione, and Rose. "I think maybe this could help."

"Is there no possible way for her to have a baby?"

I shook my head.

"Not unless she made an immortal child, or raised a human baby. But either one could end in disastrous results."

"What if you made a potion?"

"It would take a lot of time, and a lot of trails. I don't want to get her hopes up if it won't work."

"That's fair," Hermione said.

"How did you figure out the sleeping potion you made?" Ron asked.

"Carlisle and I did a lot of studying on Potions, and preexisting sleeping potions. After that, Jasper and I made the agreement that if this potion had any negative effects that could cause me harm, we wouldn't try it anymore. After that, we did the first trial, and after it was deemed safe, then I did different trials to find what works best for me."

"What would've happened if something ended badly?" Hermione asked. "What if it killed you?"

"I've always had a plan in place in the event of my death. Once it was deemed safe, Jasper would come here, and find all of you. He'd explain everything that had happened to me."

"Why would you have a plan set?"

"She was afraid James was going to come after her," Jasper said, from his chair in the corner. "I told her I'd never let that happen."

"Can I ask what you would have done if he did come after you?"

"I'd be afraid that he'd come for Jasper. Or that he'd remember and circle back for all of you. Chances are I would have led him away from here, and let him kill me."

Jasper growled lowly, but stopped once I caught his eye.

"I would never be able to live with myself if he had hurt one of you," I said. "Any of you. But it's over now. Victoria isn't after me, and therefore, you are safe again."

Over the next few weeks, Andromeda would stop by with Teddy, and we would babysit when she had errands to run, or anything else. I was eager to catch up on what I had missed in everyone's life, and throughout many days, I told him stories of his father, and some of his mother.

"I remember the day your mother and father started dating," I murmured, as I made him lunch. "It wasn't long after the death of Albus Dumbledore. They got married not long after that."

"Did you go to the wedding?" Teddy asked.

I shook my head.  
"No, I was very upset with your father….I was more upset when I realized how quickly he jumped into marrying her when he never intended to marry me."

"Do you wish you went to the wedding?" Jasper asked.

I shrugged.

"In a way. If I had known you then, I probably would have gone. But I didn't know you, and I hadn't moved on."

I paused for a moment.  
"I may still have the invitation somewhere around here," I said. "I'll see if I can find it for you."

"Grandma says Mummy thought about asking you to be my godmother."

I shrugged.

"I wouldn't know anything about that, Teddy. I found out that your mother was pregnant with you from Fred and George. When Remus walked in the door, I left as quickly as I possibly could."

Teddy frowned at me.

"Why did you run from him?"  
"I was upset."

"Are you still?"

"No, Teddy. I haven't been upset with your father for a long time."

Teddy smiled.

"Does he know that?"

I shrugged.

"Maybe."

"I think you should find a way to tell him."

"That's a good idea, Teddy," I said, setting a plate down in front of him. "I'll have to work on that."

"If you do find a way, can you tell him I love him? And Mummy too?"

I nodded.

"I'll tell them, Teddy."

Teddy smiled.

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

September faded into October, and I began communicating with McGonagall. She was talking more about Jasper and I coming back to the castle and talking to a few of the classes.

"She wants me to talk to the Defence Against the Dark Arts, and the History of Magic class," I said. "She says that in History of Magic, they're starting the unit on the Second Wizarding War on Halloween. She wanted to bring somebody in to talk about the war, and she thought of me, seeing as I experienced it from both sides."

"What'd you tell her?"

"I told her I'd talk to you and see what you thought of it."

"I think it's a good idea. You liked being at Hogwarts. You talk about going back there and showing me the rest of the castle. I think it's a great idea."

"So Halloween?"

Jasper nodded.

"I'll let her know. I'll have to go borrow Harry's owl."

Jasper smiled and returned to his book and I pulled a sheet of paper, a quill, and an ink pot.

Over the next few days, Minerva and I continued to make arrangements for mine and Jasper's visit to the castle. We'd stay in the castle for a week, so Jasper and I could stay and watch the first Quidditch game of the season. I tried to convince Minerva to let us stay in a motel in Hogsmeade, but she wasn't having it.

"We'll have a suite set up for you and Jasper," she informed me about two weeks before Halloween. "It's the suite your parents used when they had you."

"That's not necessary, Minerva. Jasper and I can just rent a room in Hogsmeade."

"Nonsense," Minerva said. "You can help out around the castle."

I sighed.

"I can't talk you out of this," I grumbled.

"She's nearly as stubborn as you, Al," Jasper teased. I smacked his shoulder with a large crack.

"That's not very nice," I mumbled.

He kissed my temple and smiled.  
"I'm very nice," he said.

I shook my head.

"Anyways, we still have some time, and there are still things that I have to do before we go."

"Like?"

"We need to go to Gringotts and get some money for Hogsmeade, I want to get a gift for Minerva to thank her for everything she's done of the years, you need a Quidditch jersey."

"What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Don't you need a Quidditch jersey?"

I shook my head.

"I still have my old Quidditch robes."

"Do they still fit?"

"I'd imagine they do. I'm around the same size as I was the last time I played."

"Which was your fifth year, right?"

"Fourth technically."

"I wanna see," he smiled.

I waved him up the stairs and to the closet. After searching through both old and new clothes, I found the old Quidditch robes. They looked almost new, although they were slightly dusty. That hadn't surprised me seeing as they hadn't been touched in several years.

"I remember when I decided I wanted to play Quidditch. Remus took some money out of my fund to get me a decent broom, and I practiced with Remus, and Fred, and George whenever I could. Then when I was here, with you, I remember seeing a vision of me on the team."

I could remember that during the duration of time where I was alive in two different times, I could see my decisions, as well as most visions I had seen during my lifetime.

"Do you miss playing?"

I nodded.

"I wish I was able to play longer, but I had responsibilities."

Jasper frowned.

"I don't think that was very fair," Jasper said.

"What?"

"Remus asking you to give up everything to keep an eye on Harry."

"Harry said the same thing when he found out about it," I smiled. "But I didn't mind. He had a hard life. If I was making it easier, I didn't mind."

"What about you? You had a hard life."

I shook my head.

"I wasn't forced to sleep in a cupboard under the stairs."

Jasper frowned.

"That's odd to say."  
"Ask Harry about it," I said. "I only found out about that very recently. Apparently, after they started getting letters from Hogwarts, Vernon moved him to Dudley's second room."

Jasper frowned.

"I will never understand why a child needs two rooms."

I shrugged.

"He was spoiled. There's really no better explanation for it. Harry says he's gotten better over the years. They've talked a few times over the years. He's married now. I pray that any children he has will be better than he was."

Jasper chuckled and placed his chin on the top of my head.

"I'm sure they will."

The next day, Jasper and I were back in Diagon Alley, Flooing in through George's shop, and then moving to the town.

"What do you plan on getting her?" Jasper asked as we looked through the shop windows.

"I don't know," I shrugged.

I couldn't figure out what to get her because almost nothing seemed right. Nothing seemed to be enough to thank Minerva for everything she did.

"Nothing feels right," I whined, covering my face with my hands.

Jasper pulled one of my hands down, taking it tightly into his own.

"We'll find something, Alice. I promise."

"She did the hardest thing anybody should ever be asked to do."

Jasper squeezed my hand.

"It's okay, Al."

"I asked her to deliver the news of my passing to my family. That's wasn't fair to her. It wasn't fair to any of them really."

Jasper shook his head and squeezed my hand again.

"You did what you had to."

"Why don't they hate me do you think?"

Jasper sighed and pulled me to a stop on a corner in the alley where it wasn't so crowded.

"Ali, they know that everything you did was to keep them safe. How can they be mad at you for that?"

His fingers brushed against my cheek as he spoke, and as he did so, I felt my fear slip away.

I hugged him tightly to me.

"What would I do without you?" I mumbled into his chest.

"Come on," Jasper murmured. "Let's keep looking."

We looked through bookshops and magical items.

"Maybe we can get her jewelry," Jasper said, "with an inscription on the back of it?"

I pondered the idea for a moment.  
"Do you think we could get the inscription done on time?" I asked.

"I think we could. It is done by magic, isn't it?"

I shrugged.

"I've never gotten anything with an inscription. Or at least not that I can remember."

We found a small jewelry store, which I had learned opened up not long after my leaving. When we stepped inside, the store clerk's eyes opened widely.

"Oh my!" he exclaimed. "You're Mrs. Alice Whitlock! I hoped you'd come into my shop! The whole country has been abuzz about your arrival! How can I help you today?"

"How quickly do you think an inscription can be done?"

"It depends on what it's on and what was said."

"Can I have a moment to look around?" I asked, my eyes darting to the various cases. "Then get an estimate?"

The man nodded eagerly.

"Of course! Of course, look around and if you have any questions, I will be right here."

Jasper and I looked through the store, looking at rings, and necklaces. I wandered over to the bracelets.

I found a plain silver bracelet and turned to the clerk.

"How long do you think it would take if I got 'Thank you for everything in the past, the present, and in the future'?"

He thought about it for a moment.

"I don't have any other orders, so I'd say maybe a week."

"Before Halloween?"

The man nodded.

"I can manage that."

"We can be back here to pick it up the day before Halloween."

The store clerk nodded.

"I can send you an owl when it's ready."

I grinned.

"Fantastic."

"I just need an address."

I wrote down the address, and I what I wanted inscribed, before sliding the paper back to him.

"How much for it?"

"I can part with it for 15 galleons," the man said, smiling. "Consider it a thank you."

"A thank you? A thank you for what?"

"I remember the war," he told me, leaning against the counter. "I was in the year below Harry Potter. I was sorted into Hufflepuff. You may not remember me, but I remember you very, very clearly."

I studied his face, trying to bring back a memory, but I couldn't find anything.

"I'm sorry," I said, quietly. "You're right. I don't know who you are."

"In my second year, I remember being bullied by a few of the Slytherin students in my year for being muggleborn. You were Head Girl. You came across them picking on me, and you made them stop. I remember being very grateful to you from that day forward."

I could remember the scene that the man was talking about. I remembered marching the boys who were picking on him to Dumbledore's office. The boys were given three months of detention.

"I remember you now," I said, smiling.

The man smiled.

"I remember hearing that you had died, and I went to the funeral to offer my condolences. I couldn't understand how you could have ever believed that you were evil. Even under the Carrows, you still stood up for what you believed was right."

I smiled.

"Are you sure you won't get into any sorts of trouble for the price difference?"

The man laughed.  
"Of course not. I can't get into trouble if I own the store, now can I?"

I laughed along with him before looking in my money pouch to bring out the exact money needed.

"Here you are. Fifteen galleons."

"I will send the owl as soon as it's ready."

I grinned.  
"Thank you."

Jasper and I turned out of the store and headed down the street to the Quidditch store.

"Minerva said we could sit on either side, or we could sit in the teacher's box. If that's the case, then we may not need anything more than a Quidditch jumper," I said, as I began to flip through the jumpers on the rack.

"How about in the teacher's box?" Jasper asked. "We wouldn't look so out of place."

"You look seventeen," I frowned. "Most if not all of the seventh years are seventeen. If anything, I'd look out of place."

Jasper shook his head.

"Never," Jasper murmured his lips brushing against my ear. "You look younger than I, and twice as beautiful."

I smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Come on then. We still need to find you a jumper or at least something to show your support."

After looking around a little bit, I turned to Jasper.

"Maybe I can take the scarves from both houses and sew them together," I said, holding up two of the scarves. "That way you can remain neutral."

Jasper nodded.

"I like that idea."

"It's settled then," I said, picking up a scarf from both houses. "Mum kept an old sewing machine around the house, and I learned how to sew at a young age so that I could patch up Remus's clothes. I never threw away any of the sewing supplies. I never actually cleaned out anything of her's or of Dad's."

Jasper, smiled, as we slowly made our way through the line to check out.

When we got home that evening, I headed up the stairs into Mum and Dad's room.

It was the same way that it had been for nearly three decades. The bed was angled in the corner furthest from me. There was a desk in the corner across from the bed, and two dressers on either side of me. Beside the desk, was the closet door, which was still cracked, just like it had been the last time I had been in here.

"I didn't go in here much," I told Jasper quietly. "Especially after joining the Death Eaters. It reminded me of all the things I wanted, and all the things I could never have."

Jasper wrapped his arms around me before resting his chin on my shoulder and pressing his lips to the nape of my neck.

"Is it any better now?"

I nodded.

"Yes. I have you now. You make everything better."

Jasper smiled and tightened his arms around me.

"You think so?"

I nodded.

"Of course you do. You always have."

I patted his hand before moving away from him towards the closet.

"Here it is," I muttered, pulling the case from the shelf.

I darted back downstairs and sat the sewing machine on the dining room table before removing the top.

"I haven't seen a sewing machine like that since I was young," Jasper said sitting down from across the table. "I think your sewing machine is about a hundred and some years behind this century."

"Maybe. But it still works," I said, threading the machine.

"Of course it does," Jasper said. "It still has a hand crank."

"Don't hate on my machine."  
I frowned at him before pulling the bag with the scarves onto the table and moving into the kitchen to get a pair of scissors.

Jasper laughed before ducking his head.

"Sorry, Al," he said.

I hadn't seen this smile in so long, I couldn't stay mad at him. It wasn't that Jasper didn't smile, it was just that it had felt like so long since the smile reached his eyes. It had definitely been a long time since I had felt the joy, which he felt so powerfully that it was radiating off of him.

I pressed a hand against his cheek and smiled back at him.  
"It's okay."

I turned back to the scarves and motioned for Jasper to come closer.  
"Come here, let's figure out where to cut this."

Jasper leaned forward as I draped both scarves on each side of him.

"We probably won't have to cut much off these," I murmured, more to myself than to Jasper. "I also may try and sew in a lion on the Gryffindor side, and a snake on the Slytherin side."

"Don't they already have that?" Jasper asked, tracing the crest.

"On the crest, yes. But I mean I want to have a separate snake and lion."

"Do what you think would look nice," Jasper said. "You would know better than I."

I nodded and marked where I would cut the scarves.

Jasper and I made small talk while we worked. He asked about whether or not I had seen anything regarding Edward or Victoria. I hadn't, but I did know that Edward caught her as she was leaving Canada before she slipped away again.

"I've been looking," I told Jasper while moving a pin. "I just don't think Edward wants me to find whatever it is he thinks I'm searching for." I frowned, before looking up at Jasper. "Am I making sense?"

Jasper chuckled and nodded.  
"We've been married for the last fifty-five years. I think I've been able to figure out what you mean by now."

I laughed and shook my head.  
"I'm glad you can. I wonder how many people know what I'm saying half the time."

"They understand. You just think they don't."

It didn't take long for me to finish attaching the two different scarves, and after much deliberation, Jasper and I decided to just leave the crests and not add anything extra.

"There you are," I said, wrapping the scarf around him. "All ready for the match."

"Thanks, Al," Jasper murmured kissing my cheek.

"Anytime."

Jasper paused for a minute before smiling at me. The same smile that I missed.

"You feel very happy, and you are radiating in love."

"Am I?" I murmured.

He nodded, and his fingers traced my face.

"I've missed this," he told me. "Just me and you. No worries."

I smiled.

"I've missed you."

Jasper frowned.

"I've been here."

I shook my head.

"Not this you."

Jasper rested his forehead against mine.

"I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. It's not your fault. It's good to see you happy again."

Jasper smiled.

"I've always been happy. You've made it all better."

"Me?"

Jasper nodded.

"Yes. You are my reason everything. If you asked me to be happy, I would be."

"So be happy," I said, smiling.

Jasper remained in a cheerful mood over the next several days. He helped clean the house, and we went to the Burrow, where Jasper played with the kids while I helped Molly fix their lunch.

"He seems very happy," Molly said.

I nodded.

"I don't know what changed," I said, pulling plates from the cupboard. "One day, he was just happier than what he has been since Bella's party."

Molly shook her head.

"You sound worried."

"I'm afraid that when we go back, he's going to go downhill when we go back to the Cullens. I know they don't say it, but I'm sure they blame him for Edward leaving."

"Is Carlisle still upset with you for leaving?"

I shrugged.

"I couldn't tell you. I haven't talked to him since the last time he called."

"Jasper told me about the deal the two of you have," Molly said, glancing at me. "How long are you guys going to stay there before you decide whether or not it's working?"

I shrugged.

"I guess we'll figure that out when we get there. If they stay mad at us, it probably won't be too long before we head back in this direction."

"Do you think MACUSA would let you hook up the Floo System? It could make us coming to visit, and you visiting us easier."

I shook my head.

"I tried a few years back, so I could get from Muggle America to the Wizarding side easier. Despite them being vampires, they're Muggles. MACUSA is very cautious when it comes to Muggles. Because of the Salem Witch Trials, and all the hunts before and after that."

Molly nodded.

"I could understand that. I hear that they're strict over there."

I nodded.

"I have to apply for a wand permit when I got there. The fifties weren't much different than when Newt Scamander was in New York."

Molly laughed.

"I guess things aren't much different here either."

I shook my head.

"Things are different. Everyone has grown up, and they have kids of their own now."

Molly looked back up at me.  
"Does it bother you that you and Jasper can't have children?"

I shook my head.  
"Not as much as I thought it would. Things might have worked out differently, maybe, if I had known him in another life."

Molly patted my shoulder again, and before either of us could say anything else, lunch was ready.

Halloween was coming quickly. Jasper and I had already picked up Minerva's bracelet about a week after we placed the order, I made sure that I had all the keys to the house, money for our time at Hogwarts, and then we started packing our bag for the next week the day before we were set to leave. Jasper asked what would be okay to wear, and it came down to me packing his bag for him.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled, shaking his head. "I didn't know what would be acceptable to where there and—"

I pressed a finger against his lips and shook my head.

"Don't apologize. I don't mind it. Really. They aren't picky when it comes to close. Just as long as you aren't showing too much. You only have to be in robes during classes, but outside of them, like weekends, you can wear regular clothes."

Jasper nodded.

"But we don't have to wear robes?"

I shook my head.

"We don't have to. Besides, I don't think we can get any this late. We leave tomorrow."

"How are we getting there?"

"Minerva arranged for the train to come and get us. She wanted you to have the full Hogwarts experience. This means we have to be on the train by eleven, or it will leave without us."

"So what time should we get there?"

"Ten-thirty. Chances are, it will be packed with Muggles, so we'll have to move quickly onto the platform. We have to head to the Burrow at ten though. Harry and George are going to go to Kings Cross with us to see us off."

"Will we get back by train?"

I shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I didn't ask."

Jasper looked around the room.

"Is there anything else we need to do before we leave?"  
I shook my head.

"I don't think so. We'll have to lock up before we leave tomorrow, but otherwise, I think we're okay."

Jasper nodded and laid back on the bed.

"What all are we going to be doing while we're there?"

I smiled and closed my eyes.

"Some of it is a surprise. The rest of it, you already know."

Jasper pulled me to him.

"You won't give me a hint?"

I shook my head.

"Definitely not."

He pressed his lips to the base of my throat.

"And now?"

I shook my head again.  
"It's not happening. You'll have to wait and see."

Jasper groaned before pressing his forehead against my neck.

"But it's a long wait."  
"And time will pass before you know it."

Jasper watched me for a moment.

"Maybe you should sleep for a while. Make sure you have all your energy?"  
I smiled and closed my eyes.

"Do I look tired?"

I could tell Jasper shook his head as his hair brushed against my face.

"No, but time passes quickly when you sleep."

I laughed and shook my head.  
"Read a book. Time will pass with that too. Why are you excited about this? You've been to the castle before."

"In one room for a little under or a little over an hour. I want to see where you learned magic."

I shook my head.

"The time will pass. Before you know it, we'll be on our way to Hogwarts." I opened my eyes and smiled at Jasper. "I haven't walked through the doors of the castle in a long time. The last time I was on the ground….I was about to leave here. It was so hard saying goodbye, but I knew why I had to do it."

Jasper pushed himself onto his elbows and smiled.

"What was your favorite part?"

"I don't know," I said. "I loved all of it. It was one of the few places I felt at home."

"From what I know about your past, that wasn't many places."

I shook my head.  
"But now, my home is with you."

Jasper laughed, and the two of us sat quietly. I was certain both of us was thinking about Hogwarts.

We decided to get ready at around 9:30, so there would be less I would have to do. We were going to leave for the Burrow at 9:55, and we would Apparate from there, to an ally outside of Kings Cross at 10:20.

"Do you have absolutely everything?" I asked Jasper as it came closer to time to go.  
Jasper nodded.

"It's all in your bag."

I went through my checklist a second and a third time.

"I'm pretty sure we have everything," I said, as I began to go through the house to turn all the lights off.

"Pretty sure?" Jasper asked raising an eyebrow.

I nodded.

"I think we do. I've been checking off and on throughout the night."

Jasper nodded.

"Are we ready to go?"

I nodded.

"I think we are."

Jasper became increasingly excited and pulled me to the fireplace.

"Come on! Let's go then!"

I laughed as Jasper stepped through, and with a flash of the green fire, Jasper was gone, with me following behind after locking the front door.

Harry and George were waiting by the fireplace when Jasper and I came through. It had been decided that I would Apparate with George, and Jasper with Harry.

"Beware," I laughed. "He's excited. It's going to radiate onto you."

Jasper pouted.

"Is me being excited a bad thing?"

I shook my head.

"I didn't say that," I smiled, taking his hand. "I think you being excited is great. I'm just warning him in advance in case he suddenly becomes excited."

"Are we coming to get you from Kings Cross next Monday?" George asked.

I shrugged.

"I'm not sure. We haven't figured that out."

"Just owl ahead," Harry said.

"I will."

George looked between us.

"Ready to go?"

I nodded.

"I'm ready when you are."

George wrapped an arm around my shoulders, then suddenly the Burrow disappeared, and we were in the alley next to Kings Cross. With another pop, Jasper and Harry were there.

"Welcome to Kings Cross," I told Jasper with a smile. "Follow me."

I led the way through the station.

It was crowded, as I had expected. It was easier to manage our way through the crowd however, seeing and mine and Jasper's bags were hidden away inside of another, much smaller bag, and we didn't have the trolleys.

When we got to platforms nine and ten, we stopped.

"Do you know how to get onto the platform? I can't remember whether or not I've told you that."

Jasper shook his head.

"I don't think you've ever mentioned it."

"I'll show you, Jasper," George said, smiling.

"All you have to do," I said, taking his hand, "is walk directly between platforms nine and ten."

"Molly told me it's best to give a running start if you're nervous," Harry said.

George stepped forward before looking around him and running through the platform.

"Jasper?" I asked, pushing him forward slightly.

Jasper stepped up, before glancing cautiously.

"I'll be right behind you," I soothed.

Jasper turned straight ahead, before running through the platform. Harry and I followed right behind him.

The platform was exactly how I remembered it, all except for it being empty. The scarlet train sat in front of me, with the sign overhead that read 'Hogwarts Express'.

"This is the Hogwarts Express?" Jasper asked, in surprise.

I nodded.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I asked, smiling.

Jasper nodded.

"It is."

"How much time do you have before it leaves?" Harry asked.

I turned Jasper's wrist to where I could see the watch.

"Ten minutes, although maybe since it's just the two of us, they'll leave earlier."

"Then we'll go ahead and let you go. Owl us if you need us," George said, pulling me into a hug.

"I'm not going to be gone long, Georgie," I murmured into his shoulder.

"I know," he said. "But sometimes I'm still scared you're not really here."

"I'm here. I promise."

I kissed his cheek, before moving to hug Harry.

"I'll see you in a week."

"See you then. Take care of yourself, Al."

I nodded.

"Of course. I always do."

Jasper took my hand, and sped to the train before I had the chance to say anything else.

"Where should we sit?" I asked. "The Head Boy and Girl compartment will be open."

"Is there really any difference to them?

Before I had the chance to say anything else, a voice spoke from behind me.

"Excuse me, ma'am?"

I turned to find a man, obviously the conductor, standing behind me.

"Good morning, sir. Thank you for going out of your way to do this for us."

He beamed and me and nodded.

"It's my pleasure, Mrs. Whitlock. I wanted to personally welcome you and your husband onto the train. I remember when you first came to Hogwarts, when you were a little girl. You were very kind to all that came around you. And then I heard the news of your passing, and of your return."  
I smiled.

"I remember you too. You were one of the few people who believed my father was innocent. I remember you making that very clear to me when he broke out of Azkaban."

The conductor smiled at Jasper.

"Bright witch your wife is, sir. One of the brightest ones I've met in all of my years."

Jasper grinned.

"She amazes me everyday."

The driver shook my hand.

"It will be an honor driving you this evening."

He turned and vanished back into his compartment.  
"Come on," I said, pulling Jasper into the closest compartment. "We'll move later, I'm sure."

Harry and George were still standing on the platform, looking across the train.

"I see them!" George exclaimed pointing to me, before waving.

"Have fun!" Harry called.

I laughed before sitting down, watching Jasper carefully.

He was looking around the compartment.

"Are you okay?" I asked, taking his hand.

He smiled at me and nodded.

"Come here," he said, waving me over.

I slipped out of my seat and Jasper pulled me onto his lap. Joy, love, and excitement were radiating off of him. It made it hard for me not to feel it too.

"I don't think I've ever really thanked you, Alice."

I frowned.

"Thank me?"

"You are one of the only people who has never given up on me. I owe you everything."

"You owe me nothing," I said.

Jasper leaned forward and kissed me, which made me beam widely.

"Tell me about about the vision where you first saw me," Jasper requested, as he began rocking side to side.

"Again?"

He smiled and nodded.

"Please?"

I smiled.

"Okay. Let's see here, it was during the transformation. I thought something was going wrong, and that I was dying instead. You were so beautiful, I didn't think it was possible for you to be human. So I concluded you were an angel, and you were going to take me to whatever was after this life." I paused and smiled up and Jasper, who had closed his eyes despite holding tightly onto me. "You faded as quickly as you had come, and I can remember being very, very upset. The pain started setting in, and I tried to find you again. No matter how much I tried, I couldn't get you back."

Jasper adjusted to where we were laying down on the seat.

"I heard myself call for someone called Jasper, and I decided I would associate that name with you. I thought maybe if I thought of the name enough, you'd come back to me. I couldn't bring you back no matter how much I tried. The second I opened my eyes, I had a vision. One that was more clear than anything I had ever seen. It was the diner where I would first meet you."  
"Helen and Tobias told me that you were afraid that I wouldn't come."

I nodded.

"I didn't understand how someone like you could be meant for me. But I knew I had to have you, because from that one single vision, I had fallen in love."

Jasper smiled.

"I've loved you since that first day in the diner," Jasper murmured quietly. "I thought you were the most beautiful women I had ever seen."

"More beautiful than Maria?"

Jasper laughed.

"Yes, Al. More beautiful than anything, or anyone." He leaned forward and kissed the tip of my nose. "My beautiful, beautiful bride."

I smiled and began to trace his face.

"Beautiful angel," I said, my voice barely audible.

Jasper smiled, before sitting up again, and moving closer to the window.

"It's beautiful out there," he murmured.

"It truly is," I smiled. "I haven't been on the train since 1994."

"You know that wasn't that long ago."

"You know what I mean," I said, pressing my forehead against his temple.

For a while, Jasper and I watched the country pass by. We were both quite and neither of us moved. I sat contently in Jasper's arms.

"How far away are we?" Jasper asked, as the sun began to set.

"We're nearly there," I said, standing up, and pulling him to his feet. "Come on. I'll show you the rest of the train."

We made our way through the train in the time remaining until we arrived at Hogsmeade station.

"Enjoy your stay at Hogwarts, Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock."

"Thank you," I smiled.

Hagrid was waiting on the platform for Jasper and I when we got of the train.

"Welcome to Hogwarts," Hagrid greeted with a smile. "Follow me."

This was part of mine and Minerva's plans for Jasper visiting the castle.

"Where are we going?" Jasper asked.

"You'll see," I said, hoping onto his back as Hagrid led the way.

"What 'ave yeh been up to, Alice?" Hagrid asked.

"We've been helping Molly with the kids, and we've been to Diagon Alley and Muggle London, and our brother Edward came to see us."

"Now yer 'ere," Hagrid said.

"Now we're here."

We made it to the boats. Two were lined up on the docks. Jasper helped me step into one before following behind me.

"Where are the oars?"

"They row themselves," I said, smiling.

Hagrid stepped into the other boat, and then the two took off.

We glided along the lake, and for a second, it felt like this was my first time coming to the castle.

When the castle came into view, Jasper's eyes widened.

"Amazing!"

I laughed, and leaned back against his legs.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Jasper nodded.

"Very."

"Welcome to Hogwarts, Jazz."

The boats came to a stop at the edge, and I hopped out quickly.

"It's been so long since I've walked these grounds," I said, excitedly. "Hagrid, are you still teaching Care of Magical Creatures?"

Hagrid nodded.

"Sure do. Yeh should bring Jasper down to see."

"I plan to. Have you guys done the hippogriff unit yet? I think Jasper would like that."

Hagrid shook his head.

"Not yet. But I can work around some things."

I grinned.

"Thanks, Hagrid."

We made our way across the grounds, to the doors of the castle. Jasper looked around the whole walk, holding tightly onto my hand. I guided the way before smiling.

"Jazz, you'll have plenty of times to explore the grounds."

"I know," Jasper said. "But it's more beautiful than I remember it being, in your pictures.

I smiled.

"It is beautiful. I've missed it very much," I said, smiling. "Now you're here, and it makes it all so much better. Now come on. Minerva is waiting for you."

Jasper and I paused outside of the doors of the Great Hall, while Hagrid went around us and inside.

"Now that we are at the end of our meal, I would like your attention for a little while. Tonight, we have a very special surprise," Minerva said. "We have to guests, who will be spending the next weeks with us. They will be observing your classes, amongst other things during their stay here. Treat them with kindness, or I will know. Please, help me give a warm welcome to Mrs. Mary Alice Black Whitlock, and her husband, Jasper."

Jasper took my hand as I pushed open the door to the Great Hall.

Jasper and I made our way up the aisle, to where Minerva stood, and before I knew it she was pulling me into a hug.

"I think Mrs. Whitlock would like to say a few things, and then we'll move on to a special one time event."

"Good evening!" I greeted cheerfully. I got several responses which made me smile wider. "You can all call me, Alice. I am so glad to be here with you all this week. For me, I haven't been to Hogwarts in a long time. For others, I was here more recently. But no matter the time, Hogwarts still feels like home. And I look forward to getting to know all of you. If you have any questions about anything, feel free to ask."

I stepped back and looked at Minerva who stepped forward again.

"Thank you, Alice. Now, as most of you noticed, we have the Sorting Hat out here tonight. I think I will let Alice tell that story."

I nodded.

"For the last couple weeks, Professor McGonagall and I have been communicating back and forth. This is my husband's first time coming to Hogwarts, and I wanted it to be memorable for him. After much discussion on ways we could possibly do that, is by showing Jasper some of the things we do at the castle. One of the most memorable days from my time at Hogwarts, was my sorting, and I wanted to give Jasper that same opportunity."

Jasper looked between me and Minerva, bewildered.

"Alice, I don't understand what's happening."

"Trust me," I said, squeezing his hand.

"The hat will not be singing tonight," Minerva announced, "however, we are going to have one more sorting for this school year. So I welcome, Mr. Jasper Pierce Whitlock.

I took Jasper's hand and pulled him to the stool that sat in front of Minerva.

"Sit there," I murmured. "Trust me."

As Minerva lowered the hat down onto Jasper's head, I focused on the inside of his mind.

 _Many variables to consider,_ the hat muttered to Jasper. _You're brave, that is easy to see. You have great patience and loyalty, more to your wife than to anyone else. You're very wise, and from that wisdom, you are clever. You would fit with any house. But the question remains, where to put you?_

Jasper watched me while the hat pondered it's decision. It thought over it a little while longer, pondering Jasper's traits.

After a moment, after much anticipation, the hat shouted, "RAVENCLAW!"

I grinned, and the Great Hall erupted into cheers. The loudest cheers came from the Ravenclaw table.

"Congratulations, Jasper," Minerva said, reaching behind the podium. "You are now an honorary Ravenclaw. This is a gift to you from Alice and from myself."

Jasper looked between Minerva and I, before placing the gift in his lap.

It was a set of school robes that he could wear if he chose throughout his time here. I would be showing him some of the classes Hogwarts had, and Minerva was even going to give me the passwords to the Common Rooms to show them to Jasper.

"Thanks, Al," Jasper said, pulling me into a tight hug. "I love it."

I smiled.

"I'm glad."

At the end of the dinner, once the students cleared the way, and it was only teachers left in the Great Hall, I turned to face them, widely grinning.

"How have you been, Alice?" Neville asked, approaching me.

"I've been okay. And you?"

"Great. Everyone's been so excited to hear that you're alive, and back in England, and married." He turned to Jasper. "Neville Longbottom by the way. Nice to meet you."

Jasper nodded.

"Nice to meet you too. I'm Jasper."

"I know," Neville said, smiling. "Everyone knows who you are."

"What do you teach here?" I asked, catching Neville's attention again.

"I technically don't," he said. "I'm studying to be a Herbology teacher."

I smiled.

"I forgot how much you loved Herbology. When I go back to America, I'll have to search for some plants native to America and end them to you."

"How is America? We here you found yourself a family there."

I nodded.

"The Cullens, and then my creators, Helen and Tobias. But most of all, Jasper is my family."

Jasper smiled and kissed the top of my head.

"I love you too."

I introduced Jasper to the teachers he briefly met, as well as some of the ones he didn't.

"Jasper, this is Professor Sybil Trelawney. She was my divination teacher."

Professor Trelawney extended her hand to Jasper.

"Alice was one of the few students I've had that's possessed the inner eye in a way so powerful she gets visions. Tell me, girl, do you still practice?"

I nodded.

"I've been working with a crystal ball more now, and I give Jasper a tarot reading once a week."

Professor Trelawney grinned.

"You'll stop by my class while you're here, won't you?"

I nodded.

"Of course."

Trelawney nodded.

"Maybe you can give an example for them."

I grinned.

"I'd like that."

After a while, Minerva handed me a piece of paper.  
"This is the password to the room that you're staying in. Remus showed it to you, didn't he?"

I nodded.

"First night of my last year."

Minerva smiled.

"Then I'll leave you to it. You're welcome to help patrol the halls if you'd like. Your tours with Jasper can start at any time, but I'd rather you wait to do the Common Rooms until morning. Oh, and Kreacher is still working in the kitchen. He may wish to see you. He was very upset to learn of your passing. I'll let you know when you are speaking for History of Magic."

I nodded.  
"Thank you, Minerva."

"Of course," Minerva said pulling me into a tight hug. "You have no idea how good it is to see you, Alice."

"I'm so sorry for what I put you through," I said. "I know this doesn't cover it, because I am forever in your debt, but I hope this is a start."

I dug through my bag, and found her gift before handing it to her.

She opened in and her eyes lit up.

"Oh, Alice, I love it. Thank you, dear."

I smiled and nodded.

"Of course. Jasper helped."

"Well then thank you too, Jasper."

Jasper smiled.

"Of course."

Not long after that, Jasper and I headed out of the Great Hall to go get settled in.

"It's huge!" Jasper exclaimed as we made our way to a staircase.

"Be careful of the stairs," I told him. "They'll move, and sometimes disappear."

Jasper frowned and looked down at the stair he was standing on.

"Come on," I laughed pulling on his arm. "Let's get to the room."

The room was on the seventh floor, next to the Room of Requirement.

"I'll show it to you once we get unpacked," I told Jasper when he asked about it. "It's amazing. But we'll also have to go down to the kitchens so I can see Kreacher."

Jasper nodded.

"That was your house elf, wasn't it?"

"My father's house elf," I corrected. "I don't think Kreacher was ever really mine. After Dad died, he was Harry's and then Harry sent him here except for when he was needed."

Jasper watched me for a minute.

"But that doesn't bother you, does it?"

I shook my head before looking down at the paper in my hand.  
"Blood pop," I told the painting.

The painting nodded, and swung open.

Jasper watched it cautiously.  
"When you said the paintings moved, I didn't think you meant all of them."

I nodded.

"I'll show you some of them later. Especially the Fat Lady. And the ghosts. I think you'd like Nearly Headless Nick."

Jasper watched me for a minute as I sat the bag down on the bed, and looked around.  
"Do you think Fred it here?"  
I shook my head.  
"Fred wouldn't have chose that."

"You chose to be a ghost?"

I nodded.

"Muggles can't. But witches and wizards can. Although if your wise, you won't."

Jasper shook his head.

"Muggles see ghosts, don't they? There is reports of it all the time."

I nodded.  
"Yes, but they don't see them clearly."

Jasper and I discussed ghosts a little bit more while we unpacked some things. Most of our clothes stayed inside of the bag.

"Come on," I said, as we left the room. "Let's go look around."

I guided him back out of the room, and pointed to the blank wall.

"That's the Room of Requirement. I don't know if I'll be able to show you the room where lost things go, but there are endless rooms to choose from. I do have an idea though."

I walked back and forth in front of the room three times, thinking _I need a place to show my past._

The door appeared, and I turned and smiled back at Jasper.

"Come on, then."

When we stepped inside, we were met by rows on pensieves.

I stopped at the closest ones, and put my wand against my temple.

I pulled out a memory and dropped it into the pensieve.

"I want to show you something," I told Jasper, holding my hand out to him. "Just stick your head inside."

Jasper watched me for a moment.

"Is this a happy memory?"  
I nodded.

"It's a very happy memory."

Jasper relaxed, and soon we were in the dark.

"Feel that?" I asked, my hand rubbing my aching throat. My memory was so clear, that Jasper could feel the pain from it, and I could feel it from him.

"Where are we?" Jasper asked, his hand flying to his throat.

"It's a memory," I said. "You're curious about the first vision I ever had of you."

"We're in the middle of your transformation," Jasper said. He sounded very certain.

"Yes. Pictures began to flash around us, and then we saw Carlisle, standing in snowy Alaska. As soon as he came, he was gone again. And I walked over to Jasper, placing a hand in his.

"Watch. It will happen. Soon."

We waited for a short time longer, and then we could hear my voice tinkling. Jasper appeared around us and I smiled.

"This is when I first saw you," I said.

Jasper smiled.

"I can feel you fighting to hold the picture."

After the vision of Jasper faded away, we both returned to the Room of Requirement.

"Do you have one of these?" Jasper asked, touching the basin.

"No," I said. "But I suppose I could take one of these if I wanted one."

"Are you going to?"

"Not now. For now, let's go see Kreacher."

Jasper and I slowly made our way down to the kitchen.

"You're nervous," Jasper commented as we neared the kitchen.

"I haven't seen Kreacher since the war," I said. "I don't know what to expect….I didn't say goodbye."

"I think he'll understand," Jasper said, squeezing my hand.

"Maybe."

We approached the door, and came to a stop. Jasper examined it for a minute.

"Are all the doors paintings?"

I shook my head.

"No. There are some doors."

"Is there a password to all the doors?"

"In one way or another. Not all of them are verbal, but there are passwords."

Jasper watched as I extended my arm to tickle the pear of the fruit bowl. After hearing the giggle, I moved for the handle, and opened the door.

The kitchen was busy with the elves running around to clean the dishes. One of them approached me, its wide eyes watching me carefully.

"Can Daisy help you, sir and miss?"

I nodded.  
"I'm looking for an elf by the name of Kreacher."

Daisy nodded.

"Follow me, miss. I cans show you were Kreacher stays."

She reached up and took one of my fingers, guiding me along beside of her, Jasper following behind.

She followed us to the back table, where three elves sat, drying and stacking plates.

"Kreacher!" the elf called, as we neared. "Someone is here looking for you."

Kreacher looked up from the plate he was drying, and his eyes wandered from the elf to me. I noticed Regulus's locket hung proudly from his neck.

His eyes widened before he sat the plate down and scurried over to me.

"Little Miss!" he exclaimed.

I bent down to where he could hug me.

"Hi, Kreacher. I hoped you'd still be here."

"Kreacher remains in the kitchens of Hogwarts where Harry Potter ordered him to go many years ago. Harry Potter came to tell Kreacher the news of the passing of Kreacher's Little Miss, but here you are now. But Little Miss is different."

"Am I?" I asked.

Kreacher nodded.

"She is much more pale now, and her eyes are now gold. She is also followed by a man, who appears protective of Little Miss."

"Kreacher, this is Jasper, my husband."

Kreacher moved away from me to Jasper.

"I am Kreacher," he said, extending his hand. "I served the Noble and Most Ancient House of Black."

"Nice to meet you, Kreacher," Jasper said, shaking Kreacher's hand. "Alice has told me about you."

Kreacher beamed at me.

"Kreacher likes him, Little Miss."

I laughed.

"I'm glad to know."

Kreacher turned to me, and his eyes grew sad.  
"Why did Little Miss leave? Kreacher heard that Little Miss died, but that can't be true if you are here now."

"I had to leave to keep everyone safe. That's why I became a vampire."

Kreacher watched me for a second.

"So that is what Kreacher noticed different about Little Miss. Kreacher has never seen a vampire with gold eyes."

"It's our diet," I explained. "We don't drink human blood."

Kreacher patted my hand.

"Little Miss would never kill for personal gain. Little Miss didn't want to kill for the Dark Lord but Little Miss had no choice. That is why Little Miss is a hero in the eyes of Kreacher."

I smiled.

"Really?"  
Kreacher nodded.

"Oh yes. Kreacher has told the other elves of Hogwarts the many stories of his noble Little Miss."

"It's true, miss," a elf chimned in from behind Kreacher. "Kreacher's has told us stories of his Little Miss betraying the Dark Lord."

I smiled at Kreacher.

"I've told Jasper stories about you too."

"Good things," Jasper reassured.

Kreacher smiled.

"Can Kreacher help Little Miss or Master Jasper in anyway?"

I shook my head.

"I don't think so. Not for right now at least. But I will let you know when you can."

Kreacher nodded.

"How long will Little Miss and Master Jasper be staying in Hogwarts Castle?"

"Until next Monday. I'll come see you before we leave."

"Keep in mind, Little Miss can always call on Kreacher if Kreacher is needed. Even after you leave the castle."

"Thank you Kreacher."  
Kreacher nodded, threw his arms around me one more time, and then scurried back to his station.

"Master Jasper?" Jasper questioned as we slipped out of the door.  
"By technicality, Kreacher is not owned by Hogwarts. He's owned by Harry, but I still have authority through blood lineage. Harry told me not long ago, when we were discussing Kreacher, Dumbledore didn't want Kreacher to be under my control because of how closely I was working with Voldemort. Voldemort could abuse that. Now that Voldemort is gone, and I'm alive, he wants to give me full authority of Kreacher, however I agreed on partially control."

"So if you and Harry share control of Kreacher, why does he call me Master Jasper?"

"Because you are married to me. Therefore, you also have control over Kreacher."

"What happens when Harry dies? Do you gain full control?"

"It's very unlikely that Kreacher will outlive Harry. House-elves don't live forever."

"Would you ever consider owning one?"

"Maybe hiring a house-elf who is free….I just don't want them to feel obligated to serve me."

Jasper wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Kreacher was right about you. You would never harm somebody else for your own benefit. That's one of my favorite things about you."

I smiled.

"I love you too, Jazz. Come on. There is one last thing I want to show you," I said, pulling him through the corridors.

We came to a stop in front of one of the classrooms, which I stopped in front of.

"Remember, Jasper, you are in my world now. A world of are not always what they seem. Keep that in mind."

Jasper nodded and I pushed open the door.

The Mirror of Erised sat in the middle of the classroom. Jasper frowned.

"It's a mirror," he stated moving closer. "How could a mirror be dangerous?"

We walked closer, and Jasper read the inscription on top.  
"What does that mean?"

"Look in the mirror," I told him, taking his hand. "Tell me what you see."

"I see us. Exactly as we are now. But that can't be right—" he trailed off.

"What do you see, love?"

"We're human."

I wrapped my arms around him, and leaned my head on his side.

"Is that so?"

"But how is that possible?"

"You see, the thing about the Mirror of Erised, is that it shows us what we desire the most. The inscription on top, says 'I show you not your face but your heart's desire'."

"What do you see?"

"I see you and I," I said, reaching for the mirror. "We're happy. No guilt, no pain. Just joy and love."

"We can have that, Alice," he murmured, brushing his lips against my temple. "I just need some time."

"I know. But you're greatest desire, we can never have."

Jasper smiled and shook his head.

"I'm content either way. Just as long as I have you."

I smiled.

"And you will. As Dumbledore told Harry once, 'It does not do well to dwell on dreams, and forget to live.'"

Jasper smiled.  
"Come on," he smiled. "Let's go back up to the room. I think we've had enough adventure for tonight."

Jasper and I left the room around five minutes before breakfast. We had helped the teachers with patrols around three that morning, up until around five. Minerva sent us away so we could go get ready for the following day. I would be teaching my first lecture to the sixth years at 11:30, so in the meantime, Jasper and I would sit in on a class or two.

"What do you want to see?" I asked Jasper, as we took a seat at the end of the Ravenclaw table. "Minerva gave me a timetable of all the classes. I think we could squeeze into a potions lesson. Or Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"I'm curious about Muggle Studies," Jasper murmured, "but that's not until 10:45."

He took the timetable and studied it for a minute.

"Could we listen in on Herbology? Neville said something to me earlier on patrols about repotting Mandrakes, I think they were called."

I nodded.

"Of course. I don't think we'd need earmuffs, but I'll check with Neville or Professor Sprout after breakfast."

"Ear muffs?"  
"Surely I've told you about Mandrakes?"

Jasper shook his head.

"Not that I remember."

"Well, Neville or Professor Sprout will explain when we get there."

I guided Jasper to the greenhouses, Neville walking with us.

"Do you think Jasper and I will need earmuffs?" I asked. "I don't have any on me."

Neville shook his head.

"I wouldn't think so. It couldn't kill you, so I doubt it'd make you pass out."

I nodded, and pulled Jasper along.

We sat towards the back of the greenhouse, listening to Professor Sprouts lesson. Beside me, Jasper scribbled notes about Mandrakes into a notebook that I had bought for him.

"Alice, Jasper, we have enough for each of you to repot one if you'd like," Neville said.

I nodded.

"That'd be great, thank you, Neville."

Neville handed us the remaining pots from the front of the room.

"Thank you," I said, smiling.

Neville nodded and returned to the front.

Jasper and I followed along as Neville guided the class.

The high pitched shrieks of the Mandrakes filled the room, and Jasper cringed.

"That's not a pleasant sound."

I laughed as I placed the plant into the pot next to the original.

"Make sure you tuck them in nicely," I murmured, as I patted down the soil of my mandrake."

It didn't take long before Herbology was over, and Jasper was ready to go listen in on Muggle Studies.

"Alice!" Neville called, before I walked out of the greenhouse.

"Yes?" I turned, Jasper stopping with me.

"This is a gift from Pomona and I," he said, handing me one of the mandrakes. "It's not much, but she said she remembered how excited you got learning about them."

I smiled.

"Thank you, Neville. And thank Pomona for me too."

He nodded.

"Of course."

On the way to the Muggle Studies classroom, Jasper and I stopped by the room to drop off the Mandrake plant.

"Good morning, Mr. and Mrs. Whitlock," the professor for Muggle Studies greeted. "Will you be sitting in with our class today?"

"If that's okay with you, ma'am," I said.

She nodded.

"Certainly." She extended her hand to me. "My name is Maya Powell. I came to Hogwarts in your last year."

"Nice to meet you," I nodded, shaking her hands. "I vaguely remember your sorting. Hufflepuff wasn't it?"

She nodded.

"That was me. You were Head Girl that year. I remember you helped calm me down the night your father broke into the castle."

I nodded.

"My father was a good man. He just had his priorities mixed up."

"Right then," she nodded. "There should be a few seats open in the back. We're discussing some of the Muggle games."

Jasper and I made our way to the back of the room, and the students began filling in.

"There aren't many students in this class," Jasper murmured to me.

"That's because these are seventh years. Many only take the class until they reach their N.E. ."

"Why would they continue Muggle Studies into their final year?"

"If they plan on working closely with Muggles."

"What job would have that?"

"Anything in the Ministry."

Jasper and I quieted down, as the class was starting. She discussed the basis of some of the games they'd be looking at. Hangman and crosswords were the main things for today.

She set everybody in pairs, and rearranged them around the room. Jasper and I even volunteered to be put into a group.

I was paired with a boy from Hufflepuff, who was over all quiet. His name was Alexander.

"Miss. Alice?" he asked, his voice was low.

"Yes?"

"Pardon my asking, but why did you become a vampire? I read the article about you, in the Prophet, but I don't understand how that could keep your family safe."

I smiled.

"I was hunted by a vampire. He had a special gift as a tracker, and for him, the hunt was everything. He was going to use my family to draw me out. If I turned into a vampire, he lost his leverage. My creators, Helen and Tobias, had special abilities too. Helen can travel forwards and backwards in time. Tobias manipulates memories. So Helen and Tobias took me back to 1948, where I met Jasper, and then came back to 1998 to change the memories of the tracker."

"Jasper's a Muggle, isn't he?"

I nodded.

"If you don't count his being a vampire, which is a magical creature, then yes."

"Did you change him?"

I shook my head.

"Jasper's been a vampire for a long time. Since 1863."

Alexander raised his eyebrows.

"Wow that is a long time. Was it hard telling him?"

"About being a witch?"

Alexander nodded.

"No," I said. "It wasn't as hard telling him as it was convincing him."

Alexander and I glanced at Jasper, who was across the room with a Ravenclaw boy, helping him with his crossword.

"Thank you for answering my question."

"Of course."

"Can I ask another?"

"Sure."

"Do Muggles actually find these fun?"

I laughed, and shook my head.

"I don't. I'd much rather read a book."

Alexander nodded.

"I agree."

At the end of Muggle Studies, Jasper and I met back up.

"Have fun?" I asked, taking his hand.

Jasper nodded.

"The girl I was with, her name is Emma, and she's Muggleborn. It was interesting to get a perspective of this world from a Muggleborn student versus a Pureblood."

"What'd she say?"

"She said that she took Muggle Studies to see how wizards perceived Muggles. She told me that it took time to adjust to this world."

"Did it for you?"

Jasper shook his head.

"Being with you felt natural."

"It took a long time to convince you that magic existed."

"Can you honestly blame me?" he asked, bringing our hands up to his face to kiss the back of my hand. "Before I was one, I didn't think vampires existed."

"Open your mind!" I laughed, squeezing his hand.

"I'll get to work on that," Jasper laughed.

Jasper and I made it down to the History of Magic classroom.

Professor Binns was nowhere to be found in the classroom when Jasper and I got there. In his place was a man, no older than forty.

"I thought that you said a ghost taught this class," Jasper murmured.

"Excuse me?" I asked, catching the man's attention. "I think I have the wrong classroom. Is this the History of Magic class?"

The professor's eyes caught mine, and he quickly jumped up.

"Mrs. Whitlock! I am so sorry, I meant to meet you by the door. I am Professor Adam Montoya. I teach the N.E.W.T level History of Magic."

"Does Professor Binns still teach here?"

Professor Montoya nodded.

"Yes. He teaches the lower levels, and then I teach the fifth years on Tuesday mornings."

I nodded.  
"That makes more sense now."

Professor Montoya turned away from me to look at Jasper.

"Mr. Whitlock, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Jasper nodded.

"The pleasure is mine."

"I've heard amazing stories of your wife, but I'm afraid I never got the chance to meet her."

Professor Montoya handed me a piece of chalk.  
"I'll let you take it from here."

I moved to the board and began to write in dates. By the time that the class had completely filled in, I had made it to the date of my branding.

I turned to face the class, and I found Jasper standing in the back, grinning at me.

I grinned widely at Jasper.

"Good morning," I said, calling the attention of the class.

"Good morning," a few called back.

"For those who don't know, my name is Mary Alice Black Whitlock, but you can call me Alice. I've been asked to teach you about the Second Wizarding War, so I'll be here over the course of the week to teach you about it. Feel free to ask me any questions at any point."

"Also please remember that Mrs. Whitlock does hold the ability to take away house points as she sees fit," Professor Montoya called from next to Jasper. "So do not make her talk over you, Mr. Bennett."

I laughed, and jumped onto the stool.

"Let's start off easy. I'll tell you a little bit about myself first. As I said, my name is Alice Whitlock, my husband's name is Jasper, and as you can see, we're vampires. We got married on June twentieth in 1950, and he's been stuck with me ever since."

A few people chuckled, while Jasper frowned at me.

I went through the class, learning the various names of the students.

"Right then," I smiled, as the line ended with a girl named Helena. "Should we get into this then?"

Everyone, including Jasper, pulled out their notebooks, and most paid close attention to what I had to say.

"The technical start of the war was on June 25, 1995. The Ministry discredited this information for nearly a month. This date marks the return of Voldemort to a corporeal form."

I watched the class for a moment as they scribbled what I was saying into bullet points.

"Harry Potter, who was fighting as a Triwizard Champion at the time, was teleported by the means of a Portkey, with Cedric Diggory, to a graveyard in Little Hangleton. A Death Eater, Bartemius Crouch Jr. had used Polyjuice potion to disguise himself as Alastor Moody, the Auror, and posed as the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. Crouch turned the Triwizard Cup into a Portkey. Using the blood of Mr. Potter, the bone of his father, and the flesh of a servant, Voldemort's body was restored."

A student raised her hand from the back of the room.

"Yes?"

"You mentioned a boy, Cedric Diggory. What happened to him?"

"He was murdered. Cedric wasn't supposed to be there you see, so Voldemort ordered for him to be killed."

The girl frowned.

"He didn't do anything wrong."

"He didn't have to. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. With Voldemort, you never needed a reason."

I had caught the attention of the class at this point. I retold the events of the return of Voldemort and his rise to power.

"June 18, 1996," I said, returning to the stool. "That's the day we fought in the Battle of the Department of Mysteries. Of all the people who fought, we only suffered from one fatality. My father. Mr. Sirius Black."

I paused and looked at the ground.

"This night was the night that the Ministry fully accepted the idea of Voldemort's return. It wasn't until Cornelius Fudge actually saw Voldemort that he believed it. My father was set free, but it was too late. The damage was done, and my father was dead. Dumbledore thought I was the perfect person to send undercover as a Death Eater for the Order of the Phoenix. I played my part well, and I quickly climbed the ranks into Voldemort's inner circle."

I rolled up my shirt sleeve and traced the scar that was left there.

"I was branded, and by that point we had no safe way to pull me out of my mission. So I stayed, and continued to work undercover."

A few different hands went up in the room.

"Yes?" I asked, pointing to a hand.

"What was the hardest part about being a Death Eater?"

I cleared my throat, and shifted in my seat.

"I think for me, it was the crimes I had to commit. I had to torture people, kill. All to get information to the order."

I pointed to another person.

"Knowing then what you did now, would you have changed your mind?"

I thought about this for a minute.

"I don't think I would have," I said. "Without this, Harry might not have won the war, I may have never found Jasper."

I looked up at the clock.

"We have time for one more question," I said, smiling.

I chose a girl who sat in the front row.

"My question is more for Jasper," she said, turning to look at Jasper.  
"Yes?" Jasper asked, speaking for the first time throughout the class.

"Does knowing what you know about Miss. Alice's history, does it ever make it hard? Your marriage?"

Jasper frowned and shook his head.  
"No. Alice did what she had to do to survive. I'm not saying her life is more important, but she saved everyone. I love my wife, and we've both done things we're not proud of, but we dealt with that a long, long time ago."

I looked back up at the clock.

"Now we're almost out of time, but before you go, I have an assignment for you. I want you to think about everything I've told you. What would you have done in this situation? It can be as short or as long as you'd like it to, and I trust that as this is a N.E.W.T level class, that you will do the assignment. That's all for today, and I will see you again Friday."

As the class left, heading to the Great Hall for lunch, Professor Montoya and Jasper came rushing up to me.

"That was amazing, Al!" Jasper exclaimed, pulling me into a hug.

"It truly was," Professor Montoya agreed. "I haven't seen them this interested in any subject by far."

"I'm curious as to what they'll say in their papers," I murmured leaning on Jasper.

"Most of them put a lot of thought into their assignments," Professor Montoya said. "I trust that they will for this assignment. It's their opinion rather than them writing about something that they could care less about."

I nodded.

"I enjoyed doing those when I was in Hogwarts."

As I helped Professor Montoya straighten up the classroom, we made small talk.

"So it's come to my understanding that you were attending a Muggle high school before you and Jasper left America."

I nodded.

"What do they think happened to you?" he asked as I cleaned the board.

"Currently they are in the understanding that I am in the hospital. They don't think I'm going to make it."

"They think you're sick?"

I nodded.

"We had to come up with a story to tell the Muggles as to why I disappeared once a month while my energy was down. So we decided to tell them that I was sick."

"Have you ever thought about becoming a teacher here? I think you'd do a great job at it."

"I never thought of myself as being a teacher."

"What did you want to be before the war?"

"I was going to be an Auror. I was in training for it. Then I thought about becoming an Unspeakable until I watched my father die in the Department of Mysteries."  
"I didn't have the courage to fight in the war," he said, shaking his head. "I don't know how you managed."

"Sometimes I don't know how I did it either," I said. I turned and looked at Jasper who was examining the books on the bookshelf. "I'm glad I did though."

The rest of the day seemed to go by smoothly. Jasper and I set in on Charms, Transfiguration, and Defence Against the Dark Arts and we planned to sit in on Astronomy at 9:15.

"We'll do the tour of the castle tomorrow," I told Jasper as we walked back to the room. "By now you've seen a lot of the castle, but you've yet to see everything."

Jasper laughed.

"That sounds like a plan."

The next morning, after the first class started, Jasper and I began the tour. We started out on the top floor, and decided to make our way through the floors. We came across a few of the ghosts of Hogwarts, like the Bloody Baron and Nearly Headless Nick.

"I don't understand why you call him Nearly Headless Nick," Jasper said. "He looks like his head is perfectly intact to me."

"I'll show you," I said, grinning. "Hey, Nick!"

I caught up to Nick.

"Alice!" he said, grinning. "How nice to see you!"

"It's great to see you too. Listen, my husband Jasper is confused as to why we call you Nearly Headless Nick. Could maybe show him?"

Nick smiled and nodded.

"Of course."

Nick followed me back over to Jasper, and when we came to a stop, Nick smiled.

"Hello, Jasper! My name is Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington."

As Nick bowed, his head tilted off, hanging on only by a nerve.

"Oh!" Jasper exclaimed as he jumped back.  
"Understand now?" I asked, laughing.

Jasper quickly moved behind me as Nick stood back up straight.

Nick laughs.

"I love giving the first years a scare by doing that. I scared Alice when she first came to Hogwarts."

"That's because I had just woken up," I frowned. "I think anyone would be scared by that."

Jasper chuckled and wrapped an arm around my waist.

"Just when I thought I saw he all," he murmured as Nick turned.

I shook my head.

"You'll never see it all."

We continued through out the castle, going through the Common Rooms. I paused a little bit longer as we made it into the Slytherin common room.

"If you watch closely, you may be able to see some merpeople, or even the Giant Squid," I said, standing by a window.

"What's special about the squid?" Jasper asked.  
"Absolutely nothing," I said. "It's not magical."

"How did it get here?"

I shrugged.

"Nobody knows, but we all have our theories. Some think Dad and his friends put it here as a prank, others think Newt Scamander may have brought it here."

I watched for a moment before turning back to Jasper.

"There is one more thing I want to show you," I said, taking his hand. "Harry showed me how to get in."

We left the Slytherin Common Room, and may our way back out of the dungeons.

"Where are we going?" Jasper asked as we made our way to the second floor.

"You'll understand when we get there."

As we entered the second floor bathroom, I could hear the moans of Moaning Myrtle.

"Don't upset her," I murmured. "She's slightly sensitive."

Myrtle caught sight of Jasper and I as I made my way to the snake engraved sink tap.

"What are you doing here?" Myrtle asked, her eyes narrowing. "Nobody comes in here."

"When have I ever done what everyone else does?" I asked.

"Why are you here Alice?"

"Harry and I were talking, and we thought it'd be a good idea to show Jasper the Chamber. He's heard about it, and I figured while we were here, I should show it to him."

"How is Harry?" Myrtle asked, floating down from the window sill and landing right in front of me.

"He's okay."

I traced the snake before murmuring 'open up' in Parseltongue.

As the sink exposed the pipe, Jasper watched me closely.  
"When you say the Chamber do you mean—"  
"The Chamber of Secrets," I told him.

When Jasper and I came out of the pipe, Jasper looked around.  
"Are we under the school?"

I nodded.

"Yep. You remember the history of the Chamber, don't you?"

"Sure. Salazar Slytherin didn't agree with the other founders about who should be aloud into the school, so he put in a basilisk which people believed would kill all the Muggle-Borns in the school."

I nodded.  
"That's right."

"Two of Voldemort's Horcruxes were destroyed here. The diary, and the cup that belonged to Helga Hufflepuff."

"Why did you want to bring me here?" Jasper asked.

"Because you showed interest in it when I told you about it. Harry thought it would be cool to show you. As far as we know, nobody has been down here since the last time it was opened."

"Which was in your sixth year, wasn't it?"

I nodded.

"I don't think many other people could enter the Chamber. Most witches and wizards can't speak Parseltongue."

"But Harry can?"

"Could. He said he hasn't been able to since the connection between he and Voldemort was broken."

"So how did he tell you what to say to get in?"

"He still remembers how to say it."

The rest of the week went by smoothly. All of the sixth years completed the assignment that I gave them. Jasper and I sat in on more classes, and I talked to the Defence Against the Dark Arts class about vampires.

During the Quidditch match, Jasper and I sat in the teacher's box, and Jasper watched the game very closely, listening to the student providing commentary. Gryffindor lost to Slytherin by fifty points, and once that was over, Jasper and I headed to Hogsmeade. And much like I had throughout the rest of the week, I felt like I was seventeen again.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know it's been a while. For a small period of time, I just felt uninspired, and that made writing very, very difficult. The chapter was most definitely rushed at the end, and as much as I wish it wasn't, nothing I put in that space sounded good. I'm hoping that at this point chapters will start coming up quicker, but I don't want to make any promises.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter, the good and the bad, and I hope to have one up soon.**  
 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	78. Another Phone Call

_"One phone call is all it took!" ~Pierce Brosnan_

* * *

Chapter 78-Another Phone Call

Time seemed to fly by. It seemed like there was almost no time left. Before I knew it, it was November, and half our time was gone. Jasper and I hunted about once every other week, mostly on sunny days. Before long, we fell back into a routine. We went to the Burrow around eight, stayed there until around seven, and then returned home. We stayed home on Mondays and Fridays so that Jasper and I had time together.

"Have you heard from Carlisle?" Molly asked as we made lunch for the kids, Hermione, and Ginny.  
I shook my head.  
"I don't think they want to talk to us. They haven't called us, so we haven't bothered to call them."

Molly stopped and looked at me very closely.

"Are you sure they're going to let you come back? They seem to not be as understanding as they said they were."

"I think they will….When Edward was here, he said that Esme said that she missed Jasper and me."

Molly smiled.  
"Esme sounds like a good person."  
"She reminds me of you," I said, smiling. "And then Emmett, he's like Fred and George."

"And Edward?"

"He's kind of like Perce."

"You've made connections to all of us through them, haven't you?"

I nodded.

"It's how I made it through it. I was so afraid of life without my family. For nearly twenty-two years, you were all there whenever I needed you, then suddenly, like a light turning off, you were gone."

Molly watched me.

"Alice, you know we understand why you had to go, right?"

I nodded.

"I know you do, but I still wish there was another way."

Molly shook her head.

"Ali, sweetheart, you have to stop worrying about this. You did what you have to, and don't get me wrong it was hard. But I'd rather see you here today, alive and happy, even if we haven't seen you in seven years, than never seeing you again."

As the day went on, I continued to think about what Molly said. Knowing what I knew now about James, would he have actually come for my family all those years ago? When he hunted Bella, he only pretended to take Renée.

"What're you thinking about?" Jasper asked, pulling me to him, later that night while we were laying down. "You've been quiet today."

"Have I?" I mumbled. "I hadn't noticed."

Jasper propped himself up on one of his elbows and watched me carefully.

"What is it, Ali? Talk to me. Please?"

I shook my head.

"Do you remember why Bella went to find James?"

Jasper nodded.

"She thought he had Renée."

"But he didn't. And she still went to him. It was an honorable thing to do."

"Ali, sweetheart, what are you getting at?"

"What if he wasn't going to come for my family? What if I jumped too quickly?"

Jasper didn't respond right away.

"Alice, you've been thinking about this a lot since we've come here…." he trailed off and pushed my hair out of my eyes. "Do you regret it?"

I shook my head.

"I don't regret it. If I hadn't done it, I wouldn't have met you. But I just wish I hadn't missed so much of their lives."

Jazz pressed his lips against my temple.

"Al, honey, you're here now. That's what matters. I've talked to them a lot. They are so happy that you're here."

"Are you happy that we came?"

Jasper nodded.

"Being here has helped us both. Being here, I don't feel like I'm being judged, and I get to see you so happy. Ali, I believe you made the right choice. We will never know what would have happened if you stayed. I do know, that you have brought out the best in me."

I smiled and looked up at him.

"Thank you."

Jasper smiled too.

"You worry too much about the things that can not be changed. Whether you've done the right thing or not. To me, to your family, what you did was honorable, even if you don't see it. So stop worrying. I don't want you to spend our time here worrying about whether or not you've done the right thing. Spend it with your family."

"Our," I corrected, closing my eyes. "Our family."

Jasper nodded and kissed my temple.

"Our family."

After mine and Jasper's conversation, I didn't question whether or not my decision was the right one. I wasn't sure why I suddenly had. I had never doubted my decision, but seeing how much I missed, made me wish things could be different. Yet I knew Jasper was right. I couldn't focus on worrying about the past. The things that couldn't be changed.

The energy burst came early this month. It came closer to the twelfth, rather than towards the twentieth. Jasper and I switched places, with me playing with the kids while he helped with meals, and cleaning.

"Does it mean anything?" Harry asked as we were getting ready to leave the day that my energy was at its highest point. "That it's come early I mean."

"Only that she's stressing," Jasper said, kissing my cheek.

I frowned at him.  
"I haven't been stressing."

"Yes you have," Harry said. "We've all seen it."

"You've been stressing about whether or not you've made the right decision," Jasper murmured in my ear. "About whether or not you want to leave them again. You've been talking in your sleep."

Jasper had made sure I was sleeping when I first started showing signs of my energy burst.

"But we made a deal," I said, shaking my head. "We're going back to America in February."

Jasper didn't answer. Instead, he turned back to Harry.

"Don't be worried," Jasper told him. "She'll be okay. It's nothing dangerous."

"There's no other vampire like her, is there?"  
Jasper shook his head.

"Not that I've ever seen."

Harry looked from Jasper to me and smiled.

"Alice has always been special. There has never been anyone like her."

I smiled and shook my head.

"I'm nothing special," I told Harry. "I'm definitely not the Boy Who Lived."

"Maybe not," George said. "But you are known throughout our world as the girl who helped save us all."

"I'm not a hero. Just Alice."

"Have you actually ever read any of the books they've written on you?"

"I've read bits and pieces, but that's not exactly the point."

"I hear Rita Skeeter is planning to write a book about you," Ron said as George approached the bookshelf.

"I'll have to find a copy when it drops," I laughed.

"I hear it's supposed to be published soon."

Jasper had read some of Skeeter's works. He began to understand why we didn't like her.

George returned to the couch, holding a book in his hand. I couldn't see the title, but he opened it up to a page that had been folded down.

"Listen to this," George said. "Mary Alice Black, godsister of the Boy Who Lived, was another life lost during the Second Wizarding War. To many, Black was seen as a hero for her undercover work for the Order of the Phoenix as a Death Eater. According to godbrother, Harry Potter, and close friend George Weasley, Black risked her life on numerous occasions to ensure the Order's win."

I listened to George continue reading the passage about me in the thick book.

"You may not think you're a hero, Alice," Jasper said, "but it seems the rest of the world does."

I smiled and took the book from George.

"When did this come out?"

"A little over a year after you died," Harry said. "I came across it in Diagon Alley and got it for George. Fred is in there too."

I flipped through the pages of the book until big bold letters reading 'Fred Weasley' was staring back at me.

On the page, a picture of Fred and George stared back at me. Fred was grinning widely and waving.

I smiled and showed the page to Jasper.

"I don't have that picture," I said, tapping the page. "But I did take it."

Jasper smiled.

"It's a good picture."

"We took it the summer before their final year at Hogwarts."

"We were about to go to Diagon Alley," George said. "Alice needed some books for her Auror training."

"How did you do Auror training if you were hiding out in a cave with your father?" Jasper asked.

"By this point, he was living in Grimmauld Place. But even when he was in the cave, we weren't there all the time. Only when Dad was especially lonely, or if we were bringing Buckbeak food. People would notice if I went missing. They would immediately think I knew the whereabouts of my father, and I would be punished as well."

Jasper watched me carefully.

"I guess that would make sense," he agreed.

"Of course it makes sense," I smiled.

"How much of the Black heirlooms did you recover from Mundungus Fletcher?" I asked Harry after a moment.

"Most of them. They're still at Grimmauld Place."

"One day, once I recover, could we go?" I asked.

Harry nodded.

"Of course. They are still your things."

I shook my head.

"You got the house and all the things inside. Technically, they are yours."

Harry shook his head, almost as if he was mimicking me.

"Alice, I am not a Black. I am a Potter."

"And I am a Whitlock now."

"But you are still of Black blood," Harry argued. "In the end, you are able to take what you want."

I sighed and turned to Jasper.

"Everyone here is so stubborn," I mumbled to him.

Jasper laughed.

"So are you, Darlin'."

I sighed again, this time shaking my head.

As the week went on, and my energy decreased, Jasper and I wasn't at the Burrow as often. George came over a lot when he wasn't working to come and see me. Jasper would go look at the books I had left in the study.

"Sometimes," I told George, a few days before my energy would be at the lowest, "if I tilt my head the right way, I mistake you for Fred."

"Do you?"

I nodded.

"I don't get how," George said, smiling as he looked at the floor. "Freddie wasn't missing an ear."

"I forget about it," I told him. "You're still the Georgie I grew up with. You're just older now. Married, with a kid." I laughed and shook my head.

"And you are still the same old Alice. You haven't changed a bit. You're just married now."

"And a vampire."

"I don't notice that," George said, shaking his head. "You're still you. You look exactly the same as you did seven years ago."

"You look the same," I said, reaching out to touch his cheek. "But you're happier now."

"So are you. Happier than I've seen you in a long time."

I smiled.

"George?"

"Yes, Alice?"

"I'm sorry. It wasn't fair to leave so soon after Freddie died."

"Alice, we all understand. You did what you had to do to keep us safe."

"I know that. But the timing—"

"Nobody had a say in the timing."

I sighed.

"George Weasley, ever the optimist."

"Mary Alice Black, ever the doubter."

I laughed.

"I guess I have always been pessimistic."

Time passed and I grew weaker. With that weakness, Jasper hovered protectively.

"How are you feeling?" Jasper murmured.

"Tired," I croaked.

"You should sleep," Jasper said. "Just for a little while."

I shook my head.

"Not yet."

Jasper sighed, and wrapped an arm around my waist, pulling me to him.

"Why not?"

"I'm not ready to sleep."

"You should go to sleep soon, Al."

"I will. I just want to talk to you a little while longer."

Jasper chuckled.

"Ali, we have forever to talk."

"And I have forever to sleep."

Jasper shook his head.

"I guess you do. Was there something, in particular, you wanted to talk about?"

I shook my head.

"I just like hearing you talk."

I took the sleeping potion close to midnight. I could feel myself growing weaker and weaker, and Jasper made the executive decision to give me the potion.

"Sleep tight, Ali," he murmured kissing my forehead.

"You're going to stay, aren't you?"

Jasper nodded.

"Of course I am. I'm just going to run downstairs and get a couple of books."

Jasper was back before I fully fell asleep. Despite my eyes being closed, I felt the bed sink slightly as he laid back down, and I felt him pull me back to him.

I could feel myself slipping into the Netherworld. I had become all too familiar with the sensation now. I was eager to see who was waiting for me there.

 _I was waiting in the living room. Jasper, of course, was nowhere to be found. It was quiet for a moment, and I was all too sure I was alone._

 _"I'm sorry I'm late," Remus said, stepping through the door from the hallway. "I haven't been here in so long, and I had no clue where to find you."_

 _I stared at him for a moment. It'd been so long since I'd spoken to him._

 _"Well don't just sit there, Al," he teased, smiling._

 _"I'm sorry, I just wasn't expecting you here," I said, rising to my feet. "I thought maybe Freddie or Mum would come."_

 _Remus shook his head._

 _"Fred wanted to come. But I wanted to come to see you this time. That's okay, isn't it?"_

 _I smiled and nodded._

 _"That's perfectly okay."_

 _Remus came and sat down at the other end of the couch. There was a large gap between us, so I pulled my legs onto the couch, tucking them away underneath me._

 _"I don't know how to do this," Remus admitted, shaking his head. "We haven't talked in so long."_

 _"That's partially my fault I suppose," I said, shaking my head. "The last thing I told you before you died was that I hated you."_

 _"Understandably so," Remus said. "You were upset with me. I broke up with you, hours after your father died, then a little over a year later I married your cousin. I then went on to give her everything that I denied you."_

 _I shook my head._

 _"I can understand that too, I suppose," I said, looking down at my wedding ring. "I found what you had with Tonks."_

 _"Ah, yes, Jasper," Remus said with a smile. "I've watched the two of you together. It's been nice to see you so happy. Although I don't think he likes me very much, I can't blame him for that either."_

 _"It's not that he hates you, Re. It's more that he doesn't understand why you did what you did."_

 _Remus shook his head._

 _"Alice I'm so sorry for what I did to you. You never deserved that. But you did deserve so much more than me. But you've found that now."_

 _I shook my head._

 _"Let's not talk about this. Please?"_

 _Remus nodded._

 _"What should we talk about then?"_

 _"How about Teddy? I'm sure you're dying to hear about your son."_

 _Remus smiled and nodded._

 _"You've taken a liking to you, hasn't he?"_

 _I laughed and nodded._

 _"He's very curious about you and about Tonks. I wish there was more I could tell him."_

 _"Tell him that his mother and father loved him very much and that they made sure they would make him safe, in the same way, that you did."_

 _I nodded._

 _"I'll tell him the next time that I see him. I doubt that will be soon. Andromeda didn't want to bring him back around here before she knew that I was fully recovered from the energy thing."_

 _"Tell me about Jasper. What's he like?"_

 _"He's kind and loving, and smart. He works so hard to ensure that I am happy, and he is so patient when things get hard."_

 _"He loves you very much. I never thought it was possible for someone to love another person the way that he loves you. But then I saw the two of you together, and I saw you so happy."_

 _Remus shook his head, smiling._

 _"When Jasper and I first came to England, we visited the cemetery."_

 _Remus nodded._

 _"I heard you guys. We all did. Tell Jasper I understand why he's angry. I'm angry with myself too. But tell him that I had little to do with making you into the woman that he loves. That was the works of the two of you."_

 _I nodded._  
 _"I'll let him know."_

 _Remus smiled._

 _"We've forgotten how to talk to each other," Remus said, shaking his head._

 _I laughed._

 _"I guess we have. But I think once we get over the awkwardness of everything, then we'll do okay."_

 _Remus nodded._

 _"I hope so."_

 _"Oh, Remus?"_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"I'm sorry. I wish I wasn't angry for so long."_

 _"I know, Alice."_

 _Remus and I talked about Jasper and Teddy more. We stayed away from any mention of us._

 _"How's Tonks?" I asked._

 _"She's good. She wanted me to tell you that she's sorry, and thank you for being so kind to Teddy. She also says that she feels like she has no right to ask this of you, seeing as she was less than kind to you, but she wants you to tell Andromeda that she and her father are okay and that they love her."_

 _"I'll tell her the next time that I see her."_

 _Remus nodded._  
 _"Thank you, Alice. How do you know when it's time for you to go?"_

 _"We'll know," I smiled. "It won't be long now."_

 _"Will Jasper be upset that I came here?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"He understands."_

 _"Would it be okay if I came back sometime?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"Maybe it won't be so hard next time."_

 _"It wasn't hard when you used the Resurrection Stone."_

 _"I think that's because we had everyone else there."_

 _"Maybe," Remus agreed. "I guess we'll never know."_

 _By the time it was time for me to leave, it wasn't so awkward between Remus and I. I had come to realize our time was up long before Remus did._

 _"I'll see you soon, Re," I told him smiling._

 _"It's time for you to go, isn't it?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"But you've said so yourself. I won't be gone forever."_

 _Remus nodded._

 _"You're right."_

 _"Aren't I always?" I teased. "I'll see you soon."_

 _"Goodbye, Alice."_

I didn't dream after leaving the Netherworld. I could hear Jasper humming and the rustle of the book pages. I listened quietly while I slept, and before long, the potion wore off.

"Jasper," I mumbled, quietly, my eyes still closed.

Jasper kissed my forehead and smiled.

"Morning, sunshine."

"What time is it?"

"Four in the morning."

"Four?"

"You didn't sleep very long. Did you have a nightmare?"

I shook my head.

"I went to the Netherworld, the dream place..." I trailed off, gesturing to nothing in particular.  
Even after these last couple months, I didn't know how to describe it.  
"Really? Who'd you see?"

"Remus," I said, sheepishly.

"Remus," Jasper repeated. "What did you and Remus talk about?"

"You and Teddy," I said, adjusting myself to where I was propped up on an elbow. When my arm started shaking, Jasper adjusted me to where his arm was wrapped around me, and I was resting on his shoulder. "Remus wants me to tell you that he understands why you're upset with him and that he had little to do with making me into the woman that you love. He said that you and I shaped me into that person."

Jasper grinned at me.

"And what do you think?"

"I think that you've helped me to become this version of me," I mumbled, kissing his jaw.

Jasper nuzzled his nose against my temple.

"How are you feeling, Darlin'?"

"Tired," I said, closing my eyes. "But I'm not ready to go back to sleep. I just want to rest for a little while."

Jasper nodded.

"That's fine, Al. Just let me know when you're ready to sleep."

"Are you okay?"

"What do you mean am I okay?"

"Are you thirsty? Are you upset and you need to talk? Are you okay?"

"I'm a little thirsty," he murmured, his lips brushing against my cheek. "But we still have leftovers in the fridge from when we went hunting last week."  
Jasper and I had gotten into the habit of bringing blood home for the energy decline. Jasper wondered if maybe that would restore my eternal balance.

"Why don't you go get us something?" I murmured, smiling up at him.

Jasper slipped out from under me and kissed my forehead.

"I'll be back in a little bit."

Jasper walked swiftly out of the room, and I shrank underneath the cover onto the center of the bed.

I didn't keep track of how long Jasper had been gone, but in what seemed like a minute, he was pulling the blanket off on me.

"Are you sure you don't wanna go back to sleep?" Jasper asked as he helped me sit up before handing me one of the cups.

I nodded.  
"I'm not ready yet."

Jasper smiled.

As Jasper sat back down, I leaned on his shoulder smiling.

"Jaz?"

"Yes, Al?"

"Thank you."

"For what?" he asked, turning to face me with an eyebrow raised.

"Staying with me today."  
Jasper laughed and kissed my forehead.

"Of course, Alice. I stay with you every energy burst and every decline. And I stay with you whenever you need me."

"I'll always need you," I mumbled, closing my eyes.

Somewhere at the other end of the room, I could hear the phone ringing quietly.

"Jasper," I mumbled against his shoulder. "Can you get the phone?"

Jasper nodded and slipped off of the bed, and made his way to the dresser.

"It's Edward," he said, handing me the phone.

I answered it, putting it on speaker.

"Hey, Edward," I croaked. "How's it going? Did you find her?"

"Victoria? She's hiding out in Nunavut," he said.

"Alice can't track her," Jasper said. "Her energy is at its lowest. You know how her visions are when she's like that."

"I can hear it in her voice," Edward said. "I didn't need her to track Victoria. I know where she is already. She's in Fort Conger. I didn't wake Alice, did I?"

I shook my head.

"I was already awake."

"She probably won't be for much longer," Jasper said.

"Well then I won't keep you waiting," Edward said.

"Waiting for what?" I asked, looking up at Jasper, questioningly.

Jasper shrugged and wrapped an arm around my waist.

"I called because there was something I wanted to talk to you about," Edward said. "It isn't exactly a social call."

"Oh," I said, in surprise. "Well go on, then."

"Yesterday, I was checking in on Carlisle and the others. I call them about once or twice a month."

"And?" Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow at the phone.

"Alice, when are you guys coming home? Back to America?"

"Not yet," I said. "I'm not ready to leave yet."

"You've been gone for months!"

"It's been two," I said. "That's not that long."

"Your family misses you," Edward said. "You don't even call them!"

"We still stand by our decision," Jasper said. His voice was full of authority. "They can call us when they want to talk."

"You guys are not my only family," I whispered. "The people here, they are my family too."

"Alice, please," Edward said. "I don't want to argue with you. Please. Come home."

"Are you coming home, Edward?"

The line was quiet for a moment.

"You know that's not the same thing," Edward said. His voice was almost as quiet as mine.

I shook my head.

"It's really no difference."

"You're being selfish, Alice," Edward snapped.

"I'm being selfish?" I repeated in disbelief. "How am I selfish? My family hasn't seen me in seven years! They thought I was dead! I haven't seen them in fifty-seven years! How am I being selfish?"

"None of us get to see our families!" Edward yelled. "For us, this coven _is_ our family! Why should you be any different?"

I couldn't give him a direct answer. Anything I thought of was too harsh, and I knew Edward was upset.

"Alice," Jasper murmured into my ear, "you need to calm down. Stressing is not good for you."

I tried to listen to Jasper, but it was hard. It's unfair that they believed I should drop everything and run back to America.

"She's not saying that you guys aren't her family," Jasper told Edward in a voice that I only heard when he was angry. "But the situations between your transformation and Alice's are not the same. Alice's family can know about us. They live in hiding in the same way that we do. Our families, our human families, they would have never understood."

"We aren't coming home yet," I told Edward as calmly as I could manage. "We aren't coming home until February as we planned. I think it's very unfair of you to condemn me for not coming home when you don't plan to come home yourself."

"I already told you," Edward said with gritted teeth. "It's different."

"No, Edward," I whispered. "It's no different."

"So you're not coming home?"

"No," Jasper said, "we've both told you. We aren't coming back until the date that Alice and I agreed on."

"Well at least call _them_ ," Edward said. "Tell them you're not coming home."

The line went dead, and I sat frozen, still holding onto the phone.

"Alice," Jasper murmured in my ear. "I'm going to call Carlisle."

I dropped the phone which he quickly picked up and began to punch in the familiar number.

Carlisle answered quickly. Jasper put the phone on speaker.

"Alice?"

"Jasper actually," he corrected.

"Oh! Jasper, how are you?"

"I would be better if Edward hadn't just called to tell Alice that she was selfish for wanting to stay and see her family!"

"Edward did that?" Carlisle asked. I could picture him frowning.

"He did."

"Where's Alice now?"

"Next to me. Her energy is at its lowest point. But she's very upset."

"We never asked him to do that," Esme said quietly. I looked at the phone when I heard her voice. "We told you when you left to take all the time you need. It's not Edward's place to tell Alice that."

"We're coming home in February as we planned," Jasper said.

"We understand," Esme said. "Are we on speaker?"

"Yes," Jasper said, running a hand through his hair.

"Alice, dear," Esme said, catching my full attention. "We're sorry Edward said this to you. Especially today out of all days. We understand why you left, and why you have to stay. You know that you are welcome to come home whenever you are ready."

"I know," I said, nodding.

"We'll let you go so Alice can rest," Carlisle said.  
"But call us soon!" Esme said.

"We will," I whispered as my throat went dry.

Jasper hung up the phone and placed it on the bedside table.

"Don't be upset," he murmured in my ear. "You haven't done anything wrong.

"Am I being selfish?" I asked Jasper quietly.

"No," Jasper said, his hair brushing against my face as he shook his head. "You are most definitely not selfish."

"I think I'm ready to go back to sleep," I said, wiggling to set my cup down on the table, and grabbed the potion.

Before long, I was drifting back into a dreamless sleep, so deep not even Edward could follow.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know this chapter is short, but I didn't want it to seem dragged out. I want to take a second to thank you all for hanging with me. Sometimes things get hectic, and I have no clue when the uploads will come.**

 **Also a huge thank you to all the people, new and old, who has followed Leaving It All Behind. It means a lot to me, even if it seems to be something little and insignificant to all of you. I hope you all enjoyed this chapter and all the chapters to come!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review!**


	79. Christmas

_"If we are to have the very best Christmas ever, we must listen for the sound of sandaled feet." ~Thomas. S. Monson_

* * *

Chapter 79- Christmas

I started my Christmas shopping right after I recovered from the energy burst. Jasper came with me somedays, and then the day I was going to find his gift, he stayed at the house, and Harry came with me.

"How long do you think it took you?" Harry asked as I looked through the books in Flourish and Blotts, "to figure out what Jasper would like and what he wouldn't?"

"I'd say maybe a year or two. Edward said that Jasper used to love whatever I gave him solely because it came from me."

Harry smiled.

"I believe that. I can see that Jasper cares for you. I've never seen somebody love someone as much as you two love each other."

"People always tell me that," I said.

"That's because it's true."

I smiled and shook my head.

I had found various things for Jasper that I was sure he was going to like. As Harry and I walked through Diagon Alley, a headline of the Prophet caught my eye. In big bold letters it read, _RITA SKEETER, NEW BOOK TO DROP NEXT WEEK._

I hadn't seen the Prophet before I left. I had asked Jasper to take care of it so Harry and I could get an early start.

"Har, have you seen the Prophet?" I asked, picking up one of the papers off the stand.

Harry shook his head and stepped behind me.  
"What's the book about?" Harry asked, reading over my shoulder.

"Me," I said, pointing to one of the lines. "It's called Mary Alice Black: The Good and the Evil."

"I'll admit," Harry said, taking the paper from me, "it's definitely not one of her best titles."

I laughed and readjusted my bag.

"I suppose it's not. We'll have to come to the book launch."

"Did you see the book she published about me?"

I shook my head.

"I didn't know she wrote one about you."

Harry nodded.

"Right after the end of the war."

"I suppose Hermione's lesson taught her nothing."

"I don't think it did. But I think you could give her a good scare."

"Probably could," I said, laughing.

Harry smiled.

"Do you think you're going to?"

I shook my head.

"As soon as I go back to America she'll probably think she's in the clear."

"And MACUSA won't let you turn the fireplace into a Floo System?"

I shook my head.

"They told me that the ratio of Muggles to witches and wizards was too high. Six to one."

"Even though the ratio of vampires to humans is higher? Seven to none?"

I nodded.  
"They may be vampires, but they're still Muggles."

"Why is America so testy about Muggles?"

"The Salem Witch Trials," I shrugged. "I can understand it. Jasper taught me about them years ago. I didn't know much about it before. Apparently, in the 1600s, Muggles began accusing people of witchcraft. Women and young girls in particular. They would hang them, even if it wasn't true. The witches and wizards of America are highly cautious that if anyone finds them out, the trails will start again. It's understandable."

"But they don't think that the Cullens could sell you out if it'll expose them too, do they?"

"No, but we do have several Muggles coming in and out. Could you imagine Carlisle having colleagues from work over, and you popping out of the fireplace? Boy Who Lived or not, MACUSA would have a field day with us."

I shook my head and smiled.

"What about if you moved out of the Cullens? Do you think they would let you then?"

I shrugged.  
"I guess that depends on whether I was in a Muggle-populated or a wizarding-populated."

Harry sighed, and shook his head.

"I can understand it, but it makes communicating with you difficult. Do you think Carlisle will change his mind about you having an owl?"

I shook my head.  
"Probably not."

"How will you get into contact if you need me?"

"I suppose I'll find a way to get an owl to you."

"Maybe you could get one, and it can have free range unless you need it."

I grinned.  
"Now that's an idea."

Harry and I decided that we would talk to Jasper about the idea, and if he agreed, we would return to Diagon Alley next week to get the owl, and Rita Skeeter's new book about me.

"What would you want?" Harry asked.

"A snowy owl," I said, smiling. "I always thought that Hedwig was beautiful."

Harry too smiled as we came up upon the Leaky Cauldron.

"I'm sure it won't take much to convince Jasper."

"Probably not," I agreed. "But I still want to make sure that he is comfortable with it. I'm sure he wants some kind of normalcy to his life. Which, don't get me wrong I don't blame him, but Jasper and I have two different ideas of normalcy."

"I find both the Muggle world and the Wizarding world normal. I just feel more out of place in the Muggle world. My friends, my family, they're all here."

I sighed.

"I suppose that is one of the things that makes it difficult. I feel more at home in one place, but my husband, he feels more at home in the other."

Harry patted my shoulder.

"You guys will work it out, I'm sure."

Before long, Harry and I were stepping through the fireplace, each one with a different destination than the other.

"How was it?" Jasper asked, kissing my cheek.

"It was great. I actually have something to ask you."

Jasper frowned.

"It's nothing bad?" He questioned.

I shook my head.

"Not at all."

Jasper relaxed and motioned for me to continue.

"How would you feel about getting an owl?"

"An owl," Jasper repeated. "Didn't Carlisle say no?"

"Technically," I said, leaning back against the arm of the couch. "However, I figured that I could have it in case I needed to quickly get in contact with Harry, or George. And it wouldn't stay in our room back in America. We'll let it out before we board the plane, and it will follow us to the address I give it. Even then, it won't be inside often."

"You really want an owl, don't you?"

I nodded.

"Only if you're okay with it."

Jasper nodded.  
"If you're serious about it, okay. But you're going to be the one to explain it to Carlisle."

I grinned.

"I will."

"When are we going?"

"Next Thursday. Rita Skeeter is having a book release, and Harry and I want to go."

"Why? I thought you don't like her writing."

"I don't." I paused and watched him for a minute. "Did you not read the Prophet this morning?"

Jasper shook his head.

"I paid the owl, and gave him the treat, but I left it on the table."

I darted to the kitchen, grabbed the paper, and in the next second I was back at Jasper's side. I showed him the paper and tapped the heading.

"Read this article, and you'll see why we want to go."

I sat quietly while Jasper read the article. He placed the paper on the coffee table and frowned at me.  
"How much of it do you think is true?"

I shrugged.

"Probably not much if any."

"Did you know her well?"

"She asked me for comments when Harry was drafted for the Triwizard Tournament, when Dumbledore left the school after Voldemort's return when my father died, and again when Dumbledore died. I didn't typically answer her though. I think she knows Ron, Harry, and Hermione better than she knows me."

Throughout the next week, I cleaned up some space in the living room where the owl would go. When they believed I was dead, Harry and George had thrown out all of the owl stuff I had, so I was going to get new stuff when we went to Diagon Alley.

During that time, Rita Skeeter was also publicizing her new book. I had even overheard that Witch Weekly, was thinking about doing an interview with me to discuss my opinion on Rita's book.

"Are you going to do it?" George asked.

"I'm not sure," I said. "I guess it all depends on whether or not they ask."

"I think you should," Hermione said. "It's not fair that she keeps getting away with it. And I'm sure you out of all people could scare her."

"Come on," Bill teased, grinning at me. "Alice? She couldn't hurt a fly."

"Bill, you should know better than to underestimate Alice," Jasper said, wrapping his arm around my waist. "She's small, but she's terrifying when she's angry."

I beamed widely, the light glinting off of my teeth.

The days passed, and before we knew it, it was the day of Rita Skeeter's book release.

"I don't want to be first in line," I told Harry, Jasper, and George as we were making our way to Diagon Alley. "It's no fun if I'm the first person she sees."

Jasper, George, and Harry all looked at each other and grinned.

"What?" I asked, looking at the three of them.

"It's nothing," Jasper smiled.

"We just find it funny that you intend to scare Rita," Harry said.

"Someone has to," I shrugged.

As we approached Flourish and Blotts, I could see that there was a small line, but a big enough one to where we wouldn't be the first ones. It was also moving quickly, so Jasper, Harry, George, and I took our opportunity to fall into place.

The line was moving quick, and as I stepped inside, Flourish and Blotts, I could see that Rita Skeeter was set up at a small table, signing the books for what few fans she had left.

I put the hood of my cloak up to where my face was covered and turned to fix Jasper's.

"The element of surprise is always fun to have," I grinned.

When I was next in line, I watched carefully as the woman in front of me made small talk with Rita. I didn't pay much attention to what was being said, however, I did hear the woman mention Rita being careful about spreading lies about people.

"Who says they're lies, dearie?" Rita called after the woman.

I stepped up to the table as Rita pulled a book off the stack and opened it up to the front cover.

"Who do I make it out to?" Rita asked.

"Why don't you make it out to Mary Alice and Jasper Whitlock," I said, taking the hood off of my cloak.  
Rita looked up at me, wide-eyed.

"Alice, I-I didn't think you were going to be here."

"And miss the big release of book you wrote on me? Definitely not. I wouldn't miss this for the world."

Rita didn't look me in the eyes.  
"Mrs. Whitlock, please I—"

I held up a finger, and she immediately stopped talking.

"You shouldn't have anything to worry about Rita," I said, tilting my head to the side. "Assuming that everything you wrote was accurate, then it shouldn't be an issue."

Rita's face went white, as she pushed the book to me, and turned to the worker of the store.  
"Mrs. Whitlock gets her copy free of charge."

"Do you think Harry and George could get one too?" I asked, pointing to Harry and George behind me. "I know that they are dying to read it just as much as I am."

Rita Skeeter looked between Harry and George to me and Jasper.

"Mr. Whitlock would you like a copy of your own?" she asked.

Jasper shook his head.

"No."

"Very well then," she nodded. "Mrs. Whitlock, Mr. Potter, and Mr. Weasley get their books free. I'll pay the charge in a little while."

The clerk nodded. And took the three books, wrapping each one of them in a parcel.  
"Thank you, sir," I said, grinning. "Oh and, Rita?"

"Yes, Mrs. Whitlock?" she asked, gulping.

"I'll see you soon too. To let you know what I think of the book."

I beamed at her, the venom on my teeth gleaming in the light before I made my way out the door.

Jasper, Harry, and George came out of Flourish and Blotts, all three of their laughs echoing through the alleyway.

"She's terrified," Jasper told me, grinning.

"I think she's convinced you're going to find her once you finish the book," Harry said.

"I'm sure she is," I said. "Although it didn't take much for her to admit that there were many lies in the book….although I don't suppose she ever actually admitted it."

"Are you actually going to go find her?" Jasper asked.

I shook my head.

"She's not worth the fight. Although I may do the interview with Witch Weekly."

"Have you gotten the letter?"

I nodded.

"It came this morning."

"It couldn't hurt," George said.

"When would the interview be?"

"Right before Christmas."

"So sometime next week?"

I nodded.

"I think she should do it," Jasper told Harry and George. "She's said she's worried about the publicity."

"Alice, you're the godsister of the Boy Who Lived," George said. "Not to mention you helped defeat the darkest wizard of our time. I think we're way passed a publicity issue."

I sighed.

"I'll owl them when I get home. But first, we have to go get the owl."

We made our way across the alley to Eeylops Owl Emporium.

"Do you know what kind you're getting yet?" Jasper asked.

"A snowy owl," I said. "Like I told Harry. They're beautiful."

"What about names?"

"I have a few picked out," I said. "But that depends on the gender of the owl."

As we entered the store, George and Harry went to go get supplies while Jasper and I went to go look at the owls.

I found one snowy owl who bared a striking resemblance to Hedwig, although the wings were less spotted than Hedwig's had been.

"Can I help you?" the store clerk asked.

"I'd like to have that owl please," I said, pointing to the owl's cage.

The store clerk looked to where I pointed and moved around me to get the cage down.

"Have you ever had an owl before?"

"One," I said, nodding. "A long time ago. His name was Regulus. I got him here."

The clerk tilted his head.

"How long ago was that?"

"Oh, I'd say a few years shy of twenty years ago," I said.

He shook his head.

"I wasn't here at that time. I had finished up Hogwarts the year before, and I had taken a year off to travel. Although, I do know your face. You're Mary Alice Black. Harry Potter's godsister."

"Sister," Harry corrected, coming up next to Jasper and I. He and George were both carrying stuff. "And, Alice got married. Her last name is Whitlock now."

"I apologize, Mr. Potter, sir."

The clerk passed the owl cage to me and waved for us to meet him at the counter.

"Have you thought of a name for him?" the clerk asked.

I nodded.

"Paris."

"Like the city?"

"Sorta," I said. "I was thinking more along the lines of the Greek mythology story. Prince Paris of Troy?"

The clerk shook his head.

"Sorry, ma'am. I don't remember much about Greek Mythology."

I laughed.

"Most people don't."

After we checked out, and I placed all the supplies in my bag, Jasper, Harry, George, and I headed back for the house.

"Where are you setting up at?" Harry asked, as I sat the cage on the desk in the living room.

"Right here," I told him. "Where I had Regulus set up."

I turned to Paris, who was sleeping in his cage.

"I wonder how mad Carlisle is going to be," I said, tapping the cage.

"I'm sure he'll get over it," Jasper murmured, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder.

I turned in his arms to where I was facing him, and put my arms around my neck.

"I suppose we'll find out when we get home."

"Is the date still in February?" George asked.

I peered around Jasper and nodded.

"Yeah, Georgie, that's the plan."

"Do you think we could come to visit you sometime?"

I nodded.

"You're welcome anytime."

George smiled.

"Good. We'll leave you two alone to get everything situated."

I nodded.

"I'll see you soon, Georgie."

"Bye, Al," Harry said.

I waved, and then with two pops, they were gone, and Jasper and I began to set up the stuff for Paris.

Rita Skeeter's book about me was actually rather interesting to read. Don't get me wrong, I a lot of the facts were inaccurate, however, it was interesting to see what she had come up with.

"She mentions my father some," I told Jasper. "She talks about the crimes that he was believed to have committed up until his death, adds her opinion on his final judgment…" I trailed off as I set back into the page I was on.

"How much of it is true?" Jasper asked, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"So far, a little under a quarter. Listen to this, she says, 'What exactly drove Mary Alice Black to join the Death Eaters? Did she blame Harry Potter for the death of her father? Or was it losing Remus Lupin? Another popular theory was that Alice Black was tired of living in the shadows of Harry Potter.'"

I scoffed and turned to Jasper

"Does that sound like me at all?"

Jasper shook his head.

"No, Ali."

I shook my head.

"I wonder where she comes up with this stuff."

"Have you heard back from Witch Weekly?"

I nodded.

"They're coming to the house Tuesday to do the interview."

For the next couple of days, I studied the book closely, making notes of errors, and so forth. The things that were clearly wrong, I left alone and decided that if they questioned it, I would talk about.

Jasper read through my notes the day before the interview and helped make some side notes stating his opinion. Harry and George also read through it, telling me what they thought of certain chapters, like the one dedicated to Jasper, and who he actually was, as well as the one discussing what Rita thought happened during my seven-year disappearance.

"Some things," Harry said, handing me his copy of the notes, "is clearly wrong, but I did comment on some of them."

"Thank you for doing this," I said, smiling.

"Of course," Harry said. "At least someone is actually speaking against her."

"Hermione did," I pointed out.

"Hermione simply held her in a jar and threatened her. She never publicly spoke out against Rita."

I shrugged.

"Maybe it won't be so bad."

"It may end up ruining her career," George said, handing me his copy of his notes.

"I think she's already done that on her own," I said, setting the set of notes together. I planned on going through them tonight, and pull out the ones that would fit inside of the interview.

"I went through the book several times," George said, pointing to my stack of notes. "I sometimes wonder where she came up with some of the stuff that she did."

"I know she pulled some of it out of interviews we did after Alice died," Harry said. "She spun what we said out of proportion."

"Do you have copies of those interviews?" I asked, looking from Harry to George.

"Notes about them are in there," Harry said, pointing to his stack. I flipped through his notes to where he mentioned the interview.

"I don't understand how she can easily ruin people's lives without a second thought," I murmured more to myself than to the others. "Look at what she did to Dumbledore! And the man had just died for Merlin's sake!"

"That's why you're doing this interview, Darlin'," Jasper said, placing a hand on my shoulder. As he did so, any anger I held towards Rita faded into calm.

"Thank you," I murmured, reading through the notes.

"Anytime," he said, swooping down to kiss my cheek.

After Harry and George left that night, I began to flip through all of the notes, and took out repeats of any, and tried to find the most prominent from each of the note sets.

I worked right up until right before Witch Weekly was due at the house. Jasper helped. He gave his suggestions about whether or not things should be added or taken out.

"I think it's about as good as it's going to get," I said, closing the folder.

"It's going to be great," Jasper said, grinning.

"You're still going to be here?"  
Jasper nodded.

"Of course. I'll be right here the whole time."

The faint voices I could hear from outside caught my attention.

"They're here!" I exclaimed. "I haven't changed yet!"

"Go change, and I'll go get the door."

"Thanks, you're the best."

I kissed his cheek and sped up the stairs.

I put on a pair of high waisted black slacks with a long sleeved white flowy shirt. I matched those with a pair of black heels and my choker with the Cullen crest on it.  
"Alice should be down any moment," Jasper was telling the reporter as I made my way down the stairs. "Can I get you anything? Tea? Coffee?"

"Tea would be great," the reporter said as I stepped in the room. "Good morning, Mrs. Whitlock! My name is Claire Smith, and I'll be interviewing you today."

"Good morning," I smiled. "Forgive me, I was working right until you got here."

"That's alright. We've still got to set up."

"Would you like to set up in here, or in the study maybe?"  
"Here will do fine. And we'd like to get a couple pictures outside if you don't mind.

I shook my head.  
"I don't mind at all."

I stepped up to the window and moved the drapes. It was sunny outside.

"Don't worry, Mrs. Whitlock," the photographer said. "We'll make sure that you are in the shade."

I nodded.

"Thank you."

We didn't get started until about ten minutes later when Jasper brought tea.

"Thank you, Jazz," I murmured, patting his hand.

"I think we'll start with photos," Claire told me.

I nodded, and Jasper and I stepped outside.

"If you don't mind, we'd like to get a few without Jasper down by the willow tree, and then have a few with him back here."

"That's okay with me," I said, turning to Jasper.

"It will give me time to go get ready," Jasper said.

I nodded and kissed his cheek.  
"We'll be right back."

They took about five different pictures of me and the willow tree. A few with me actually in the tree, and a few with me sitting or laying below it.

We caught a few with Jasper and me on the porch of the house.  
"We'll also be periodically taking pictures during the interview," Claire said.

I nodded.  
"That's perfectly fine."

The interview started closer to noon. Jasper brought more tea as well as finger sandwiches for the crew.

"Thank you, dear," I murmured, as he placed a hand on my shoulder.

"Of course, Darlin'."

Claire looked up at Jasper and then back at me.

"Where did you say you found this one?'

"Philadelphia, in 1948," I laughed.

"And he doesn't maybe have like a great-great-grandchild does he?"

I laughed and shook my head.

"Not that I know of."

"Not possible," Jasper smiled. "I was never married before Ali."

"Maybe your siblings had some children?"

Jasper shook his head.  
"I was an only child. Unless Mom and Dad had kids after my transformation."

"Well let me just say, Mrs. Whitlock you are very lucky, and you two were made for each other."

I grinned at Claire.

"I'd like to think so too."

"So last time we did an interview with you, you had just come back to England, and you were living with Molly and Arthur Weasley, yes?"

I nodded.

"We did."

"Why did you move here?"

"Well at the time, we weren't sure how long we were going to stay, and Molly and Arthur both felt like we all deserved our privacy. So Jasper and I moved here."

"This house belonged to your mother and father, yes?"

I nodded.

"It did. I moved here right after I turned twenty, and redecorated a bit. And then Jasper and I changed up some things when we moved back."

"Well, I must say, it is absolutely beautiful."

"Thank you."

Claire moved to pick up a notepad and a quill as well as setting up an inkpot on the table between the two couches.

"Alright then, let's get started. Now, Alice, many people questioned whether or not you would do this interview. Tell me. Why did you?"

I nodded.

"For years, I've watched Rita Skeeter spread all these lies about people, and if the right people believe her, then that can ruin a person's image forever. What makes this so different in my case, is that she's always targeted people who are dead. Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape, Armando Dippet. But for me, I'm not dead. Typically I wouldn't have said anything, but then she involved my husband and my family, and I wasn't going to let her spread lies about them."

"Was it true that you threatened Rita Skeeter the day of the book release?"

I shook my head.

"No. I didn't threaten her. She was intimidated by my presence, and I simply told her that if the book was completely factual as she states it is, then she should have nothing to fear."

"And was it factual?"

"There were some things that she got right."

"Like?"

"Well she got a lot of dates right, however, the context of those events were wrong."

"Can you give us an example?"

I nodded and pulled my notes off the coffee table and flipped through them.

"Okay, so take for example my initiation into the Death Eaters. She got the time frame right. About a week and a half after my father died, and it was about a month later that I was branded. However, the reason she gave, and the actual reason were two different things. She says I joined because I was angry with Harry. That's not true. I joined to save Harry. To save everyone!"

"Albus Dumbledore asked you to join, is that correct?"

I nodded.

"He had been told by Severus Snape that Voldemort wanted to recruit me. He had seen my abilities both as a witch, and my abilities to see the future. He figured he'd rather have me on his side than against him."

"So you were in no way angry at Harry Potter?"  
I shook my head.

"I had no reason to be. It wasn't his fault. None of this was. I'm sure if he had the choice, this is not the life he would have chosen for himself."

Claire nodded.

"Right then. Now in the book, Rita talks a lot about your childhood. She mentions possible abuse from your father after the death of your mother. Was that true?"

I shook my head.

"Not in the slightest. My father was more distant. He lost the love of his life. But he never once hit me."

"What about Mr. Lupin? It's no secret that you went into your last year at Hogwarts with several scars."

"Not from abuse. I had transformed into an Animagus to help Remus with the full moon cycles when he would transform into a werewolf."

"Did he ask you to do that, as Rita says."

I shook my head.

"No. I chose that on my own. Remus actually fought me a lot about it. He told me that he didn't see it as my responsibility."

"Speaking of Mr. Lupin, can we talk about your relationship with him?"

I nodded.

"Of course. What would you like to know?"

"Who initiated that relationship?"

"I did."

"And what was Remus Lupin's opinion on it?"

"Well naturally, he wasn't quick to jump for it. But what we didn't tell in public, was that there were many conditions to it, and Remus tried to come up with these conditions to change my mind."

"Can you talk about the conditions?"

I nodded.

"He told me off the bat that he would never marry me, we would never have kids, if we were in public, then we could do more than the occasional hand holding. To me, and to a lot of people around us, it was more like a close friendship than a relationship."

"One point that Rita Skeeter makes, and I can't help but agree on it that the situation was rather odd. Remus Lupin raised you, and you ended up dating—"

I held up a hand.

"I can guess where you're going with this. Remus was never a father figure to me, and to him, I was never like his child. We were more friends than anything."

"My apologies."

I nodded.

"Is there anything else you want to know?"

"Remus broke up with you the night your father died, correct?"

I nodded.

"Yes."

"Did he ever give an explanation as to why he broke up with you so suddenly?"

I nodded.

"At the time, he told me it was because he didn't love me. He later told me that it was because he wanted me to have all the things that he wasn't willing to give me."

Claire nodded, scribbled down some notes.

"Now another thing that Rita Skeeter talks about is your disappearance at the end of the Wizarding War. Can we talk about that?"

I nodded.

"Of course. What do you want to know?"

"Rita says that you met Jasper before you left. Is that true?"

I shook my head.

"No. I didn't meet Jasper until after I was changed into a vampire."

"She says that you met Jasper, he changed you, you faked your death, and then after you were buried he came back and dug you up. Is that true?"

"No. I was changed by Helen and Tobias Blanchette. I made a replica of my body, they helped me fake my death and then they took me back to 1948 where I met Jasper."

"Why did you feel the need to fake your death?"

"I was being hunted by a vampire. He would have drawn my family out to get me to come to him. As long as I was alive, I would be a danger to them. So I went back in time, and gave my life to keep them safe."

"That was very noble of you to do Mrs. Whitlock."

"I don't think it is," I disagreed. "You would do what you had to do to keep your family safe. I did what I had to do to keep mine safe. I promised them that I would keep them safe until the day I die. And that's all that I've ever done."

"Let's talk about why you came back. Rita says that you felt guilty about running."

I shook my head.

"James was no longer a threat, and I missed my family."

"It's as simple as that?"

I nodded.

"Simple as that."

We talked about a couple more things. We talked more about Harry and George's views of the book. She asked for Jasper's opinion on the book, and my overall opinion.

"Thank you for agreeing to this interview, Mrs. Whitlock."

"Of course. Anything to set the record straight."

"We'll be sure to inform you when the article is released."

I nodded.

"Thank you."

Claire and her people packed up and were gone within the next five minutes. Jasper came to join me on the couch, and I crawled into his lap.

"How'd I do?"

"Amazing. Like I knew you would."

I smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Hey, Al?"

"Hmmm?"

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"I've been thinking, and I want to make it back to America in time to start the second semester at Cornell."

"When does that start?"

He looked down, away from my face, and began scratching at his hand. I placed a finger under his chin and made him look at me.

"When does it start, Jazz?"

"January twentieth," he whispered.

I saw how happy it made Jasper. After a moment, I nodded.

"Okay. We'll go."

"I feel bad for asking. I know you want to spend time with your family but—"

I put a finger against his lips.  
"Jazz, honey, we'll go. I'll just tell everyone when we go for dinner later."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded.

"I understand, Jasper. And you and Harry and George have all said it. We can come here anytime, and they can come to America anytime. It's not forever this time."

"Thank you, Alice!" he said, pulling me into a tight hug.

"Of course."

The news seemed to go over well with the others.

"We'll have to come to see you when Jasper's not swarmed with work," Harry said.

"Do you have any idea what you plan to study?" Hermione asked.

"Philosophy," Jasper said, looking down at the table.

"Jasper took a philosophy class in school last year. He loved it. It'll be nice seeing him get excited about things he loves."

Jasper smiled and looked at me.

"So when will you be leaving?"

"I'd say about the tenth. It'll give us time to get back, get settled, get Jasper enrolled, and get all his stuff."

"What about you? What will you be doing?"

"Homeschooling. Remember? I'm sick."

Chuckles rumbled around the room.

Christmas came closer. Everyone was rushing to finalize presents, Jasper and I made flight arrangements and began to pack up some of the things around the house. We also went to a local library to get the papers for Cornell and owled them to Carlisle, who we still hadn't told we were coming back early.

"I'll have to go get some dust covers," I murmured, looking around the living room. "There is no use in bringing this stuff back and forth."

"We can go tomorrow," Jasper murmured. "Come rest."

Before we knew it, it was Christmas. Jasper and I exchanged gifts at the house before heading to the Burrow. Jasper got me a new sketching pad, some new fabrics, and a new necklace.

"I love it," I told him grinning. "Thank you."

I got Jasper various books about different subjects from both the Muggle world and the Wizarding world and a new pocket watch.

"It's all great, Ali. Thank you."

He pecked my cheek and began to flip through the books.

"We'll be heading to the Burrow around three," I told Jasper as I stood to clean the wrapping paper off the floor. "How much of a book do you think you'll be able to get through in that time?"

"What time is it now?"

"Six."

"I should finish one maybe two depending on how quick I read."

I smiled and moved to throw away the wrapping paper.

I had agreed to bring a ham for the Christmas dinner, so I spent the time leading up to us going to the Burrow in the kitchen.

"How's it going?" Jasper asked, wrapping his arms around my waist and resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Fairly well," I said, turning my head back to look at him. "How does it look?"

"It looks good."

"Would you eat it if you were human?"

Jasper nodded.

"I think so."

I smiled.

"Hopefully they like it."

"They will. They like everything you make for them."

I smiled and put the lid on the ham before handing it to Jasper.

"You wanna go ahead and take that over while I get the presents for everyone together?"

Jasper nodded and headed out of the kitchen.

It didn't take long for us to get to the Burrow. Almost everyone was there with the exception of Percy and his wife.

"Perce will be here soon," Arthur told me as I sat the ham on the counter. "Every year he tries to make sure everything is perfect. Every year he's always the last one to show."

"When did you guys start to celebrate the holidays after the war?" Jasper asked.

"We didn't stop. Molly hoped it would lighten everyone's spirits."

"Did it?"

"For some. George and Harry….they took the longest to recover."

"I don't suppose I can blame them," I murmured.

"It's not your fault, Alice," Molly said.

"I know," I said shaking my head. "But that doesn't make me feel any less guilty."

Molly shook her head.

"You shouldn't feel guilty. We've been telling you for months! You did what you had to do."

At that moment, I could hear two different pops.  
"Percy's here!" George called from the living room.

I hadn't seen very much of Percy since I had come back to Britain. I had caught him and Audrey at a busy time, so we'd see him at dinner about once every other week. Sometimes two.

"Hey, Alice!" Percy said, pulling me into a hug when he caught sight of Jasper and me in the back of the room. "Bill says your leaving earlier than February?"

I nodded.

"Jasper wants to make it back for the spring term at Cornell."

"We'll have to come over soon," Audrey said.

I nodded.

"I'll make you guys dinner."

"I'd hate to put you through that trouble."

"It's no trouble at all," I smiled. "I like cooking. It's very relaxing."

"We'll set it up later tonight then," Percy said.

Everyone ate before we started opening presents. Jasper and I sat at the table and made small talk with everyone. Arthur questioned Jasper on some Muggle appliances. This conversation took everyone's interest, and it ended up with Jasper telling the story of him showing me how to work a washer.

"How long did it take her to figure it out?" Harry asked, grinning.

"Not long. But I think she prefers magic. Even now."

"I get along fine with either," I said, "but magic reminds me of home."

Everyone smiled and returned to their food.

After dinner was over, and I helped Molly clean up, presents were exchanged.

From Molly and Arthur, Jasper and I each got a jumper, and well as a large knitted blanket.

"Since you can't eat fudge, I put this together."

"When did you do this?" I asked in awe.

"I started it the night that you came back."

"I love it," I grinned, hugging her.

"I'm glad."

From George, I got a new set of star charts and a bracelet.

"Look on the inside of the bracelet," George told me.

I frowned and took the bracelet out of the box.

Inside of the bracelet, _"My sister and my best friend, forever"_ was inscribed.

I pulled George into a hug, much like I did Molly.

"Thank you, Georgie."

"In case you need a little piece of me."

I smiled and returned to my seat next to Jasper.

From Harry and Ginny, I got a gobstone set, a penknife, and a charm bracelet. From Charlie, I got a set of model dragons, including a Chinese Fireball, a Hungarian Horntail, and a Ukrainian Ironbelly.

As one spit fire from its mouth, Jasper jumped back in surprise.

"Are they baby dragons?" he asked, confusion radiating from him.

I laughed and shook my head.

"They're model dragons. People use them for things like roasting food, lighting candles, things like that."

"Will they be safe to put in your bag when we go back to America?"

I nodded.

"The bag that they come in has fireproof charms."

Jasper took one from me and examined them closely.

"Are these what the actual dragons look like?"

I nodded.

"They used them during the Triwizard Tournament to assign dragons to the champions."

"Yes," Fleur said, as Jasper dropped the dragon back into my hand. "Zey are less dangerous too."

I laughed.

"I suppose they are."

From Bill and Fleur, I was given various clothes that Fleur had found in France.

"I saw zem in a Muggle store when I went to go see my mother and father," Fleur said. "I showed zem to Bill, and he said that he thinks that you would like them. So we went to ze bank, and exchanged our money."

"I think they're great," I said, smiling at Fleur.

"Zey will blend in with your Muggle family, yes?"

I nodded.

"The jeans especially."

Fleur smiled, pleased with herself.

From Percy and Audrey, I had gotten a lunar calendar and a book on Divination.

"We do have two more presents for you, Alice," Molly said, rising to her feet, and reaching around the tree to pull out two wrapped presents. "All of us worked together on these."

She handed the boxes to me. I took the one on top and asked Jasper to hold the other.

Inside of this box, was eleven notebooks, along with a note attached to the top. It read:

 _Dear Alice,_

 _Within these pages, are letters, and stories from all of us. We know that sometimes you feel very out of place, both here and in the Muggle world. We hope that this can help to remind you that you will always have a place in this world. Each notebook is from one of us._

 _We love you!_

 _Your family._

The first notebook on top was marked Harry, then George, then Molly and Arthur on one notebook. Bill, Fleur, Charlie, and Percy would follow. After them was Ginny, Ron, and Hermione. Finally, one notebook remained. On the front cover, in handwriting I knew all too well, Jasper's name stared back at me.

"You made one too?" I asked, picking up Jasper's notebook.

Jasper nodded.

"Molly asked me about it not long after we got here."

"When would you have time to work on it?" I asked, surprised.

"During your energy bursts."

"I'll have to start reading these notebooks tonight," I said, grinning.

Jasper took the notebooks from me and handed me the other box.

"This one," he said, "they did on their own."

I opened the box and found a bulky leather-bound book. I opened the first page to find another letter.

"What does it say, Ali" Jasper murmured.

"Dear Alice," I read, smiling down at the book, "you've talked so often about the things that you've missed in the time that you went away. In the pages of this book are the things you missed while you were having your own adventures."

I flipped the page again and was met with a date. June 20, 1998. Everyone was at a gravesite. Upon closer inspection, it was mine and Fred's. Flipping through the pages, I found events like Harry's first day as an Auror, Teddy's first birthday, Ron and Hermione's wedding, Harry and Ginny's wedding, and so on and so forth. The final date, was September 16, 2005. Below the date was a picture of Jasper and I curled up on the couch. My eyes were closed, Below the picture, it read: _You came home._

My eyes felt dry, and a lump grew in my throat.

"Ali, sweetheart, what is it?" Jasper asked, pulling me to him.

"I love it."

"Is she okay?" Harry asked, stepping towards me.

"She's crying," Jasper murmured. "But she's happy."

Harry laughed and hugged me tightly.  
"We're glad you like it."

"You guys took so many pictures," Jasper commented, as he looked through the book. It also held wedding invites from everybody's weddings.

"It reminded us of Alice. If she was there, she would have taken all the pictures she could," Molly said, grinning.

I smiled and placed the lid back on the box.

"Thank you, guys. I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything," George said. "The thank you was enough."

We stuck around until the kids started falling asleep. I sat in the rocking chair holding both Fred and Rose when George came out of the kitchen.

"Hey, Ali," he smiled, sitting on the footstool that was under my feet.

"Hey, Georgie," I smiled.

"Where's Jasper?"

"He needed some air," I said, pointing to the window. "He's still trying to recover."

"I think he's doing great," George said, taking Rose from me.

"I do too. I'm so proud of him."

I smiled down at Fred.

"He looks so much like you, Georgie. Imagine what he's going to look like when he's older."

"I hope he looks like Fred," George said.

"By looking like you, he'll look like Fred," I said, watching the sleeping baby carefully.

"You were the only ones who could tell us apart," George smiled.

"You know Freddie is so proud of you and everything you accomplished. And you did it all without us."

George shook his head.

"I can't believe that I did."

"You're stronger than you give yourself credit for."

George sighed.

"What am I going to do when you're gone?"

"You're going to live the same way you always have. And I promise, once we get unpacked, I will owl you every week, and you can come to America whenever you want!"

"I won't get to see you every day."

"I have a solution for that," I said. "Tomorrow, you and I will go to Diagon Alley, and get a pair of mirrors. Like the ones Jasper and I have, or the ones that Sirius and Harry had. Then you can see me whenever you want! It was meant to be a surprise."

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Georgie. But this time, it's not goodbye."

Jasper and I left close to midnight. We made sure everyone got home safe, and everything was clean.

When we got home, I settled on the couch and pulled out the notebook from Jasper. Much like the scrapbook, there was a letter on the first page.

 _Dear Alice,_

 _One thing that I keep thinking about since Molly asked me to do this, is how am I going to hide it from you? We're always together, and we tell each other everything. But I am hoping I can be a part of this, and keep the surprise. It's a wonder you didn't see it coming. Maybe it was because I never officially decided on it. Either way, I hope that you enjoy the contents inside of this notebook._  
 _I love more than anything._

 _Jasper._

I grinned and held the book close to my heart.

"What're you up to?" Jasper asked, resting his chin on my knee.

"I'm reading your notebook," I said, showing it to him.

"What do you think?"  
"So far, I have only gotten past the opening letter."

"Come here," Jasper said, sitting up and opening his arms. "I'll read to you."

I grinned and crawled over to him, settling him his arms before handing him the notebook.

Jasper flipped the page and began reading.

* * *

 **Hey, guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I am so proud of myself because I set a deadline for this chapter and I finished it before the deadline. I want to take a moment to wish everyone Happy Holidays! I know that Hanukkah has already passed, but I would also like to extend my wish to the holidays that I missed. Merry Christmas to those celebrating that tomorrow!**

 **Thank you all for being so patient with me, and I hope you loved the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	80. It's Time To Go

_"Never say goodbye because goodbye means going away, and going away means forgetting." ~Peter Pan_

* * *

Chapter 80- It's Time To Go Jasper's POV

After Christmas, everything seemed to speed up. New Years approached quickly, and before anyone was ready, it was time to go.

Alice was understandably upset about it. I felt horrible. No matter how many times she assured me that it was okay, I still felt like I was tearing her away from her family.

The night before we left, she cried.

"Ali," I murmured, rubbing her back. "Are you okay?"

She turned to face me and quickly buried her face in my chest.

"Ali, we don't have to go," I said, quietly.

Alice looked up at me and shook her head.

"I promised we'd go. It's just so hard to leave them again."

"It's not forever," I said. "I'll make sure they come and visit soon."

Alice smiled and looked up at me again. I leaned down and kissed her forehead before she curled back up at my side.

Alice and I ended up at the Burrow early the next morning. Everyone had gathered there to say goodbye before we headed off to the airport.

"Take care of her," Molly whispered in my ear.

"I will," I whispered back, "I promise."

I turned to Alice who was talking to George in the corner. She was writing down the address of the Cullens.

"If you ever need me, you can find me here."

"Will he be okay?" I asked Molly.

She nodded.

"He's been so afraid of losing her again. But I think that now he'll know that she's not permanently gone this time."

"I'm sorry you guys didn't have the full time with her."

"We don't blame you, Jasper," Arthur said. "We're happy that you can trust yourself to go to school."

I smiled and looked back to Alice and George.

"I hope she feels the same way."

Harry came to the airport with us. He apparated us to an alley nearby and then went through security checks and came all the way to the gate.

"We still have a half an hour before we have to board the plane," Alice said. She had just come back through a small shop to get us a couple of snacks so people wouldn't get suspicious.

"What'd you get?" I asked, pointing to the bag.

"I got almonds and a banana for me, and celery sticks and peanut butter for you."

"Will you guys be able to eat all of that before the plane lands?"

Alice nodded.

"We fly from here to Philadelphia, and then we fly from Philadelphia to Ithaca. It's about a twelve-hour flight altogether. For me, it shouldn't take more than about two hours altogether. Jasper's may take a little longer, but even if he doesn't eat all of the peanut butter, he can throw it away. You can bring food onto a plane, but not off of it."

Alice, Harry and I all talked a little bit longer. Alice wrote down the number to both of our cell phones as well as the landline.

"I don't know if you have a phone," Alice said, handing Harry the paper, "but in case you need us at that minute and you don't have a mirror on hand, then you can call us here. Night or day, whenever you need us."

"I know what you're doing," Harry said, pulling Alice into a hug. "Don't worry about us. We're going to be okay."

Alice smiled and nodded.

"I know you're going to be okay."

Before we knew it, mine and Alice's plane were boarding, and it was time for Harry to go.

"I'll owl you when we get settled," Alice said, as we moved towards the gate.

Once we settled on the plane, Alice grew very quiet again.

"Did you tell Carlisle we were coming?" I asked her.

She shook her head and smiled at me.

"I figured it'd be a nice surprise for them."

"But he knows I'm planning on going to Cornell?"

Alice nodded.

"I sent him a note with the paperwork telling him we'd get you enrolled and everything after we get back in February."

We were quiet for a few moments. The flight attendant went over flight safety procedures, and details about the flight. Neither Alice or I really paid much attention to it. Aside from being quiet, Alice seemed okay. She was smiling again.

"Are you okay?" I asked, squeezing her hand.

She nodded.

"I'm fine. I'm happy for you. How are you feeling?"

"I'm feeling okay, actually," I said, turning in my seat to look at her.

The smell of the humans surrounding us hadn't bothered me. I hadn't paid attention to it, honestly. My main concern was Alice and making sure that she was okay.

"Ali?"

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you for coming back with me."

She smiled and pressed a tiny hand against my cheek.

"You know I'd crawl to the ends of the earth for you," she said, beaming.

I smiled.

"I know you would."

About an hour or so into the flight, Alice pulled the banana out of her bag, and in the first bite, she immediately wrinkled her nose.

"Not good?" I asked, tilting my head to the side.

She shook her head.

"Would you believe I ate one of these every morning during my seven years at Hogwarts?"

"Every morning?"

Alice nodded.

"Never missed a single day."

"Why?"

Alice shrugged.

"I don't know. It just became a habit. The first few years I spent breakfast studying. It was quick, easy, non-messy."

"Did you only eat bananas?"

Alice laughed and shook her head.

"No. If I wasn't busy, and once I started eating at Gryffindor table, I ate scrambled eggs, or a bagel or muffin."

It was interesting how much I didn't know about Alice. We had been married for so long, but there were still things I didn't know about her. She, on the other hand, knew almost everything there was to know about me.

"What're you thinking about?" she asked, wrinkling her nose as she took another bite of the banana.

"You," I admitted. "I'm always thinking about you."

"What about me?"

"After all this time, I'm still learning things about you, yet you know just about everything there is to know about me."

Alice adjusted herself in her seat, facing me as much as she could in the small space.

"Okay," she said, laying the banana on the armrest between us, "tell me one fact about you that I don't know."

I thought about it for a moment.

"I can't think of anything," I said, frowning.

"Come on," Alice groaned. "You can't tell me I know everything about you."

"You do," I said.

She sighed and thought for a minute.

"I can't think of anything I don't know," she frowned.

"My point exactly," I said, kissing her cheek. "You know everything."

She spent almost an hour trying to come up with something she didn't know about me. I noticed she became incredibly frustrated.

"Okay," I said, squeezing her hand. "I have something you don't know about me."

"What's that?"

"Something you don't know is how much I love you," I said, bringing her hand up to my face to kiss it.

"I have a pretty good idea."

I shook my head.

"You don't."

"Tell me then," she said, tilting her head to the side.

"There is no measurement that can describe how much I love you. But I can tell you that you are my world."

She grinned.

Alice seemed a lot happier now. I still felt slightly bad for taking her away from her family before she was supposed to leave.

"What're you thinking about?" Alice asked, leaning back in her seat.

"Nothing of import," I said, smiling at her.

"Tell me. Please?"

I sighed.

"I feel bad."

"Why do you feel bad? Do you need a drink?"

"No, no, no, it's nothing like that."

"Because I asked you to leave your family."

"Jazz, it's okay! It's not going to be forever. They'll come to visit soon."

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine!" she said. "I promise."

I nodded and settled back into my seat.

"So tell me," Alice said, watching me very carefully. "What'd you think?"

"What'd I think of what?"

"Them, Britain. All of it. Was it worth it?"

I nodded.

"It was most definitely worth it. I think you and I both found ourselves being there. It was the piece that was missing. A hole in you was filled, and I figured out how to trust myself again."

"Jazz, sweetheart, I never expected you to heal so quickly. If you want to take some time—"

I stopped her.

"Al, for right now, I'm fine. I haven't reacted badly in months. Not since Bella's birthday party. I think I'm going to be okay."

She watched me for a few moments, remaining very very quiet.

"Are you sure?" she finally asked.

I nodded.

"Definitely."

"You'll tell me if you're not?"

I sighed and shook my head.

"Don't I always?"

She pressed a hand against my cheek.

"I'm not meaning to upset you. I just want to make sure that you're going to be okay."

"I know," I said, smiling. "You're not upsetting me, it's just that I don't want you to be so worried about me."

"I'm always going to worry about you," she mumbled. "That's my job."

After that, Alice settled into a movie while she sketched out a dress for Esme in her sketchpad.

"What do you think?" she asked, pushing the sketchbook towards me. "It's nowhere near finished right now, but I think it's progress."

"Tell me what you're thinking," I told her, looking at the sketch. "Where do you see it going?"

Alice went into full detail about her plans for this dress. She ranged from fabrics to length, to silhouettes. It seemed to excite her. I hadn't seen her plan any clothing pieces since before we left for London. So I smiled, and I listened closely to her plans.

"What's the dress for?"

"Everyday wear," she shrugged. "But I also thought about it being semi-formal just in case something last minute comes up."

I laughed.

"Always thinking ahead."

Alice grinned.

"Of course."

I paused for a minute and turned to Alice.

"What do you think the house is going to look like?"

"Big," she said. "Probably somewhere with enough tree coverage to where we can go outside during the day. The same way they always are."

I smiled.

"They all are very similar aren't they?"

Alice nodded.

"Maybe one day we can do what Rose and Emmett do, and get our own house nearby."

"One day," I promised, leaning over to kiss her forehead.

Alice smiled, and then grew very quiet as she resumed her sketch.

The rest of the plane ride from London to Philadelphia, Alice was very quiet. She'd switch between activities. Sketching to watching a movie, watching a movie to reading the journals from Christmas. She was working her way through Molly and Arthur's.

"We have about two hours here," Alice said, as we made our way off the plane. "Let's go to Delphi's. We haven't been back there since we met."

"Do you think that's it's still the same?"

Alice shrugged.

"Who knows?"

Alice and I made our way through the airport, and out the doors.

We walked in the familiar direction to Delphi's diner. It still stood, in the same place that I remembered it.

I smiled and wrapped my arm around Alice's waist.

"It looks exactly the same," she said, looking up at the diner.

"It does, doesn't it."

It took me a moment before I noticed a woman, a much, much older woman watching Alice and me carefully.

"Alice," I whispered quietly, catching her attention.

"What is it? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but do you see that woman? She inside the diner, in a booth, and she's watching us."

Alice followed my gaze, and she too found the woman who seemed to be watching us.

"We better go inside and get something," she said. "We don't want to draw attention to ourselves. Something small. Like a coffee."

I nodded, and let Alice pull me into the diner.

The whole way inside, the woman in the booth watched us. Alice made her way to the booth that we sat at when we first met.

The waitress came quickly, handing up both menus.

"Can I just get a coffee?" Alice asked handing her the menu.

The waitress nodded.

"And for you?" she asked, smiling widely at me.

"Just a coffee," I said, handing her back the menu.

"Two coffees coming up."

Alice grinned as she looked around the diner.

"I remember everything about the day we met," Alice said, turning towards the bar. "I was sitting right there."

She pointed to a seat and smiled.

"I walked in the door, and you immediately came hurtling towards me."

"You thought I was going to attack you," she grinned. "Yet you didn't make a move to stop me."

"Well I didn't want to make a scene, but I also didn't want to hurt you."

It wasn't a lie. All those years ago, when Alice and I first met, I was so afraid of hurting her. She was very tiny, and despite it being very clear that she was a newborn, I underestimated how strong she was. My warrior.

I looked up to find the woman still staring at Alice and me, and after a moment she got up.

"She's coming over here," I murmured to Alice, watching the woman closely.

Once the woman approached us, she paused before speaking.

"Forgive me," the woman said. "I'm sure you've noticed by now that I've been staring at you for some time now. It's only that you look so familiar to me. Nearly fifty-eight years ago, I was a waiter here, and a young woman came in, and she sat at the bar. She was waiting for an old friend. A man she greeted by the name of Jasper. The woman and Jasper looked exactly like the two of you."

Alice grinned up at the woman.

"That was my great-grandmother, Mary Alice. She once told me about this diner. She met Jasper here. This is Jasper's great-grandson. Oddly enough, our grandparents didn't work out, but we did."

The woman looked at us astonished.

"It's amazing how fate works, isn't it?"

Alice nodded.

"It is."

The waitress returned with our coffees and set them down.

"Two coffees. Enjoy!"

The old woman looked down at our coffees and smiled.

"Jasper and Mary Alice ordered the same thing."

Alice, as kind as ever grinned at the woman, who immediately smiled in return.

"I'm so sorry for interrupting," she said. "I just had to see if there was a relationship between the four of you."

"It's no problem at all," Alice smiled. "Were they that memorable that you remembered them after all this time?"

The woman nodded.

"Mary Alice was very full of life."

"It's nice to find someone who remembered her."

"Enjoy your coffee," the woman said. "Thank you for talking to me."

"Of course!"

The woman returned to her table, talking with the people she was sitting within hushed tones.

"Nice save," I told her smiling.

"It's odd, isn't it?" Alice asked, smiling at her coffee. "That there are people outside of our family who remember us from back then? Before we were married?"

"Ali, she knew us from before we were even dating."

Alice grinned at me.

"That's even stranger!"

I kissed the back of her hand which I held tightly.

"It's strange to think that there was a time when we weren't together. Even when we were just friends, I knew you were the one I was going to spend the rest of my life with," I told her, grinning widely.

"It is strange," Alice said trailing off. "That was so long ago….I almost forgot there was a time when we were just friends."  
"It didn't feel like we were just friends."

I laughed and shook my head.

"It didn't, did it?"

Alice and I finished our coffee, paid the bill and the tip, before heading back out. The woman and her friends were still there, and they watched us leave.

We still had about forty-five minutes before we would board the next plane, heading to Ithaca. We sat in the airport, Alice eating almonds, and I was eating the celery sticks and peanut butter.

"How is it?" Alice asked, wrinkling her nose.

"Sticky," I said, scraping the peanut butter off the roof of my mouth with my tongue.

"I've never liked peanut butter," Alice said shaking her head. "Too sticky."

I laughed and offered her a celery stick.

"Wanna try it?"

Alice shook her head.

"I'll pass."

"Suit yourself," I shrugged.

Alice smiled and shook her head.

"We'll start shopping for your stuff tomorrow," she said. "Books, supplies, maybe some new clothes."

"Alice, I really don't think I need more clothes."

"Please, Jaz?" she pleaded, drawing out the, please.

I looked into her eyes. The wide golden eyes that melted my heart.

"Okay," I sighed.

"Thank you!" Alice exclaimed, throwing her arms around my neck and kissing my cheek.

I smiled and moved to throw away our trash.

Before we knew it, it was time to board the second and final plane. It didn't take long for everyone to settle into their seats, Alice and I sat further towards the back of our section this time. We were close to the exit, so it would make for a quicker leave when we made it to Ithaca.

Alice and I settled into a movie. We ended up watching a movie called _Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind._

"Would you erase me?" Alice asked, resting her chin on the side of my shoulder where she had been resting, "if you had the choice?"

I shook my head.

"I don't think I would. Would you?"

Alice shook her head.

"Even if it ended with me in pain, I would never want to forget you."

I smiled and kissed the tip of her nose.

"I couldn't forget you," I said, quietly, shaking my head. "If I couldn't have you, I would need a piece of you."  
Alice looked up at me and smiled.

"You're never going to lose me. You're stuck with me until the end of time."

"That's not nearly enough time," I murmured before kissing her.

When we made it to Ithaca, Alice and I paused at the airport to figure out how to get to the house.

"We should do okay," Alice said. "It's only about twenty minutes from here."

So the two of us set off. We immediately ran for tree coverage.

"The house is a little ways back from the Black Diamond Trail," Alice said as we came close to the end of the Cayuga Waterfront Trail. "We just have to get on the trail, and then steer of for a few miles."

"Lead the way," I said, as we crossed over between the trails.

We ran for another five minutes before Alice came to a stop.

"We just need to get past these trees," she said. "It's straight back from here. If we're lucky they won't get defensive, however, beware. It is a possibility. Last time I talked to them, they mentioned being on alert due to Victoria being close."

She pulled her wand out from the holster that she had reattached to her arm. I caught her wrist and looked at her stunned.

"You're going to use magic against them?"

She shook her head.

"There is a spell that will lock us into a bubble if you will. If they attack us, I cast it, and they can't get through."  
I nodded and dropped her wrist before the two of us darted off again.

We came to a stop about ten feet from the house. Alice was listening quietly.

"Did you hear that?" Emmett was asking somebody.

"Hear what?" Rosalie responded.

"It sounded like somebody was coming up to the house."

"I don't think there's anyone there," Rosalie said. I could imagine her rolling her eyes at her husband, before resuming whatever she had been doing before.

"Come on," Alice mouthed, making her way across the yard and to the door.

She danced up the stairs to the door, pausing to wait for me. Once I joined her at her side, she reached forward and knocked on the door.

"Who could that be?" Esme asked.

"I told you I heard somebody," Emmett grumbled.

Light footsteps, who I assumed to be Esme came closer to the door. Before she got the chance to open the door, another voice appeared.

"Who's here?" Carlisle asked.

"We're about to find out," Rosalie said.

The door unlocked, and then slowly opened.

"Surprise," Alice grinned, as Esme looked at us in astonishment.

"Alice! Jasper!" Esme exclaimed pulling us into a tight hug. "We thought you weren't coming back for another month!"

"We decided to come back early," I said.

"Jasper's excited about Cornell, so we decided to come back so he could catch the start of the semester."

Carlisle, Emmett, and Rosalie joined Esme, Jasper, and I at the door.

"Alice," Carlisle greeted, "Jasper."

He too pulled us into a hug, as did Rosalie. Emmett, on the other hand, clapped me on the shoulder and swooped up Alice before she had the chance to react.

"We're so glad you guys are back," Emmett told her. "We've all missed you!"

"We've missed you too!" Alice said.

"Come in! Come in," Esme urged, taking my hand while Emmett carried Alice inside and dropped her on the couch.

Alice laughed and stood back up.

"We have presents," Alice said, taking her bag off and setting it on the ground. "I have to get them out of the bottom."

Alice disappeared for a few moments before returning with a handful of the stuff that we had gotten for everyone. Including Edward's which Alice had decided not to give to him when he was in England with us.

"Let's see here," Alice said sitting everything on the coffee table. She began to pass everything out one by one and held up Edward's.

"Where's Edward's room? I got this for him, and I thought it'd be helpful if he comes back."

"We'll show it to you when we show you yours and Jasper's," Esme said. "But we want to hear about London first!"

She guided Alice and me to the couch before she sat at the end.

"It was amazing," Alice said, shaking her head. "They've all done so much in the last seven years."

She pulled out a bunch of pictures from all the way in Septemeber to earlier at Delphi's.

"That's the diner where you guys met, isn't it?" Rosalie asked, tapping the picture that Alice had laid out on the coffee table.

Alice nodded.

"We had a layover in Philadelphia. We figured we'd go see it. You wanna know who we ran into?"

"Who?" Esme asked.

"The waitress that served Jasper and me on the day we first met," Alice grinned.

"Did she recognize you?" Carlisle asked, frowning.

Alice nodded.

"Yes, but as far as she knows, I'm Mary Alice's great-granddaughter and he's Jasper's great-grandson."

"So you guys were posing as distant cousins?"

I shook my head.

"Alice told the woman that it didn't work out between us, but that we found our way to each other."

"And it worked?"

I nodded.

"I can be very convincing," Alice grinned.

"Who are the kids?" Rosalie asked, pointing to a picture of Alice and I that Harry had taken of us with all of the kids.

Alice went through each one in the order of who they belonged to.

"Ginny is pregnant with her's and Harry's second," Alice said.

"Will you go back when the baby is born?"

Alice shrugged.

"If I do go, I won't be gone as long as I was this time. Only for a couple days."

"What about you?" Emmett asked. "Will you go with her?"

"Depends on how much work I have. Alice will take pictures, I'm sure."

"James is going to miss you," Alice smiled, leaning against me.

We spent hours catching up. I filled out the application for Cornell, and Carlisle said he would take it to the Head of Admissions when he went in that night.

"As far as everyone here knows, you two have been away at a medical center in Sweeden," Rosalie said.

"And in Forks? Does anybody suspect anything?"

Carlisle shook his head.

"Not that I know of. I haven't talked to anybody since we left."

Alice looked at me, and I could feel the small twinge of sadness.

"It's a clean break."

I pulled her closer to me and waited for the sadness to fade away.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I'm sorry it took so long for me to get this chapter up. I crossed a little creativity speed bump. I find it harder to write from Jasper's point of view than from Alice's because to me, it's just easier to write from a female's point of view. I figured that I'd bring some change to a traveling chapter by putting it in Jasper's point of view. Also, the movie I mentioned in here, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, I highly recommend it. I watched it a week or so ago, and it was convenient that it came out in 2004. So with that being said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	81. Arguments

_"Say what you mean, but don't say it mean." ~Andrew Wachter_

* * *

Chapter 81- Arguments Alice's POV

The happiness around the house didn't seem to last. Jasper started Cornell the next week, and after that, it was quiet. I spent the time in mine and Jasper's room. Rosalie and Emmett stayed in their's, and Esme floated around the house, cleaning the already clean house. Carlisle, he was always gone. Either picking up an extra shift at the hospital or working nights at Cornell.

Ginny had the baby two weeks after Jasper and I got back. They named him Albus Severus Potter. I used a Portkey to get to Harry's, and I didn't plan on staying long. I'd be leaving again the next night.

"How is it?" Harry asked handing me the baby. "Being back there?"

I shook my head.

"I don't know. It's all really quiet. I don't really talk to anybody other than Jasper, and I can't leave the house because everyone there thinks I'm sick."

"I'm sure it will get better, dear," Molly said. "Just give it some time."

"I've been getting flashes since we've been back," I said, not taking my eyes off Albus. "Of Bella. None of them are clear."

"Have you told Carlisle?"

I shook my head.

"He'd tell me to just leave it alone."

"What about Jasper?"

I sighed and shook my head.

"I don't want to bother him. He's doing great at school."

"Alice, you have to talk to someone," Ginny said.

"I am talking to someone," I said, glaring at my family who all stood on one side of the bed facing me. "I'm talking to all of you."

I didn't want to go back to the quiet house. It didn't feel like a family anymore. We were broken up. , existing in three small pieces. Rosalie and Emmett, Carlisle and Esme, and Jasper and I. We all merely coexisted with the other two pieces.

"Are you okay, Darlin'?" Jasper asked, pulling me into his lap while he sat at his desk doing homework.

I laid my head on his shoulder.

"Do you think it's going to get any better?"

"What?"

"This. It's so quiet here. Nobody talks to anyone outside of their mates!"

Jasper sighed and held me close to him.

"I don't know, Al. It all depends on whether or not Edward comes home."

"And if he doesn't?"

Jasper pressed his forehead against my temple.

"Ali, I'm sorry. I don't have the answers you're looking for."

I sighed, and closed my eyes, laying my head against his shoulder.

I spent the next several hours centering my visions with the help of my crystal ball. I focused on the future of the Cullen clan. Whether it would be mended or whether it would fall apart completely. Nothing could be determined. I think that's because nobody actually knew the answer.

When the future of the Cullen clan became unclear, I started making plans, in case Jasper and I decided to leave. I worked on it while Jasper was at school.

One day, while I was working on mine and Jasper's plans, two quick knocks caused me to jump.

"Come in," I called, surprised.

Emmett came through the doorway and pointed to the chair at Jasper's desk.

"Can I sit?"

"Go ahead."

Emmett quietly moved across the room and watched me closely.  
"What're you working on?"

"Nothing in particular," I lied. "Just looking over some legal statements from where Harry and I moved my house into my name."

Emmett's mouth made an 'o' shape before he settled into his seat.

"Carlisle is talking about going to Denali for a couple days," Emmett told me. "He thinks it'd do us some good."

I'd been blocking out any flashes from anybody except for Jasper. Jasper, I kept a close eye on in case he needed me.

"It'd be nice to see Helen and Tobias," I mused. "I haven't talked to them in a while."

"We're leaving when Carlisle and Jasper get home," Emmett said. He held up the Volvo keys and dropped them on the desk.

"Edward wanted you to take care of the Volvo when you got home. He figured you should have something to drive."

"We're taking separate cars?"

Emmett nodded.

"Rose wants to take the BMW. She hasn't had the chance to drive it much around here."

I nodded and looked at the bag that sat at the door.

"I guess I should pack some clothes for Jasper and me."

Emmett nodded.

"Oh, Alice?"

I looked at him, my silence his cue to continue.

"Thanks for the gifts. I like the box from George's shop. They could come in handy in school."

I smiled and nodded.

"I thought you'd enjoy it."

Emmett quickly stood up and left.

Once he was gone, I turned back to my plans and sighed.

"Looks like we may be needing you after all."

I was already packing when Jasper came home.

"Packing for Denali?" he asked, sitting his bag on the bed.

I nodded.

"Emmett told me."

"You didn't see?"

"I don't see much anymore," I said quietly. "Not if I can help it."

Jasper sighed and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Alice, sweetheart, it's all going to be okay."

"I know," I sighed.

"Come on," Jasper said. "Let's finish packing."

We spent another fifteen minutes on clothes. Jasper, after much deliberation, decided to take his philosophy books.

"Let me see your books," I said, holding out my arms for him to hand them to me.

Jasper and I rode to Denali alone. Carlisle, Esme, Rose, and Emmett took the BMW, the only car besides Edward's Volvo that was brought to Ithaca, and Jasper and I took the Volvo. I was driving, and Jasper sat in the passenger seat studying for a test that was coming up after he got back.

"What's Carlisle telling Cornell about why you guys are gone?" I asked as we passed the limits of Ithaca.

"You're sick," Jasper said, closing his book and turning to face me, "and that we're going to Washington to get some testing done to make sure that you're not getting any worse."

I didn't take my eyes off the road, but I did nod, and Jasper moved his books.

"Have you gotten any more flashes of Bella?"

I ended up having to tell him when the flashes had happened more and more frequently.  
"No," I said, shaking my head. "They've just….stopped."

"I wonder what's changed," he said quietly.

"Do you think she's okay?" I asked, "Maybe we should swing by Forks—"  
"No," Jasper interrupted. "We promised Edward. That's why we changed phone numbers, email addresses."

"But, Jazz, what if she's—"

"No, Alice. She's not our concern anymore, Darlin'."

I sighed and focused on the road.

"Alice?" Jasper asked, quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think it's going okay here?"

"What do you mean, Jazz?"

"The family is broken. I wonder whether or not it's going to make it or whether it's going to break."

"Well, we're making a plan for what to do in case that happens."

"But can you see it?"

I focused on the future for a minute, making sure I could still see the road ahead of me.

I saw nothing.  
"No," I told Jasper. "I can't see it. But I think that if Rosalie or Emmett, for example, were to make the decision to leave, that would set a decision of the fate of the family in place. In that event, I think I'd see it."

"What do you think caused the break? The loss of Bella or the loss of Edward?"

"Edward," I said, without thinking. "We lived without Bella once. We could do it again."

"I could never imagine leaving you," Jasper said, shaking his head.

I smiled and focused on the road again.

Jasper and I were quiet for a while. Jasper resumed studying, reading something about philosophers, all of which who died before both of our times. I had gotten a couple flashes of some unknown future, but then it went black again.

We made it to Denali a lot quicker than I would have thought. Helen and Tobias were waiting outside, grinning happily when they saw Jasper and I pull up in the Volvo.

"Alice! Jasper!" Helen greeted pulling up into a tight hug. "We're glad you're home! You have to tell us all about Britain."

"Where's Laurent?" I asked, my eyes darting to the house.  
"He's out hunting with Irina. Come on. We can talk in mine and Tobias's room."

"Give them a second to breathe, Helen," Tobias teased. "How are you, Alice?"

"I'm okay," I smiled, hugging Tobias.

"Come in! Come in!"

Helen ushered us inside, where Carlisle and the others had already gone.

"Alice! Jasper! How good to see you!" Tanya said, hugging Jasper and me.

"Hi, Tanya," I smiled. "Kate, Carmen, Eleazer."

"Alice," Carmen grinned. "Did you enjoy your time in England?"  
I nodded.

"It was nice to see my family," I smiled.

"We're going to go catch up in mine and Tobias's room," Helen said, her eyes flickering to each person in the room. "Just in case Irina and Laurent come back."

Tanya nodded.

"Of course."

We followed Helen and Tobias to there room. I paused to cast a silencing charm on the door before closing it behind me.

"Tell us everything!" Helen said as I sat on the corner of the bed.

"It was amazing," I said, grinning at the wooden floor. "They're all doing so well. George and Angelina have a kid, Harry and Ginny have two now."

I pulled out the photo albums and handed them to Helen and Tobias.

"Molly took some the first couple days we were there," I said, tapping a picture of Jasper and I curled up on the couch.

"Did you stay with Molly and Arthur the whole time?"

I shook my head.

"We moved into my house after a while."

"Your house?"

"The one my mother and father left me. Where I was staying after Remus and I split? Harry never sold it, so he got it transferred back into my name."

"Amazing," Tobias said. "It was a nice house."

"I almost forgot that you had been there before," Jasper said.

"It was a long time ago," Helen mused.

We spent hours talking about London. I had heard Laurent and Irina come home and grew very quiet.

"Is Alice and Jasper back?" Irina asked.

"She came home a few weeks ago," Carlisle said.

"Where did they go?" Laurent asked curiously.

"They never said," Esme lied. "They just left us for a period of time. Clear their heads."

"How long were they gone?"

"A few months," Carlisle said.

"Alice?" Jasper murmured in my ear, claiming my attention. "What is it, Darlin'?"

"Laurent is asking a lot of questions," I frowned. I turned back to Helen and Tobias. "Has Irina told him anything?"

Helen shook her head.

"She thought about it after you and Jasper left last summer. I wouldn't let her. I told her that it wasn't her place to tell your life story. What you wanted to keep private was your business."

"She hasn't brought it up since then," Tobias said.

"Good. Good," I murmured.

"Will you ever tell him?"

I shrugged.

"I may. If I trust him. But I don't know. Something about Laurent….I just don't have a good feeling about him."

Helen, Tobias, and Jasper all looked at each other. Concern filled each of their eyes.

"What?" I asked.

"Usually your feelings about people are spot on," Jasper said, quietly. "So if you have a bad feeling about Laurent…"

Jasper trailed off.

"I don't know what it is," I said, shaking my head. "I just don't trust him."  
"We'll keep an eye on him, Petite Sorcière," Tobias promised, patting my hand.

"Thank you. Is he still coming home with burgundy eyes?"

Helen nodded.

"A few weeks ago he insisted on hunting alone. He says he slipped up, but he seems to slip up a lot."

"Maybe we should go downstairs and socialize," Tobias said. "We have plenty of time to talk."

I nodded, and let Jasper pull me off the bed.

Before I left the room, Jasper caught my wrist and pulled me to him.

"Don't be nervous," he whispered in my ear. "I'm going to be right there the whole time. You won't ever leave my sight."

"Thank you, Jazz," I murmured, burying my face in his chest.

"Of course," he said, kissing the top of my head.

We made our way to the living room, both putting smiles on our faces.

"Alice! Jasper! How nice to see you!" Irina said, pulling us each into two tight hugs.

"Hello, Irina," I smiled.

"Alice, Jasper, how nice to see you," Laurent greeted, extending his hand.

"Laurent," I said, as Jasper extended his own, keeping the other wrapped tightly around my waist.

When Laurent offered his hand to me, after an encouraging nudge from Jasper, I took his hand.

"Cautious as ever, aren't you, Alice?" Laurent asked with a friendly smile.

"Forgive me," I said, quietly. "I don't have the best experience with new comers."

"I understand," he said, his smile not wavering.

Jasper and I took a seat next to Carlisle and Esme. Carlisle looked at Jasper and I questioningly, and I simply shook my head.

"Carlisle says you went on vacation," Laurent said, reclaiming my attention. "How was it?"

"It was nice," I said, smiling. "It was a nice way to clear my head."

"What do the humans think of your's and Jasper's sudden disappearance?"

"They think I'm sick."

"And that works?"

I nodded.

"I missed school enough to make it believable."

"But doctor records. Surely you can't go to a regular doctor."

"That's why I write up the reports," Carlisle said. "I write them, Emmett signs them under different names."

"Family effort," Laurent smiled.

"It's helpful when we have to leave quickly," Esme said. "There will always be a medical treatment center."

"True," Laurent said.

Despite my lack of trust for Laurent, I couldn't help but feel happy for Irina, who much like Edward, spent so long looking for her mate. She looked at Laurent like he had put the stars in the sky. I looked at him with distrust and a twinge of hatred.

"You're safe, Darlin'," Jasper whispered in my ear, low enough to where I was the only one in the room that could hear him. "I've got you."

I eyed Laurent carefully for the next several minutes. As I did so, he turned and looked at Irina, and whispered something into her ear. Much like Jasper, he made sure he was too quiet for anyone else to hear, so I wasn't sure what was said.

It seemed very tense. We made small talk, Laurent pressed on mine and Jasper's trip away from home, while I avoided any details. He asked whereabouts, I told him Europe. He asked where I said Germany.

"Why Germany?"

"Because it seemed far away from here," I said.

"You wanted to be away from your family?"

"No," I said, through narrow eyes and half-clenched teeth. "I needed to clear my head. My visions, they weren't coming through clearly."

"And Germany helped?"

I nodded.

"Yes. They are coming through much more clearly now."

"And what do you see that was being blocked before?"

I turned to look at Jasper, and then back at Laurent.  
"I have ways of showing what I see, without you seeing the vision."

"Interesting," Laurent said, with a gleam in his eye. "Show me?"

I nodded and raised to my feet.

"One moment."

I darted up the stairs to Helen and Tobias's room where I had left my bag and grabbed the tarot cards from inside of them before returning to the living room with everyone else.  
"These," I said, holding up the case, "are tarot cards. They are divination tools."

I sat at the coffee table in front of Jasper's legs and leaned back against them before gesturing towards the spot in front of me to Laurent.

"Sit."

He slid off of the couch next to Irina to the floor in front of me.

I began to shuffle the cards in front of me, not taking my eye off of Laurent.

"Shuffle these for a minute," I said, handing the deck to Laurent. "Focus on yourself. Your past and your future."

After a moment, I handed my hand out for him to give me the cards back.

I placed three cards out in front of me, watching Laurent carefully.

"Your past," I said, tapping the first card, "your present, and your future."

I flipped over the first card.

"Your past. Ace of cups. You found love. New relationships," I paused and gestured a finger at Irina before tapping the second card. "Your present. Five of Swords. Betrayal."

"I will be betrayed?" Laurent asked, looking at the card curiously.

I shook my head.

"You will do the betraying."

Laurent looked at me in surprise.

"How are you sure?"

"If you were going to be betrayed, it would should Tens of Swords. The ultimate stab in the back. But this, the Five of Swords, this means victory by deceit. You may not necessarily win. But you will betray the one closest to you."

"What about my future?" Laurent asked. His eyes narrowed.

I flipped the card over.

"Your future. Death."

Laurent looked at me with wide eyes.

"Impossible!"

"There are ways to change your future," I told him. "The future is not set in stone. Not yet. But once you do the thing that leads to your death, then your path is set. You can not change it."

"How do you know it hasn't already happened?" Carlisle asked me.

"Because of his present. Five of Swords. Betrayal."

"These are just card tricks, right?" Irina asked, frowning at the card that signified Laurent's betrayal.

After a warning glance from Tobias, I nodded.

"Of course."

Laurent's eyes didn't leave the cards in front of me. When I scooped them back up and returned them to their case, his eyes darted to me.

"In France, when I joined the Sun King's court, tarot was a card game. Men gambled and played. You, Alice Cullen, are a very intriguing vampire. I look forward to getting to know you."

I nodded and raised to my feet, locking eyes with Jasper before darting back to Helen and Tobias's room to return my cards.

"Excuse me for a second," Jasper murmured.

I could hear his footsteps grow closer, and then he knocked on the door.

"Ali? Can I come in?"

I opened the door and waved him in, before strengthening the concealment charms.

"You saw the cards, right?"

Jasper nodded.

"I did. But Ali, let's not panic now. That's going to draw attention."

"Should we say something to Tanya?"

Jasper shook his head, and pulled me to the bed, sitting down next to me.

"Let's see how this plays out, okay?"

I nodded and buried my face in his chest.

"It's going to be okay," Jasper murmured. "You won't be left alone with him."

Jasper and I returned to the living room with everyone else. Laurent had returned to the couch and was talking quietly to Tobias in French. They were speaking much too quickly for me to understand. Despite my taking French and knowing a little in my human life when I wasn't completely focused I couldn't make it out.

I turned to Helen, who seemed to understand my unspoken request, opened her mind to me.

 _Laurent is curious as to why you're so cautious. Tobias is saying that you just don't know him that well, but as time goes on you should warm up to him._

I nodded and broke the connection.

"We're going to town tomorrow," Carmen told Esme, catching my attention. "You are all welcome to come."

"Actually I think we're going to spend time here tomorrow," Esme said. "You guys go ahead."

Carmen nodded and smiled.

"I understand. I expect with Carlisle working nights, and Jasper starting school, you guys haven't gotten much time together."

Carlisle nodded.

"Not much."

"If you change your minds, call and we'll tell you where we are."

"Of course."

Laurent and Tobias seemed to switch back to English, but both grew very silent.

I looked at Tobias questioningly.

 _He's starting to ask a lot of questions,_ Tobias thought, making sure he was loud enough to catch my attention. _He's very curious about you. James seemed to have told him that he recognized you before their coven split._

So Laurent knew. The cover story at least. James never got the chance to tell anybody about my life as Mary Alice Black. Only Mary Alice Brandon.

You're safe, Tobias said, giving me a reassuring smile. As far as he knows, Helen and I found you, we stayed with you until you went to find Jasper.

I smiled and him before looking over at Jasper who was watching Tobias and me carefully.

"I'll tell you later," I murmured.

The night seemed to pass by smoothly. We talked, Tobias and I played chess, followed by Laurent playing against me.

"Smart girl," Laurent said, as I won the game. "Where did you learn to play?"

"Helen and Tobias taught me. Jasper taught me more after I found him."

"But you remember nothing from your human life?"

"Only what James told Bella. Even then, I don't remember it."

"Interesting."

I was glad when everyone left close to noon the next day. I was glad to be away from Laurent. However, with the Denalis gone, it allowed for the tension between our own coven to rise again.

Jasper seemed to shrink into a corner. Emmett, who was once so full of joy and laughter was quiet. No humor to be found for miles. Esme's face was blank. Rosalie was just as annoyed as ever.

"Maybe we should go back," I said, quietly, breaking the silence that had been there for nearly two hours.

"Go back where?" Carlisle asked, raising an eyebrow. "We just got here. I figured you would want to spend more time with Helen and Tobias."

"No, not back to Ithaca," I said, shaking my head. "Back to Forks."

"Alice, no," Carlisle said, holding up a hand.  
"Why not?" I asked. "Why not? We were happy there! Look at us, Carlisle! You know I haven't heard Emmett laugh since the day Jasper and I got back from London? He used to laugh every day before."

"It's going to take time to adjust," Carlisle said.

"How long, Carlisle? We've been here for weeks and it's always the same! Rosalie and Emmett stay in their room, Esme works on the same blueprint that she's been working on since before we got back to America. You, you're either at the hospital or at the school."

"Alice we're not going to jump back to how things were. We're missing part of our family!"

"Edward? If we're in Forks, I'm sure he'll come back home. He'll go back to Bella, and we'll all be okay."

"I said no, Mary Alice," Carlisle said. The authority was clear in his voice. "We're not going back to Forks."

I turned and looked back at Jasper, who was eyeing me carefully.

"You know, I feel like you blame Jasper for what happened," I said, quietly.

"We have never blamed Jasper. What happened was an accident, Alice!" Carlisle snapped, furrowing his brows. "You know we know that."

"So why has he been so depressed since we got back here?" I questioned, pointing to Jasper who was in the corner. Guilt radiating off of him around the room. "He wasn't like this in England!"

"Maybe he was and you didn't notice it," Carlisle said, his voice lowering.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?" I growled, clenching my teeth.

"I only mean that maybe Jasper was like this, but you were so tied up in being back with your family, you didn't notice."

I looked at him in shock.

"Carlisle—" Esme started. I held up a hand stopping her.

"No, no. It's okay," I said, glaring at Carlisle. "I can promise you, Carlisle, that Jasper was just fine before we came back here. Everything was fine before we came here! Maybe we should go back."

"You can't threaten to leave when things get tough," Carlisle said. "We're still a family."

I scoffed.

"We haven't been a family since Jasper and I left Forks."

"What makes you say that?"

"Look around, Carlisle," I said, gesturing to the others. "This isn't what our family was. Let's go back to Forks! Edward will come home. Then we'll be a family again!"

"No. We promised Edward."  
"Look past Edward for a moment, Carlisle. Think about Bella for a moment! She won't do well without us. I get flashes of her, but they're unclear—"

Rosalie cut me off, speaking for the first time.

"Forget her, let's drag Edward home."

"He'll come back when he's ready," Esme interjected. "After Bella moves on."

"Yes," Carlisle agreed, eyeing me carefully. "When she's living her life, safe from danger—"

Jasper interrupted this time. Guilt and sadness spread through the room.

"You mean safe from us."

I turned back to Jasper, before darting to his side. I sat down next to him before wrapping my arms around him.  
As Jasper hid his face in my hair, Rosalie turned to face me.

"And when will that be?"

I closed my eyes, trying to focus on Edward. A person who I haven't focused on in a long time. I saw Edward's face, followed by green. Suddenly he was running off of a cliff. He didn't pause. He just ran off, falling into the blue water beneath him.

"The only decision he's made," I said, slowly as I opened my eyes, "is to be alone."

Things remained tense between Carlisle and me over the next few days. We didn't talk. Everyone seemed to make more of an effort though.

"Are you going to leave us?" Emmett asked me as he, Jasper, and I went for a walk.

I shook my head.  
"I don't think so. We haven't talked about it."

"We don't want to leave," Jasper said, shaking his head. "Even though he doesn't know it, Carlisle does in a way blame me for Edward. I felt it not long after we came back. So if it isn't good for Alice and me to be here, then we will."

"It was brave of you," Emmett said, stopping to look at me. "Standing up to Carlisle."

I shook my head.  
"It wasn't bravery. I'm just tired of seeing our family broken."

"I'm hoping that what you said stuck," Emmett said. "I'm hoping that it'll fix us before we break completely."

"Yeah," I agreed, looking up to the sky as the snow started to fall again. "I hope so too."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Some of the dialogue from the argument scene was from the second draft for the New Moon movie. I added some parts in, but looking through the script during the planning for the book, I found that scene, and I actually liked the idea of it and decided to add it in here. I hope to have a new chapter out soon!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	82. The Cliff

_"Go to the edge of the cliff and jump off. Build your wings on the way down." ~Ray Bradbury_

* * *

Chapter 82- The Cliff

After mine and Carlisle's argument, everyone seemed to make more of an effort, things between Carlisle and I, however, remained a little tense. We went home the next day, each one leaving in the car that they came in.

"Be careful," I whispered in Helen and Tobias's ear. "I fear that Laurent's betrayal has started. That means death will come soon."

"We will be."

"If you need to come to stay with us, feel free," I said.

"Alice, we still have a house there you know," Helen said, smiling.

"I know," I said, smiling. "But the offer still stands."

Tobias smiled and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Stop worrying. We'll be fine."

I nodded.

"I know you will. You've made it this far."

"Good luck with Carlisle," Helen said, glancing over at Carlisle who was talking to Eleazer, Carmen, and Esme. "We've all noticed he seems to be avoiding you and Jasper."

I sighed.

"He'll get over it soon enough."

"And if he doesn't?"

I locked eyes with Carlisle, before turning back to face Helen.

"Then we'll leave."

The ride from Denali seemed to be a lot longer than the ride to. Jasper read his books, sharing facts that he found interesting to me. I noticed that this seemed to excite him, so I let him ramble about the philosophers that had been dead for a long time.

"Did you know that Zhuangzi believed in a version of Daoism that says that everything should be allowed to behave according to its nature. He thought that you should do nothing but only do what 'accords with a thing's nature'," he said, reading from the book.

"Isn't that supposed to be the whole idea of Daoism?" I asked, smiling, as I glanced at him.

Jasper thought about it for a minute.

"I suppose in a way, but people found that Zhuangzi's texts were easier to understand than what was written in Daodejing."

"When did you start reading up on Daoism?"

Jasper shrugged.

"I've been looking around at theology. I think the next time I'm in college, I may look at that as a major."

"Why theology?" I asked, still grinning at him.

"Because I think it's interesting. There are so many religions, and they're all so similar but so different."  
"So theology. That's what's next?"

He shrugged.

"I haven't decided for sure yet. What about you? What do you want to study?"

I thought about it for a moment. I hadn't put much thought into it, seeing as I was playing the sick card here in Ithaca.

"What about interior design?" I asked, glancing at Jasper.

"Why interior design?" he asked, leaning closer to me.

"I like the idea of spending my day decorating," I said, smiling.

"Well I think you'd be great at it," Jasper murmured in my ear before kissing my cheek.

"You think so?" I asked, glancing at him.

He nodded.

"Definitely. You're good at just about everything you do."

I laughed and shook my head.

"That, my love, is definitely not true."

Jasper shook his head.

"I disagree."

I smiled and shook my head as Jasper settled back into his book.

When we got home from Denali, Carlisle made an attempt to talk to me alone. No Jasper. No Esme. Just us.

"Thank you for agreeing to see me," Carlisle said.

We were at a book shop where I was looking for books for both Jasper and myself. To keep the cover that I was sick, I wore a face mask.

"Of course," I said, my voice slightly muffled slightly from the face mask. "We need to get this problem solved and then figure out where to go from there."

Carlisle nodded.

"I agree."

"So where do we start?" I asked, flipping through a philosophy book.

Carlisle thought about it. I could vaguely hear him sorting through the many questions he had, trying to find out where to start.

"Do you truly believe that we blame Jasper for what happened with Bella?"

"Yes," I answered, much too quickly. I didn't even think about the answer, but I knew that it was how I felt.

"Why?"

"Because when we were in Britain, he was happy. He smiled and he laughed, but then we came home. It was great for the first few days, but then everyone's moods changed. Jasper's more than anybody else's. It was so strong, half the time I could feel it. And even I couldn't make that pain go away." I paused and looked at Carlisle. "I could feel his guilt, Carlisle. The guilt that Jasper hadn't felt in months. He knew that I wasn't angry with him and that I didn't blame him. So I concluded that the guilt was Jasper picking up a trace of blame from somebody. I can't keep watching him beat himself up about Bella. I wish it hadn't happened, sure, but it's hurting him more."

Carlisle watched me for a moment. I could see the wheels turning inside his head.

"You made that conclusion from watching Jasper, correct?"

I nodded.

"I'm around him more than I'm around anybody else. I know him better than anybody else. I think that one of you may blame Jasper, but you just don't know it. But he does."

Carlisle was quiet for a moment.

"I hadn't thought about it like that," Carlisle said. His voice was close to a whisper.

I watched him closely for a minute. His face was sad.

"I don't mean to upset you," I said. My voice was just as quiet as his.

"I know that," Carlisle said. "I just never thought about it like that. You bring a very good point, and I will definitely have to apologize to Jasper."

"Thank you, Carlisle," I said. "I think Jasper would really appreciate that."

"Of course."

That conversation seemed to make things easier for everyone. We all made the effort to come together once a day. We waited until Carlisle and Jasper returned home. From that point, until Carlisle's shift at the hospital or at Cornell, whichever that night was, we would do various things. I taught Rosalie and Emmett how to play Gobstones, which brought everyone together for a time. Laughter would ring through the room from everyone, but when family time ended, so did the laughter.

Despite our efforts to keep things going, we knew that our family was incomplete. It was a large elephant in the room that none of us wanted to mention. The small piece that kept our family whole, was with Edward.  
Edward had called looking for me not long after we got back from Denali. My energy was starting to increase, so when he called, I had been walking through the house.

"Alice, sweetheart," Jasper said, stepping in front of me, holding my shoulders.

"Hmmm?" I asked, looking up at him. I hadn't been listening to anything other than the sounds of my footsteps before Jasper stopped me.

"Telephone," he said, holding the phone up to my ear.

"Hello?" I asked, taking the phone from him. I expected it to be Helen, or Harry maybe. I didn't expect Edward.

"Alice," Edward breathed.

I hadn't talked to Edward since he tried to convince me and Jasper to go home early.

"Edward, hi."

"I tried going to your house," he told me. "When I couldn't find you or Jasper, and all your stuff was gone, I went to the Burrow. Molly said you left a little over a month ago."

"We did," I said, slowly, looking at Jasper confused. "Jasper wanted to come back early to start the new semester at Cornell."

"I'm so sorry for how I acted the last time we talked,' Edward said.

"Don't worry about it," I said, shaking my head. "You were upset. I understand. Now, why were you at my house?"

"I need your help again," Edward said, sheepishly.

"What can I help you with?" I asked, making my way back to the living room. Jasper guided me to the couch before sitting down next to me.

"I can't get a read on Victoria," he said. His sheepishness turned into a slight growl. "She's moving too quickly, and she's trying to come up with ways to keep me out of her head."

"Smart," I mused. "She's learning quickly."

"Can you help me find her?" Edward pleaded.

"Yes," I said. "I will help."

I handed the phone to Jasper who put the phone on speaker.

"Give me a few minutes," I said.

"Of course."

The room grew quiet as I closed my eyes and focused on Victoria's not so distant future. It remained quiet for the next five as I tried to figure out the best route for Edward to take to catch her by surprise.

"Where are you?" Jasper asked.

"Bowie, Arizona," Edward said. "I lost her in Tucson."

"You're not far," I murmured, not opening my eyes. "Victoria is in Odessa, Texas. Head south, across the Mexican border into Sonora. Victoria will head directly south as well. She will remain in Delicias for a week before she continues her journey south. Wherever she goes, you have to stay left. Keep going south. You will come together in Guatemala."

"Where is she heading?" Edward asked. "Where is she going in the end, I mean."

"Rio," I said.

"Thank you so much, Alice. I owe you a million!"

"I'll hold you to it," I said, before standing back up, taking the phone from Jasper.

"I'll call soon," Edward swore. "Tell everyone I said hi, and that I love them."

"They're wondering when you're coming home," I said, quietly. "They've all been thinking about it a lot recently."

Edward sighed.

"I don't know, Alice. But you'll know when I decide."

"I know," I said.

"Just tell them that I will call them soon and that I love everybody. Please?"  
"I will," I said, nodding.

"Thank you," he said.

"I'll talk to you soon. Call if you need any more help."

"Bye, Alice."

The line went dead, and I looked at Jasper.

"Anything?"

I shook my head.

"Not anything new."

We resumed our lives. Jasper focused on his school work, and I helped Esme with restoring the seventeenth-century house she'd been working on. The only thing I disliked about helping, was because of the historians and architects working with her, I was confined to a face mask.

We had used a couple of the sweets from the Skiving Snackbox from George to help make it look more realistic. We had used the Fever Fudge, which took a few hours after we got home to wear off, as well as Fainting Fudge. After each occurrence, I would disappear for a couple of days.

Jasper and I had learned that while we were in London, Rosalie and Emmett had gone to Europe on a honeymoon, careful to skip over England.

"Why didn't you tell us?" I asked, surprised. "You could have come to see us!"

"We didn't want to interrupt your family time," Rosalie shrugged.

"Edward stayed with us for a while. We wouldn't have minded!"

"We would have," Rosalie said. "You haven't seen them in so long, and you see us every day."

"That's very sweet of you," I smiled, "but it would have been amazing if you could have met them."

"They will one day, Alice," Jasper murmured against my temple.

"I know," I said. "So where did you guys go?"

"France, Germany, Spain," Rosalie said. "We thought about going to Romania. Emmett thought it'd be fun to see Bram's Castle."

"Why didn't you?"

Rosalie shrugged.

"We decided to go to Poland instead."

I smiled and shook my head.

"Well, it sounds like a great honeymoon nevertheless."

Rosalie grinned back at me.

"It was."

Emmett's grin was just as wide as mine and Rosalie's.

"You two should go on another honeymoon soon," he suggested, pointing to Jasper and I. "It could be fun."

I turned to Jasper.

"What do you think?"

"Where would we go?"

"Anywhere you want," I smiled.

"It would be the perfect cover story when we have to leave here," Rosalie said. "We say that you died because of your sickness, and Jasper headed to England to find your birth family."

"They know I'm from England?" I said in surprise.

Rosalie nodded.

"Carlisle figured you'd come back from England with an accent, which you did. So he said that he adopted you a little under two years ago. You were sick, and they couldn't find permanent placement for you, so he took you in."

"Where did they think that I was while we were gone?"

"In England, finding your birth family."

I smiled.

"So it's not much different from the truth."

"Not even a little bit," Emmett grinned.

Rosalie and I decided to take a day trip that Friday. Jasper was busy studying for a big test in one of his classes, and Emmett went hunting with Esme. Jasper and I had gone the previous weekend, and wouldn't need to go for a while.

"Where are we going?" I asked Rosalie, as I adjusted the face mask. We knew we would be seen in the city, so we figured it was better safe than sorry.

"Rochester," Rosalie said, quietly.

"Why?" I asked surprised.

Rosalie didn't talk much about her hometown. I wouldn't know much about it myself if I hadn't been there. Even that, it was a long time ago.

"I want to see how much things have changed there," she shrugged. "Besides, I just want to get out of the house while it's cloudy."

I understood that. It had been sunny for the last couple of days, so Jasper and Carlisle were the only ones who left, and when they did, they were extremely careful.

"So what are we going to do there?"

"Just drive around," Rosalie shrugged.

I nodded and settled into my seat.

It took us nearly two hours to get from Ithaca to Rochester. Rosalie talked about some clothing designs that we could work on. I sketched the ideas as she described the details to me.

"We're here," Rosalie told me, as I put the finishing touches on a cocktail dress.

I looked up and watched as we passed a sign welcoming us to Rochester.

"I remember being here with Jasper," I said, as we started to move further into the city. "They were absolutely certain that something more happened to cause you to disappear, although they did suspect Carlisle, Esme, and Edward."

"Of course they did. They weren't wrong though," she said, watching the road. "By technicality."

"Do you think that your family is still here?"

Rosalie nodded.

"Vera's son, Henry should still be alive. He should only be about 75, then I think my brothers had kids."

"Can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"Do you suppose losing the pieces of your human family gets any easier?"

Rosalie thought about it for a moment.

"I suppose it's easier since I had Emmett to get me through."

I nodded and settled back into my seat.

"You're thinking about your family aren't you?" Rosalie asked, watching me.

"A little," I admitted, looking out the window.

"You have years before you have to worry about it," Rosalie said. "Besides, don't wizards live longer than humans?"

I nodded.

"Yes. But I still don't know what I'm going to do when they're gone."

"You'll have Jasper there and all of us. We'll help you through it."

I shook my head.

"You all have been doing that for over fifty years now. It's not fair to ask you to do it for fifty more."

"You aren't asking," Rosalie said. "We're doing it because you're our family."

"Family or not family, it's not fair to you. Jasper especially. I especially feel bad for him. He's been doing it since we met."

"How do you think Jasper would feel if he heard you say that?"

I sighed and shook my head.

"I don't know."

Rosalie turned her attention back to the road.

Rosalie parked the car in a parking garage.

"We'll walk from here," she said.

"You aren't worried about leaving that here?" I asked.

Rosalie shook her head.

"I put the top up, rolled up the windows, and locked the doors. I'm sure it will be okay. Besides, if it's not you'll see it before it happens."

"Fair," I murmured as I threw my bag over my shoulder.

Rosalie guided me through the town. It was almost like she had never left.

"Jasper and I stayed here for two weeks," I said when we came passed the motel. "We used to walk at night from here to the police station. We weren't together at the time," I said, looking at the building.

"It's strange to think that there was a time that you and Jasper weren't together," Rosalie said, watching me carefully.

"I know," I murmured back. "Rochester is where it started. Right here. In there."

Rosalie smiled.

"You remember it?"

"I remember everything about it," I said. "We were looking at the file for Royce King's murder. I was starting to connect the pieces, and my energy was starting to drop, so we laid down."

"Who made the first move?" Rosalie asked.

"Me," I said, grinning. I opened my eyes and was looking directly into his, and I kissed him."

Rosalie grinned.

"That's adorable."

"Well he jerked away from me at first," I said, laughing. "He wasn't sure that I was ready for a relationship."

"But you were?"

I nodded.

"I just wanted to take some time to get to know him. I spent four weeks doing just that."

Rosalie smiled and we started walking again.

Oddly enough we walked the same path that Jasper and I had walked every night for a week while I was trying to learn how to trust myself again. Close to five minutes passed the police station, Rosalie stopped.

"This is where my father worked," she said, quietly. "The King family's bank."

She stared at the building, and I wasn't sure whether it was with hatred or sadness.

"Where did you live?" I asked.

"Follow me," she said, tearing her eyes from the bank.

She guided me from the bank to a street with large houses.

"This is where my family lived," she said, pointing to a house in the middle. "My parents had lived here since before I was born."

"You grew up here?" I asked surprised.

She nodded.

"That surprises you?"

"From the time I was four to the time I was twenty, I lived in a very small two bedroom tumbledown cottage with Remus. Before moving back into it, I didn't remember much of my parent's house. Sometimes I forget that people are actually born into wealth."

"Weren't you technically born into wealth?"

"Sorta," I said. "Both of my parent's families had money, but a lot of the money I had, was money my parents earned. James split some of his parent's money with my father after I was born, Mom kept a job after I was born, and made arrangements with the school to have a job in Hogsmeade during the school year so that we'd be okay after graduation."

"What about after school?"

"She and Dad were training to be Aurors, so I was with Remus a lot. Then, of course, they were in the Order, and then Mum died. We had enough money saved to get us by, and Remus was giving us a little bit of money. When Dad went to prison, and the vaults went to me, Remus refused to touch them so that I would be okay as a grown up. We would use it during school so that I'd have enough for school supplies and clothes, and when I was old enough, I got a job."

"Does it ever surprise you that despite the time we've all been together, there are still things that we don't know about each other?"

I shook my head.

"Sometimes things are too hard to tell. If you think about it, there are things about us that the others we'll never know."

"I'm sure Jasper knows everything there is to know about you."

I shook my head.

"Not everything. There are some things that I probably will never be able to bring myself to tell him."

Even worse, there were some things that I couldn't even admit to myself.

When Rosalie and I came back from Rochester, I found Jasper sitting on the top stair, flipping through a textbook and scribbling down note into a notebook.

"Hey," I greeted cheerfully.

As soon as I spoke, Jasper's head snapped up to look at me before he pulled me into his lap.

"Alice," he exhaled, hugging me tightly as he buried his face into my hair.

"Hey," I murmured soothingly, "what's the matter, love?"

"Long day," he mumbled against my shoulder.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"A girl in my ethics class got a papercut today," he mumbled. He was still pressed against my shoulder.

"Why are you upset, sweetheart? You didn't do anything," I said. "I would have seen that."

"But I thought about it!"

"But you didn't decide," I said soothingly, laying my head against his chest. "If you had, I would have seen it and came home early.

"What does that mean?" Jasper asked, laying his chin on the top of my head.

"It means you're improving. Better than you think."

Jasper watched me for a moment.

"You think so?"

"I know so."

Jasper let out a large breath before holding me tighter.

"Thank you, Alice," he whispered.

"For what?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Staying," he murmured.

"Of course, I said, surprised by his answer. "Jasper, I will always stay. I'm not going anywhere for the rest of our lives."

He grinned at me.

"That's a long time, Ali."

"I think I can handle it."

Jasper chuckled and leaned down to kiss me.

"Come on," he said, standing up while holding me bridal style. "Let's go inside."  
He placed his book and notebook on my stomach before darting into the house.

Despite that day, Jasper seemed to be doing okay. He was learning how to trust himself again. He stayed home the day after, however. Carlisle said that he would tell the school that I was sick and that Jasper was staying home with me. He said it was because he wanted to spend time with me, and it wasn't at all related to what he called his "almost slip." I hated that he called it that. It wasn't almost anything. Jasper wasn't going to do anything. It was just a passing thought.

"What stopped you?" Emmett asked when Jasper told him about it.

"Alice," Jasper responded without a thought. "I kept thinking of Alice."

"And it worked?"

Jasper nodded.

"I thought of memories of us. Kind of like what Alice does when she's trying to push one of the bad memories out of her head."  
"What memories did you think about?" I asked, resting my head on his shoulder.

"The day you and I met, and when we first became a couple, the first time you told me you loved me and the first time you told me you loved me after we started dating, and our wedding."

"You said that you loved him before you were a couple?" Emmett asked.

"The day we met," I said. "Jasper said that despite my barely knowing him, I was willing to do so much for him. I told him the truth. It was because I loved him."

"She was so embarrassed," Jasper teased, rubbing the back of my hand with his thumb.

"I thought it was going to scare you away," I said, shaking my head.

"Never," he murmured, kissing the top of the head.

Jasper didn't leave my side all day, and I was wondering whether it actually was because he wanted to spend time with me.

"Are you helping Esme today?" Jasper asked.

I shook my head.  
"Sometimes historians from Cornell come to help Esme. That wouldn't be very helpful to you cover, now would it," I grinned.

Jasper laughed and shook his head.

"I guess not. So what _are_ we going to do all day?"

"Anything I suppose," I said, looking up at him from my chair. "Is there anything you had in mind?"

He thought about it for a moment.

"Let's just stay here for a while," he said, laying down on the bed.

I watched him for a minute before crawling on the bed beside him. I was laying on my side, and resting my chin on his chest and watched him.

"Are you sure you're okay, Jazz?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" he asked frowning.

"Yesterday was—"

He held a finger to my lips and cut me off.

"My almost slip was nothing, Alice. It's like you said. Nothing was going to happen."

"I was just checking," I said, moving my head back to my pillow.

Jasper rolled onto his side and placed a hand on my hip.

"I'm fine, Al. I promise. The second I'm not, you'll be the first to know."

"Thank you," I murmured, moving closer to him.

I didn't mind having Jasper to myself that day, but the amount of time that we had spent together then, compared to the time we had spent together recently, made me miss him more when he left the next morning.

"I'll be back soon, Ali. I promise," he murmured, running his hand up and down my spine.

"I'll miss you," I murmured, burying my face in his chest.

"I know, but think about it this way, it's Friday. After today, we can spend tomorrow and Sunday together. Then we have all of your energy declines the week after next assuming we got the schedule right."

I sighed, and let go of Jasper who was still grinning.

"Go help Esme today," Jasper said, squeezing my hand. "Time will pass quicker."

Keeping myself busy did help. I did end up going to help Esme. We had moved to one of the bedrooms where we were trying to find the right shade of grey that they had painted the guest room.

"Mindful grey looks the closest to me," I said, holding up the swatch, showing it to Esme. "Anew and Versatile look a little too light, but Amazing grey looks slightly too dark."

"Good eye," one of the interior designs said smiling at me.

I handed the swatch to Esme who wrote down the paint color and started to figure out the flooring so we could replace that too.

The designers seemed very intrigued by what my "sickness" was.

"The doctors aren't sure," I said when they started asking about it.

"Do they have any ideas?"

I shook my head.

"No, but I go in a few weeks for some more tests."

They also grew very curious about my parents, and why they gave me up.

"They couldn't handle having a sick child," I said. "So they put me in foster care, and they placed me with Carlisle and Esme."

This was the story that Carlisle, Esme, and I had agreed on if anybody asked about my family.

I was very glad when the day was over. I couldn't remember a time where I was more eager to get home.

"Why are they suddenly asking so many questions?" I asked Esme on the ride home.  
"I'm not sure," she said, frowning. "But if it continues, we may have to relocate."

"We could always say cancer," I suggested.

"We'll talk to Carlisle when we get home," she said. "We'll see what he says we should do."

I sighed and leaned back against my seat.

"What is it?"

"I don't want to move again," I said, looking out the window. "Jasper likes it here. He likes his classes and professors. I don't want to ruin it for him."  
"I think Jasper would understand, Alice," Esme said. "You're more important to him than anything else in this world. If there was even the slightest possibility that there was a threat to you, he would be the first one packed."

I knew she was right, but I still didn't want to ruin this for him.

I waited on the front stair for Jasper and Carlisle. I was still worried about people starting to get suspicious about my sickness. I kept making a list of sicknesses in my head, trying to come up with possible covers for this place and the next. A lot of the sicknesses that I thought of, Muggles couldn't catch. It made me realize how little I know of Muggle illnesses.

I darted into the house, upstairs into Carlisle's office and grabbed a couple of books. I also grabbed a notebook out of mine and Jasper's bedroom before heading back downstairs and out the door.

I began to write down a list of possible covers and their symptoms, and before I knew it, Carlisle and Jasper were home. I hadn't heard the car pull up, but suddenly they were both standing in front of me.

"Alice?" Carlisle asked, catching my attention. "What are you doing?"

"Research," I answered simply, not looking up from the book I held in my lap. "Esme needs to talk to you. She's cleaning the kitchen."

"Okay," he said slowly. "Thank you, and please return my books when you're finished."

"I will."

Jasper sat down on the stair next to me, picking up my notebook.

"Pulmonary embolism, aortic stenosis, supraventricular tachycardia," Jasper mumbled, reading through the list. "Alice, what are you researching?"

"Possible illnesses."

Jasper frowned.

"For what?"

"People at Esme's job are starting to get suspicious," I said, placing, sitting down the book and looking at Jasper. "They were wondering what I have, how long I've had it, why my parents gave me up."

"So we're moving again?" Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow.

I shrugged.

"Esme said that she would talk to Carlisle and see what we should do…." I trailed off and turned away from Jasper.

"Why are you feeling guilty?" Jasper asked, pulling me to him.

I sighed and buried my face in my hands.

"I'm sorry, Jasper. I'm so, so sorry."

"For what, Alice?" Jasper asked, the panic ringing in his voice.

"I know you like it here," I told him, shaking my head. "I'm sorry that there is a possibility that we can't stay because of me."

Jasper sighed and hugged me tightly.

"It's okay, Alice. There will be other classes, and I can always teach myself. However, I only have one Alice, and I would walk to the ends of the Earth for her."

I smiled and rested my forehead on his shoulder.

"Thank you, Jasper."

"Anytime, Darlin'."

Carlisle and Esme talked quietly in Carlisle's office for close to an hour before they called for me to come up and join them. I placed Carlisle's books on his desk before taking a seat.

"Did you find the answers you were looking for?" Carlisle asked me.

"A few," I said, handing him my notebook. "I think next time we should have a clear idea of what I'm actually sick with, that way the humans won't get too suspicious and we can stay longer."

"That's a good idea, Alice," Carlisle said. "One that we should have thought of sooner. I'm so sorry for putting you at risk like that, Alice. It's not fair to you."

I shook my head.

"It's okay. It's a very rare case we have here."

Carlisle nodded.

"It is. That's why Esme and I want your opinion on what we should do."

"What are the ideas that you already have?"

"Well, we could see how this plays out, or Esme thinks maybe we should stay here for a few months and then fake your death and relocate."

I thought about it for a few moments.

"When would we leave?"

"June. We would finish out the school year."

Jasper had been working so hard to fit a year into a semester, so I was glad to know that at least his hard work would pay off.

"I think that option two would be safest," I said. "We just have to come up with a cause of death."

Carlisle looked at my list of illnesses.

"One of these could work actually," he said. "With supraventricular tachycardia, the heart can speed up so fast that it just stops. Aortic stenosis, your heart has to work harder to get blood to the rest of your body. It'll speed up, or slow down, and then simply stop."

"But do those illnesses cover the symptoms that we've had her shown?"

Carlisle thought about it for a moment.

"Sometimes heart problems can cause nosebleeds, fainting, and vomiting. If you combine it with something else, you can get your fevers."

"So these will work?" I asked, pointing to the list.

"We'll find something," he said. "We have until June to figure it out."

Carlisle and I had a new research project. While Esme, Rosalie, and Emmett researched new places to go, Carlisle, Jasper, and I tried to research possible illnesses.

Nobody was exactly happy about having to leave again, however, we all understood the dangers that each of us were in if we stayed here.

"I shouldn't have left the house," I said to Jasper one night. My energy was at its lowest, and I was waiting for the potion to go into effect for me to sleep.

"It's not your fault, Alice," Jasper told me. "I've told you, we couldn't have known that this was going to happen."

"At least you get to finish out the school year here," I said, smiling weakly.

Jasper nodded.

"That's right, and then as soon as you have a little bit more strength, we're off to Denali for a couple weeks."

I smiled and closed my eyes.

"Can't wait," I mumbled. "Sounds fun."

"I'm sure it will be. Sleep now, Alice. I'll still be here when you wake up."

It didn't take much for me to fall asleep after that. Jasper stayed there, hugging me to him, while I slipped away into unconsciousness. I didn't go to the Netherworld like I had hoped I would. I hadn't been since we had come back home, but I did dream.

I dreamed that Edward came home, and we all returned to Forks. Bella became one of us, and she and Edward spent the rest of their lives together. As much as I wished that my dream was a possibility, I knew it would never happen. It was nothing more than that. A dream. Edward seemed dead set against returning to Forks, and none of us would be able to return either.

When I woke up, Jasper was watching me closely.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Jasper asked. "You were mumbling, but I couldn't hear what it was about."

"Not a nightmare," I croaked. "Just a dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

I laid my head on his chest and closed my eyes again.

"Edward came home," I mumbled. "He came home, Victoria was dead, and we went back to Forks. Edward changed Bella and they spent their lives together."

"I'm sorry, Alice."

I shrugged weakly.

"There's nothing to be sorry about. It was a dream. Nobody can change it."

"Are you okay, Ali?"

I shook my head.

"I just don't know why it's so hard for me to let go of the idea of us returning to Forks."

"Because she was your friend. She was your first friend outside of the family."

He wasn't wrong. Bella was the only friend outside of vampires that I had made since I came to the Muggle world. Even the friends I had made in the vampire world, were mostly Carlisle's friends. The only friends that were my own, were Helen and Tobias, but they were more like my family than my friends.

"It'll be okay, Alice," he said, pressing his lips against my forehead. "I have a feeling things are going to be okay."

I moved closer to him, and Jasper wrapped his arms around me tighter than before.

I seemed to sleep easier the second time. I didn't dream or travel to the Netherworld. I just slept. I did think though. I wondered what it meant when I didn't go to the Netherworld. Did it mean that they didn't want to see me? Or was it because they thought that I didn't need them?

When I woke up, I proposed the idea to Jasper.

"I definitely don't think it's because they don't want to see you," he frowned.

"Then why?"

"Maybe because they don't want you to depend on that place?"

"But I don't get to choose when I go or when I leave."

"Maybe you only go when someone is there waiting for you," Jasper suggested, with a small smile. "And maybe they think that if they are always there, you'd always want to sleep."

"I think it would be fun," I mumbled as my eyes started to grow heavier.

"What would?"

"Researching Netherworlds."

Jasper smiled.

"You think so?"

I nodded.

"It could be our project."

Jasper's grin widened.

"How about we work on that when your energy starts to build back up. Deal?"

"Deal." I paused and raised my hand weakly. "Pinky promise?"

Jasper chuckled, and lock his pinky with mine.

Like always, Jasper stayed true to his promise. Once I was starting to show signs of my energy improving, he helped me to my computer where our research began.

"You know in some religions, Netherworlds are seen as hell," Jasper said from Rosalie's computer.

"My Netherworld is definitely not hell," I said, frowning.

"I know that and I'm not saying that it is," Jasper said in a reassuring voice. "I'm just saying what if it's not a Netherworld."

"What else could it be?"

"Maybe it's supposed to be something like Bardo."

"Bardo?"

"Some Tibetan Buddhists believe in this place, Bardo, which is kind of like a transitional place between death and rebirth."

"I don't think that can be it either," I said, frowning as I turned in my chair to face Jasper.

"Why is that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and taking one of my hands in his.

"Because I'm not being reborn."

Jasper chuckled.

"I suppose that is true, isn't it?"

"I don't think we are going to find anything similar to my case," I said, shaking my head.

"Do you think we'll find more answers outside of the Muggle world?"

I shrugged.

"I can send a letter to Madame Pomfrey, and see if she knows anything, but I don't think she would."

"Why do you think that?"

"Because I don't think there is another vampire like me in the world. We would have learned about them in Hogwarts. If I'm the only one like this, then there is no record to go off of."

"That's true," Jasper mumbled, looking at his hands. "Who would know for sure?"

"The Ministry or MACUSA maybe?"

"Would you want to find out?"

I shook my head.

"No. As I said, if there was anyone else like me, we probably would have learned about them in Hogwarts. Even if they were dead." I sighed and looked at him for a minute. "I don't think we're going to find anything, Jazz."

"I'm sorry, Darlin'," Jasper said, leaning forward to kiss my cheek.

"It's okay," I said, smiling. "We tried. That's what matters."

"Tell me what you know?" Jasper asked, squeezing my hand again.

"From what Mum said, it's a place between life and death. I meet with dead family members and dead friends. I'm not trapped though. No matter how long I stay there, I always come back."

"It sounds like an adventure," Jasper said, his smile not faltering.

"Maybe there isn't any deeper meaning to this," I said, as I started to lean back against my chair. "Maybe that's all it was meant to be. An adventure."

"Is that the conclusion we've come to?"

I nodded.

"For now at least."

"Maybe somebody there will have the answer," Jasper said.

"Maybe," I agreed. "Maybe next time I go there, I can ask whoever is waiting."

"That sounds like a plan," he said, pulling me up out of my chair. "Come on, Al. Let's go rest for now."

I nodded and let Jasper carry me up the stairs to our bedroom.

My energy had returned to its normal state by the time we left for Denali. Because I seemed to be doing better, we left early. Jasper and I didn't drive though. We decided it would be best to ride with Carlisle and Esme in the Volvo so that I could sleep a little bit more before we got to Denali.

Sleep wasn't easy though. I dreamed of Bella, and they were all about the same thing. Bella's death. She died in different ways. In the latest, she stepped to close the edge of a cliff in what I was sure was La Push. Somebody was there with her, somebody I couldn't see. The unknown person was too slow. They couldn't get to her in time and she fell.

"It's okay, Alice," Jasper soothed, holding me tightly in his arms. "Bella is safe. I promise."

I knew that Jasper was right. If Bella wasn't safe, I'd know, but I hadn't been able to get rid of the dreams to stop since they started the night before last."

"Maybe we should start looking at options for a Dreamless Sleep potion," Jasper suggested.

I shook my head.

"The dreams will be gone by next month, I'm sure."

"Are you sure?" Jasper asked.

I nodded.

"Positive."

I didn't go back to sleep though. I didn't want to dream of Bella's death again.

By the time that we got back to Denali, my energy was stable enough to where I didn't have to sleep. For that, I was grateful because I wasn't sure how I would be able to explain that to Laurent.

"What's the story you're telling Cornell?" Helen asked Jasper when we told them of our plans to fake my death at the end of the school year.

"That Alice is getting sicker," Jasper said. "Emmett told Carlisle that we should put her on an oxygen tank when we go out in public to make it look a lot more believable. Which Carlisle had tried talking her into it before we moved to Forks, so we're not decided on how it's going over this time."

"It's not a horrible idea," Tobias said.

"No, it's not," I agreed. "However, I'm not sure how comfortable it would be to have tubes shoved up my nose."

"The tubes aren't that long," Tobias said.

I had only seen the oxygen tanks when I saw Bella in the hospital after James attacked her.

"How did doctors help people breathe in your world?"

"The Healers? They had charms that they learned or made. We didn't use any of these machines."

Helen, Tobias, and Jasper chuckled.

I grew very quiet as I looked in the direction of the house.

"How has Laurent been?" I asked, turning back to Helen and Tobias.

"He's seemed slightly skittish since you did your tarot reading," Tobias said. "He asked us if you were usually right about those sort of things. We said that typically, yes, but it's like you told him. If it isn't true, then he doesn't have anything to worry about."

"Did that help?" Jasper asked.

"Sort of. He got very skittish again when he heard that you guys were coming early."

I frowned.

"Has Irina not noticed?"

Tobias shook her head.

"She's blinded by love."

"Where is Laurent?" I asked, frowning. "I don't remember seeing him when I came in."

Helen and Tobias looked at each other for a moment.

"What?" I asked, "what's happened?"

"Laurent hasn't been home in a few days," Helen said. "He wonders around from time to time, but he's never been gone this long."

"How long has he been gone?" Jasper asked.

"He left in the early hours of the third," Helen said.

It was the eleventh. Laurent had been gone for a week. No phone calls, no letters, he was just gone.

"Where does Irina think he's gone?" I asked.

Helen shrugged.

"I think she still hopes he's coming back."

"And you don't think he is?"

"We're not sure what to think," Helen said.

In the next couple of days, Laurent didn't show. It was like when we had lived with them before we moved to Forks except for the fact that Edward wasn't here. He had texted me about a week or so ago. He said that he had lost her in Rio, and was going to stay there until he could come up with a new plan.

It was quiet around the house. We all barely spoke above a whisper. We caught up on what the others had missed in the last month.

Tanya and Kate asked me and Jasper about our time in London.

"It was amazing," I said, grinning. "Everybody loved Jasper."

"That's not surprising," Tanya said, smiling at Jasper. "He's such a gentleman all the time."

I smiled.

"He is, isn't he?"

Jasper looked away from us. I was sure that if he could, he'd be blushing.

"Don't be embarrassed, Jazz," I said, squeezing his hand. "They're compliments."

Jasper turned to look at me and gave me a small smile.

"I know, but usually you're the only one that calls me a gentleman."

I shook my head.

"That's not true. Molly told me every other day that you were a gentleman, and I was lucky for finding you."

"I think that's the other way around," Jasper said quietly. "I think that I'm lucky I found you."

Tanya and Kate looked at each other with wide smiles.

Irina seemed to be the quietest one of us all. She sat in the corner of the room reading a book.

"Hey," I said, sitting on the footrest in front of her. "How are you?"

"I'm okay," she said, quietly. "I'm worried about Laurent. He hasn't been home in over a week."

"I'm sure he's okay," I said, patting her knee.

"Can you see him? Can you see when he's coming home?"

I closed my eyes and focused on Laurent. I saw nothing. Only black.

"I think my powers are still too weak," I frowned, opening my eyes. "I can't see anything. Either that, or he's near something that is blocking my vision."

"Do you honestly think he's okay?"

I nodded.

"I'm sure he'll turn up sooner or later. It's a big change he made for you. It will take him some time to adjust," I said, glancing at Jasper. "Be patient. He'll come around."

"Thanks, Alice," Irina said, leaning forward to give me a quick one-armed hug.

"Of course," I said, patting her back before she let me go. "Anytime."

"Will you let me know if you do see anything?" she asked.

I nodded.

"Of course I will."

"Thank you."

I nodded and returned back to my seat between Jasper and Tobias.

"What's wrong?" Jasper asked, taking my hand in his and squeezing it lightly.

"I can't see," I murmured as I began to search for the future. For any future.

"You can't see?" Tobias questioned, concern filling his voice.

"Irina asked me to try and look for Laurent, to see when he was coming home, but it's just black. I thought it was because of my energy burst, but everything should be back to normal by now."

I began to narrow my search to specific futures. In the futures I was looking for, the decisions made were small, but decisions nonetheless. My visions were in fact working. I could see that Harry decided that he was going to call and check up on me. Carlisle had decided that he was going to try and convince me to consider the oxygen tank, and continue to have it for a little while in our new location.

"I can see," I whispered to Jasper, too quiet for anybody else to hear. "I just can't see him."

After a moment, I decided that over the next few days, I would keep looking for Laurent to see if he popped up. For Irina's sake. Not his. I still didn't trust him.

The loud ringing of my phone disrupted the quiet of the living room.

"Sorry," I said, quickly jumping to my feet. "It's Harry."

I quickly made my way outside, answering the phone in the middle of the second ring.

"Right on time, Har," I grinned, making my way down the stairs and away from the house.

"You saw me decide?"

"I was trying to make sure that my visions were still working, and I saw it while looking for you."

"Why wouldn't your visions be working?"

"I can't see Laurent," I said.

"Why were you trying to find him? Aren't you guys in Denali?"

"We are, but Laurent hasn't been here in a week. Irina was starting to worry, so I was trying to look ahead to help put her at ease. That's not helpful if I can't see him."

"Does he know the loopholes in your visions? Maybe wherever is here, whatever he's doing, he doesn't _want_ you to find him.

"I'd have to talk to Irina to know for sure, but that's actually very possible."

I told Harry about Laurent's tarot card reading. We also talked about the kids and everyone here and there.

"We miss you, Al. Jasper too," Harry said, sadly.

"We miss you guys too. We'll try to come by sometime before we move from Ithaca."

"Don't feel rushed to come back here."

"It's not rushed," I said. "I'll talk to Jasper, and we'll work something out."

"Let me know how it goes."

"I will. I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye, Al," Harry said before the line went dead.

I snapped the phone shut and began heading back to the house.

"How is Harry?" Jasper asked when I stepped back inside.

"He's good. Everybody is for that matter, however, Harry said that James misses his Uncle Jasper," I said with a large grin on my face.

Jasper grinned and took my hand, pulling me back down on the sofa.

"He did give me a good idea as to why I can't see Laurent."

"What's that?"

I turned to Irina.

"Did you tell Laurent about the loopholes in my vision?"

She nodded.

"He told me he was worried about you always being able to see his decisions. That's all I told him about though, I promise."

"I think that he's okay, then," I said. "I think he just may not want to be found right now. However, I will keep an eye out for him for the next couple of days, just to see if he turns up."

"That's very kind of you to do, Alice," Carmen said, grinning at me.

"Thank you, Alice," Irina said, her smile bigger than I had seen it the entire time we'd been here.

For the next three days, I looked out for Laurent. Each of those three days, I found nothing.

"I give up," I huffed on the third day, flopping down on the couch next to Jasper.

"Still nothing?" Jasper asked while I buried my face into his side.

"Nothing!" I exclaimed. "I can see everything but him. Whatever Laurent is trying to hide, he's doing a damn good job at it."

"He'll turn up soon, I'm sure," Jasper said, wrapping his arm around my waist. "Don't stress about it."

"I just wanted to be helpful," I mumbled against his shoulder.

"You were helpful," Tanya chimed in from the chair in the corner. "You tried. That's what matters."

"Irina will appreciate the effort," Helen said. "You've done enough of helping everybody else. Edward finding Victoria, now Irina trying to find Laurent. It's time to take care of yourself."

"I have been taking care of myself," I said frowning.

"No," Jasper said, reaching you to trace under my eyes. "You're not. If you were, your eyes wouldn't be pitch black."

Thinking back on it, I hadn't hunted for about two weeks. Since before my energy was at its highest. That was two weeks ago yesterday.

"So we'll hunt later tonight after Irina, Kate, Carmen, and Eleazer comes back."

"We'll leave at seven," Jasper said.

I looked into his eyes. His were not completely golden, but they weren't dark enough to suggest that he was thirsty.

"Why do you want to go?" I asked, tapping his nose.

"Because I don't want you to be alone," Jasper said.

"I'm okay being alone you know," I said, grinning. "I'm a big girl."

"Maybe so, but I'm still going," he said leaning in to kiss me.

After a couple of hours, I started to look for Laurent again. I didn't understand how he kept his future completely black. Even when not settling on a decision, something should slip through the cracks. It would take extreme focus to be able to hide every single decision.

"I don't understand," I whispered to Jasper, Helen, and Tobias. "His future shouldn't be completely black."

"We'll figure it out," Jasper said, squeezing my hand. "Stop worrying."

I didn't want to worry. Not about Laurent anyways, but I was worried about what happened to him. I worried about what Irina would do if she found out that something had happened to him. I could understand it though. I had no clue what'd I do if I had lost Jasper, but I never really wanted to stop and think about it either.

"We'll try again here in a few minutes," Tobias said. "You need to take a break."

Tobias's voice faded out. I couldn't focus on what he was saying, and the room faded from my sight.

 _Bella was outside somewhere. A place covered by trees. She was sitting on the edge of a log. She seemed to groan as she jumped off the log, moving towards the edge of a cliff. She was watching the water below her and thinking. After a few moments, she stepped back and ran forward, throwing herself from the cliff's edge falling into the angry waves._

"No!" I half shouted as the vision faded to black. The notebook and pencil I had been holding slipped through my fingers, falling to the ground.

"Focus, Alice," Jasper said, squeezing my hands. "What did you see?"

My wide eyes focused on his face. I noticed now that everyone except for the group that was out hunting surrounded me now.

"What did you see, Alice?" Jasper repeated.

"Is it Laurent?" Tanya asked.

"No," I choked. "It's Bella. She jumped off a cliff!"

Everybody's eyes widened in horror. Carlisle and Esme looked at each other before turning back to me.

"When, Alice?"

"I don't know," I said, as my throat tightened. "I don't know when I just know that she will. The decision has been made. It will be soon."

"What do we do?" Emmett asked.

"I need to go back to Forks," I said. "Maybe I can stop her."

I jumped to my feet, darting up the stairs.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Jasper asked as I grabbed my bag from the corner of Helen and Tobias's bedroom and checked to make sure that my wand and the holster was still attached to my forearm.

I quickly shook my head.

"I think Bella may blame herself for what happened at her birthday party. I love you, and I wish you could come with me, but I don't think that seeing you will help."

Jasper nodded and looked to the ground.

"What if it's too late?" Jasper asked, his voice quieter than before.

"I choose not to believe that."

"Maybe it was just a passing thought," Jasper said, frowning at the floor. "Maybe she isn't actually going to do it."

I took Jasper's book bag out of my bag and sat it against the wall. I didn't think about taking any of my clothes out of it before setting it down.

"I don't think it was just a passing thought," I said, shaking my head as I adjusted my bag on my shoulders. "It was much too clear. The decision has already been made."

Jasper caught my wrist as I walked passed him.

"Alice, it isn't your job to clean up everybody's messes. This is Edward's mess. Let him clean it up."

"Jasper, after the war I almost killed myself. I probably would have done it if they didn't find me when they did. Helen and Tobias found me, saved me, and they brought me to you. I gave life a second chance after talking to them. I gave life a second chance, and in exchange, I got you."

"I know but Alice—"

"I'm not done yet," I interrupted. "My life may have gotten better but my family didn't. They had to grieve for yet another member of their family. In the beginning, I had to watch them grieve for me. Bella is all Charlie has. I won't let him go through what our family did when they thought I was dead. I'm going to show Bella that she needs to give life a second chance. Maybe if she does that, then something good will come out of it, and she can finally let Edward go."

Jasper didn't answer right away. He was looking at the engagement ring and wedding band that sat on the hand he still tightly held.

"Jazz," I whispered, calling his attention back to me. "Please. I need to do this. Please let me do this, Jasper."

His eyes didn't leave mine for a moment. When he did answer, he dropped my wrist and took my hand instead.

"Okay," he said, his voice just as quiet as mine. "Come on. I'll take you to the airport. It'll be quicker than running."

Jasper and I darted down the stairs and out the door. It was a very quiet drive to the airport. The only noise that was made was me calling the airport to buy my ticket to the next plane to Port Angeles.

When we came to a stop at the airport, Jasper leaned in to give me a long kiss.

"Come home to me, Alice," he whispered when he finally pulled away.

"Always," I said, pecking him one more time on the lips before jumping out of the car into the airport.

My plane left nearly half an hour after I got to the airport. The flight wouldn't take long, but I still worried about being too late.

When my plane landed, I made my way out of the airport as quickly as I could, breaking into a run once I was covered by trees. I needed to get from Port Angeles to Forks as quickly as possible. I can't remember another time where I wished I could Apparate more than right now.

I ran as quickly as I could, thinking of what to say to Bella when I found her. Once I got to Forks, I quickly bolted to our house, where I knew I would find Carlisle's Mercedes waiting. It would attract less suspicion than me turning up out of nowhere in case any of the locals saw me. I also took the liberty of putting on a face mask, much like I had done in Ithaca.

It didn't take much time to get to the house. The door was locked, and that was an issue, but a simple charm fixed that. As much as I wanted to look around the house, I knew I didn't have time. I had to quickly get the keys and get out to the garage.

"Try Bella's house first, then trace her scent," I muttered to myself as I started the car and pulled out of the garage.

Forks was exactly the same as how we had left it. It was around noon on a Thursday, and despite the schools being out on spring break, the streets were almost empty. It made it easier to get from our house to Bella's, but when I rounded the turn, I saw what I didn't want to see. Bella's truck was already gone.

"Damn it," I growled, stopping the car in front of her house.

The trail that I found was a couple of hours old, but it was strong. Where ever Bella had gone, she went this way several times. I followed the trail quickly until I had to come to a screeching halt at the treaty line.

I had never been this far out before. I had half expected a bold red line to be painted on the road, but there wasn't. It was just a road.

If Bella had done what I thought she had, then she was so much smarter than I ever gave her credit for. She knew I'd see her, and she went to the one place I could never go to save her. Bella was going to die, and I couldn't save her. I was too late.

I decided to head back to the Swan house. Charlie would come home eventually, but I wasn't sure how to explain to him why I was here. Last time he had heard about me, I was dying, and they weren't sure that I was going to make it. I could tell him I was here to apologize, but if I was "dying" did I really have anything to apologize for?

The Swan residence was quiet. Both the police cruiser and Bella's truck were gone. I parked the car across the street from the house, being very careful as I made my way across the yard and into the house. The door was locked, but much like at our house, a simple charm took care of that.

Once inside, I was curious to know whether Bella had shown any signs of wanting to kill herself, so I headed for her bedroom. I knew I had plenty of time before Charlie got home, so I would have time to come up with a story.

On my way upstairs, Jasper called, and I answered it as quickly as I could.

"Hello?"

"Alice," he breathed. "How did it go? Did you get to her in time?"

"No," I said, "and I can't stop her either. She went to La Push. I think she knew I'd see her, and try to stop her, so she went where she knew I couldn't go."

"It's possible, Al. If Bella wanted to die, then I'm sure she doesn't want to be saved. Are you coming home?"

"No," I said, quietly. "I want to wait for Charlie, that way I know for certain that she'll be found."

"What are you going to tell him?" Jasper asked in a hard voice. "Certainly you're not going to tell him about you."

"No," I said, stepping into Bella's room. "I'm going to tell him I came to apologize to Bella. Once she doesn't come home, he's going to start looking for her."

Jasper sighed.  
"When _are_ you coming home, Alice? You did what you could. This isn't your mess to clean up."

"I'll be home soon, Jazz," I said, quietly. "I know it's not my mess, but I don't think Edward is going to come back here."

"Should I tell the others? That you didn't get there in time I mean."

I shook my head.

"No. Just wait until I come home."

"Okay," Jasper said.

"Are you not at the house?" I asked, turning on her ancient computer.

"No," Jasper said. "I went to the field to call you. Helen and Tobias wanted to come, but I told them I wanted to talk to you alone."

"You're angry with me aren't you," I asked quietly.

"No. Not angry. I just think that you shouldn't be trying to clean up everybody's messes. You've done it since we met."

I knew Jasper was right. I have cleaned up everybody's messes since the day we met. Each slip-up Jasper had, I would quickly cover his tracks to ensure that nobody would suspect him. I had to clean up the mess that James left behind with my family. Now I was cleaning up Edwards. I did it because I was so afraid that if I didn't pay for all the wrong I had done in my human life, then my new life, my life with my angel, would be taken away from me. Oddly enough, nobody else, not even the people from the Order, believed what I did were wrongs. They all believed it was survival. Even if it was, it was selfish.

"I have to do this, Jasper."

"I know," Jasper said. "Just, please. Come home soon."

"I will."

"While I have you, Carlisle wanted me to try to talk to you about that oxygen tank."

I groaned as I finally sat down at Bella's computer.

"Why is it so important to him?"

"Well, he told me that with you being in Forks, and given the story we had to give to leave, he thinks it'll be more believable if you were on the oxygen tank.

"Where do I even find one?"

"Carlisle said that he had some at the house. He said that he had a few on hand in case we were trying to play you off as gradually getting sicker instead of the sudden decline that they had told because of how quickly you and I left Forks. He also told me to tell you not to worry about travel because they're safe to take on planes."

I sighed.

"Okay, fine. Tell Carlisle he wins. I'll go get one in a moment."

Jasper laughed.

"I'll be sure to tell him. Call me when you're coming back."

"I will. I'll probably just drive the Mercedes back to Denali."

"Okay. I love you."

"I love you too," I smiled, looking at the desk.

"Bye, Al."

"Bye, Jazz."

The line went dead and I sighed, putting down the phone. I knew it wouldn't take long for me to go get the oxygen tank from the house, so I decided to finish my search first.

I pulled up Bella's emails. There was an email from Renee that I didn't want to open. I was almost certain it was Renee checking up on her, and I wasn't sure how to answer that. I knew that I would have better luck going to her sent messages folder, but I wasn't ready for what I found. I found dozens of emails that Bella had tried to send to me. They were sent to the email address that Edward had me deactivate when we moved. All of them had been sent back with an error message.

I clicked on the first message she ever sent.

 _Alice,_ she wrote. _You've disappeared, like everything else. Who else can I talk to, I'm lost. When you left, and he left you took everything with you. But the absence of him is everywhere I look. It's like a huge hole has been punched through my chest. But in a way I'm glad… the pain is my only reminder that he was real… that you all were…_

I quickly clicked out of the emails. I hated seeing what we had done to her. Instead, I decided to look around the room. Everything looked normal. Normal for Bella, I mean. The only thing out of place was the black trash bag tucked away inside of her closet which I chose not to open, and a floorboard that was raised slightly from the rest. Most people wouldn't have caught it, not unless you were looking for things that were out of the ordinary. I wouldn't have paid it any mind, but the way that it had been raised, wasn't natural causes. Somebody had pulled it up.

I crouched down next to the bed where the floorboard was raised, lifting it up the rest of the way with my nails. Inside of the hole in the floor was all of Bella's birthday presents. The box with the plane tickets from Carlisle and Esme, the CD from Edward and myself. All of the pictures of Edward and Bella were down there too. I couldn't imagine Bella hiding these down here. Not if she was trying to hold onto the memory of us. I suspected Edward.

I couldn't find anything in Bella's room. Nothing except for the emails, but even now, trying to piece it all together, I couldn't bring myself to read the others.

It wasn't for another hour and a half that I decided to go get the oxygen tank. I climbed out of Bella's bedroom window and ran through the woods. It didn't take much time to get from Bella's house to ours. The trick would be finding the oxygen tanks that Carlisle had stored away.

It did give me the opportunity to look around the house. The six months that we had spent away from here felt like an eternity. This place was my favorite. In Forks, I felt like I was in England again. Like I was home. I almost didn't want to leave again.

I paused for a moment in mine and Jasper's bedroom.

I could vaguely hear our laughter ringing through the room. I could picture the two of us play wrestling, which almost always ended with Jasper pinning me down on the bed. It would result in a playful argument over whether or not I had let him win. I said yes, Jasper said no. We were a lot happier in Forks than we are in Ithaca. That's not to say that we aren't happy together because we most definitely are, but the atmosphere of the Ithaca house was different.

I leaned my head against the wall and smiled. I watched the empty room for a moment before turning to Carlisle's office where he was keeping the oxygen tanks. None of them were very big, and all were portable, however saying that Carlisle had a few was an understatement. Carlisle had a little over a two years supply here. I could only imagine that he had brought some of them to Ithaca.

After I grabbed one of the oxygen tanks and the nasal cannula, I headed back out the door, locking it behind me.

I reentered Bella's house the same way that I had left. The house was still empty, so I took the chance to call Carlisle.

"Hello?" he asked.

"You're going to have to teach me how to work this thing."

Carlisle ran through the instructions with me quickly I followed along so I'd know what to do when the time came.

"It won't hurt you to turn it on now. Charlie could come home early without you seeing it. You're not attuned to Charlie. The good part about the oxygen tank is you don't need to wear the face mask too"

Carlisle had a point. I wasn't attuned to Charlie as well as I had been to Bella. I wouldn't see him deciding to come home early.

The oxygen tank wasn't the most unbearable thing I've had to do to keep our story going. It was slightly uncomfortable as I was getting used to it, but Carlisle said that it'd pass.

"The main thing is that with the oxygen tank on, you have to breathe," Carlisle told me before hanging up the phone. "As long as you breathe, you'll be okay."

"Thank you, Carlisle."

I waited, but Charlie never showed. Even after it got dark. I didn't bother to turn on a light. I could easily pretend to have fallen asleep on the couch or in the chair for that matter.

After a while, I began to hear the rumble of an engine coming closer to this street. As it grew closer and closer, I realized that the sound of that engine was one that I knew, and knew very well. I frowned at the floor, trying to make sense of it.

Both cars were gone, but here came Bella's truck.

"Bella?" I whispered to myself quietly. "That doesn't make sense."

It wasn't until after I heard her voice that I knew it was true. She sounded angry, or upset maybe. She definitely was arguing with someone. A voice that I didn't recognize. I move towards the door, wide-eyed and waited.

After a moment, the door opened, and I saw her.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I am so, so sorry for the long wait. I didn't want there to be a large gap in time, and as I started writing, I had so many ideas for this chapter. I do however want to address a couple things about this chapter, and something about the last. We'll start with the last chapter. I realized that I made a huge mistake in the last chapter that I quickly had to go back and fix. I realized that if Alice got on a plane, but drove the Mercedes to Bella's house, that means Carlisle didn't take it to Ithaca to start out with. So I went back and changed that part in the chapter to help this chapter.**

 **Next thing I want to talk about is Alice and the face masks and oxygen tank. So the idea of the face mask I came up with from my own life. A few years ago, I had a really bad case of bronchitis which was starting to turn into pneumonia, and because I was in a science class with a teacher who loved doing experiments, it was recommended that I wear a face mask for a few days. The oxygen tank, I came up with by trying to figure out what I wanted to do for Alice's illness. I was thinking about a form of cancer may be. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet, but I do like the idea of toying with this oxygen tank in the coming chapters.**

 **I also want to address the Netherworld. I got the idea for this from Once Upon a Time, and I always wanted there to be some form other than the Ressurection Stone that would allow Alice to see her family. The reason for that will come up later in the story. I did try to have Alice and Jasper find some deeper meaning to it, but there isn't one.**

 **I really hope you guys enjoyed the chapter, and I want to thank you all for your patience!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	83. Alive

_"Unbeing dead isn't being alive." ~E.E Cummings_

* * *

Chapter 83- Alive

When I flipped on the light, Bella was looking at me just as confused as I was looking at her. Bella began to shake for a moment and next thing I knew, she ran and crashed into me.

"Alice, oh, Alice!" she cried.

My eyes were still wide. I didn't understand how this was possible. There was no way she could be alive.

"Bella?" I questioned confused. I was also relieved. She was still alive. I didn't have to convince her to give life a second chance. She had done that on her own.

Bella had started to sob, clutching my arms while she did so. I pulled her to the couch, pushing her shoulders down gently and sat down next to her. I rubbed circles into her back, much like Jasper did when he was trying to calm me down. It seemed to work. After a moment, she had calmed down just enough to speak.

"I'm sorry," she said in between cries. "I'm just so happy to see you."

"It's okay, Bella," I said, continuing to rub circles into her back. "Everything is okay."

Part of me was glad that Bella hadn't noticed my accent. It hadn't faded away since we came back and now didn't seem like the best time to explain it. The same thing had extended to the oxygen tank that I still had on.

"Yes," Bella blubbered back, recalling my attention to her. It was then that I realized just how thirsty I was. Bella's scent had hit me hard at that moment. I used my free hand to turn off the oxygen tank and take out the tubes before holding my breath, leaning away from Bella.

I watched her for a moment before sighing.

"I'd forgotten how exuberant you are," I said, quickly starting to hold my breath again.

"Oh," Bella said watching me as carefully as I had been watching her moments ago. "Sorry."

I knew immediately that Bella understood.

"It's my own fault," I sighed, thinking of mine and Jasper's conversation earlier. "It's been too long since I've hunted. I shouldn't have let myself get so thirsty, but I was in a hurry today." I paused again, my eyes narrowing as I glared at Bella. "Speaking of which, would you like to explain to me how you're alive?"

"You saw me fall?"

"No," I said, shaking my head quickly. "I saw you _jump_."

Bella didn't respond. She was still watching me, processing what I was saying.

"I told him this would happen," I continued, "but he didn't believe me. 'Bella promised. Don't be looking for her future either. We've done enough damage.' But just because I'm not looking, doesn't mean I don't see! I wasn't keeping tabs on you, Bella, I swear. It's just that I am already so attuned to you from before that once you made the decision, I saw you jump clear as day. I didn't think. I just got on a plane and came here. I had a feeling I would be too late, but I hoped that I wasn't. Even if I was, I couldn't sit there and do nothing knowing what I did." I shook my head, trying to process today's events for myself. "I saw you go into the water, and I waited, and waited, and waited, but you never came back out. What happened? And how could you do that to Charlie? Did you stop to think what this would do to him? And my brother? Do you have any idea what Edward—"

"Alice, I wasn't committing suicide," she interrupted.

I frowned.

"Are you saying you didn't jump off of a cliff?"

"No, but it was for recreational purposes only," she said slowly.

My frown disappeared as my face hardened.

"I'd seen some of Jacob's friends cliff diving. It looked like fun and I was bored."

When I didn't answer Bella continued.

"I didn't think about how the storm would affect the currents. Actually, I didn't think about the water much at all."

I didn't believe her story. Bella was not the type to jump off a cliff for fun.

"So," Bella said, catching my attention again. "If you saw me go in, why didn't you see Jacob?"

Jacob. The name had come up twice now, but I didn't know him. I cocked my head to the side, hoping she'd continue.

"It's true that I probably would have drowned if Jacob hadn't jumped in after me. Well, okay, there's no probably about it. But he did, and he pulled me out, and I guess he towed me back to shore, though I was kind of out for that part. It couldn't have been more than a minute that I was under before he grabbed me. How come you didn't see that?" Bella explained.

"Somebody pulled you out?" I asked, my frown returning.

"Yes. Jacob saved me."

As much as I racked my brain I couldn't figure out who this Jacob was or why I couldn't see him. The name sounded familiar, but nothing was clicking. I noticed now that Bella did have another scent on her. I leaned forward and sniffed her shoulder. The smell of the other person burned my nostrils, much more than the oxygen tank had.

"Don't be ridiculous," I muttered, sniffing her again.

"What are you doing?"

I didn't answer. I sniffed her once more before leaning back.

"Who was with you out there just now? It sounded like you were arguing."

"Jacob Black. He's sort of my best friend, I guess. Or was at least."

Jacob Black. The great-grandson of Ephraim Black. Edward had talked about him once when Billy Black told Bella to stay away from him.

I couldn't give Bella an answer. I simply nodded. That didn't explain why I couldn't see.

"What?" Bella asked.

"I'm not sure," I said, my voice, even to me, sounded distant. "I'm not sure what it means."

"Well, I'm not dead, at least."

"He was a fool to think you could survive alone. I've never seen anyone so prone to life-threatening idiocy."

"I survived," Bella argued.

"So, if the currents were too much for you, how did this Jacob manage?"

"Jacob is… strong."

I raised my eyebrow, watching Bella carefully.

"See, well, he's… sort of a werewolf," Bella said quickly. "The Quileutes turn into wolves when there are vampires around. They know Carlisle from a long time ago. Were you with Carlisle back then?"

I was surprised by the term werewolf. I hadn't heard about werewolves since I left England. Carlisle had said that there were no longer wolves in Forks, and from what he described to me, they didn't sound like werewolves.

"Well, I guess that explains the smell," I muttered. "But does it explain what I didn't see?"

I frowned more. I seemed to be frowning a lot tonight, and I had a strong feeling that I wasn't done.

"The smell?"

"You smell awful," I said, still thinking. "A werewolf? Are you sure about that?"

"Very sure. I guess you weren't with Carlisle the last time there were werewolves here in Forks?" "No. I hadn't found him yet."

Suddenly it all clicked to me. Bella, a human, who had no way to protect herself, has been spending her free time with a werewolf. It explains why I couldn't see. I couldn't see werewolves. If Jacob had changed, I wouldn't be able to see him.

"How long has this been going on?"

"Not long," Bella said defensively. "He's only been a werewolf for just a few weeks."

"A young werewolf?" I asked, my frown turning to a glower. "Even worse! Edward was right—you're a magnet for danger. Weren't you supposed to be staying out of trouble?"

"There's nothing wrong with werewolves," Bella grumbled.

"Until they lose their tempers," I said, thinking of the scar running down my spine. I shook my head. "Leave it to you, Bella. Anyone else would be better off when the vampires left town. But you have to start hanging out with the first monsters you can find."

"No, Alice," Bella said, shaking her head, "the vampires didn't really leave—not all of them, anyway. That's the whole trouble. If it weren't for the werewolves, Victoria would have gotten me by now. Well, if it weren't for Jake and his friends, Laurent would have gotten me before she could, I guess, so—"

"Victoria?" I hissed cutting her off. "Laurent?"

"Danger magnet, remember?"

"Tell me everything—start at the beginning."

Bella told me everything. From Edward leaving, and her being found by Sam Uley, to her jumping off of the cliff today. I didn't interrupt, I listened closely, trying to catch every detail. I did worry about Charlie coming home though. I didn't have my oxygen tank on me, and I still hadn't explained to Bella what I had it for.

"Our leaving didn't do you any good, did it?" I murmured, shaking my head.

"That was never the point, though, was it? It's not like you left for my benefit."

I scowled at her. It stung that Bella thought so little of us to believe that.

"Well… I guess I acted impulsively today. I probably shouldn't have intruded."

"Don't go, Alice," Bella said, locking her fingers around the collar of my shirt. "Please don't leave me."

"All right," I said slowly, making sure I had her attention. "I'm not going anywhere tonight. Take a deep breath."

I watched her for a moment as she began to calm down. Her fingers loosened from around my shirt collar.

"You look like hell, Bella."

"I drowned today."

"It goes deeper than that. You're a mess."

"Look, I'm doing my best.

"What do you mean?"

"It hasn't been easy. I'm working on it."

"I told him," I mumbled to myself as I started to frown yet again.

"Alice," Bella sighed. "What did you think you were going to find? I mean, besides me dead? Did you expect to find me skipping around and whistling show tunes? You know me better than that."

"I do. But I hoped."

"Then I guess I don't have the corner on the idiocy market."

The phone rang from the kitchen, Bella's head jerked quickly to look at it.

"That has to be Charlie," Bella said, standing up, dragging me with her.

"Charlie?" Bella asked, answering the phone.

I didn't pay attention to the voice on the other line.

"Jake!" Bella suddenly exclaimed.

I watched Bella's expression. Jacob Black made her happy. Nobody, not even myself, could deny that.

"I'm fine. I told you that it wasn't—"

Bella was cut off, and Jacob must have hung up the phone. Bella turned to look up at the ceiling.

"That's going to be a problem."

"They aren't excited I'm here," I said. It wasn't a question. I could already tell my Bella's expression.

"Not especially. But it's none of their business anyway."

I smiled weakly and put my arm around Bella.

"So what do we do now?" I asked. I was more so thinking out loud rather than talking to Bella. "Things to do. Loose ends to tie."

"What things to do?" Bella asked, quickly turning to look at me.

"I don't know for sure… I need to see Carlisle," I said carefully.

"Could you stay?" she begged. "Please? For just a little while. I've missed you so much."

"If you think that's a good idea."

I was afraid that if I stayed here, it would be that much harder for her when I had to leave.

"I do. You can stay here—Charlie would love that."

"I have a house, Bella."

Bella frowned, disappointed. I thought about it again, watching her expression.

"Well, I'll need to put back on my oxygen tank and—"

"Why do you have that, Alice?" Bella asked, finally noticing it on the coffee table.

"Because the story we used to leave Forks was that I was dying. So we're using that as a cover-up."

Bella eyed it for a second before turning back to me.

"Does that mean you're staying?"

"I'll also need to go get clothes from the house, I didn't bring any with me."

Bella threw her arms around me excitedly. "Alice you're the best!"

Her scent hit me again, and the burning started in my throat.

"And I think I'll need to hunt immediately!" I added quickly.

"Sorry," Bella said quietly, stepping away from me.

"Can you stay out of trouble for one hour?" I asked, raising an eyebrow skeptically at her. Before she had the chance to respond, I decided to look for myself, and I held up a finger, quickly searching ahead.

"Yes, you'll be fine. For tonight, anyway."

"You'll come back?"

"I promise," I nodded. "One hour."

Bella turned away from me, glancing at the clock.

I laughed and leaned in to kiss her cheek before darting into the living room, grabbing my oxygen tank, and heading out the door.

I decided I would hunt first. That was a more pressing matter than clothes. I hadn't planned on staying overnight, so I didn't think that it would be a big deal if I took Jasper's book bag out of my own bag. I hunted for close to forty minutes. Glancing in a mirror at the house, I could see that my eyes weren't gold, but they were close.

I didn't put back on my oxygen mask right away. I peeked out of the woods to see if Charlie was back, and when I saw that he wasn't, I headed inside the house with it off.

When I walked inside, I saw that Bella had put sheets and a pillow on the couch for me. I smiled and walked over to it, sitting down in the middle. I pulled my oxygen tank from my bag and sat it on the pillow and started putting everything where it needed to be.

Bella came back into the living room and smiled when she saw me sitting there. I was in the middle of trying to put the nasal cannula in place.

"Thanks," I said, patting the pillow.

"You're early," Bella said happily as I finally got the tube where it needed to be.

"Bella," I said, shaking my head as I put my arms around her shoulders. "What are we going to do with you?"

"I don't know. I'm trying my hardest."

"I believe you," I smiled.

Bella looked up at me and touched the tube.

"It's weird to see you with that," she said.

I laughed.

"It's weird to have to wear it. We were using face masks, but this looks more believable."

It was quiet for a moment, and when Bella turned to look at me again, her smile was gone.

"Does-does he—" Bella paused and took a deep breath. "Does Edward know you're here?"

"No."

"He's not with Carlisle and Esme?" she asked.

"He checks in with them every few months. Sometimes he'll call me if he needs help making a decision."

"Oh," Bella said, simply."You said you flew here… Where did you come from?"

"I was in Denali. Visiting Tanya's family."

"Is Jasper here? Did he come with you?"

I shook my head.

"No, and he doesn't approve of me interfering either. We promised." I didn't say his name. I knew it'd upset Bella judging from the difficulty when she had said it earlier. "And you think that Charlie won't mind me being here?" I asked as I heard the tires come closer.

Charlie thinks you're wonderful, Alice."

"Well, we're about to find out."

Once the car door shut outside, Bella was quickly out of her seat, running to open the door for Charlie.

"I'm so sorry about Harry, Dad," Bella was saying.

"I'm really going to miss him," Charlie mumbled.

"How's Sue doing?"

"She seems dazed like she hasn't grasped it yet. Sam's staying with her…Those poor kids. Leah's just a year older than you, and Seth is only fourteen…"

"Um, Dad?" Bella asked, trying to catch his attention. "You'll never guess who's here."

I took this as my cue. I got up from my seat, being sure to grab the oxygen tank box and went to go stand in the doorway of the living room.

"Hi, Charlie," I said, smiling weakly. "Sorry to have come at such a bad time."

"Alice Cullen?" Charlie asked. He watched me just as carefully as Bella had. "Alice, is that you?"

"It's me. I was in the neighborhood."

"Is Carlisle…?"

"No, I'm alone."

"She can stay here, can't she?" Bella pleaded. "I already asked her."

"Of course," Charlie said blinking at me. "We'd love to have you, Alice."

"Thank you, Charlie. I know it's horrid timing."

"No, it's fine, really. I'm going to be really busy doing what I can for Harry's family; it will be nice for Bella to have some company."

"There's dinner for you on the table, Dad."

"Thanks, Bell."

Charlie disappeared into the kitchen, and Bella and I returned to the couch. In Charlie's state of shock, he hadn't noticed the tank or the accent, and yet again, I was very grateful to not have to explain either.

"You look tired," I told Bella.

"Yeah. Near-death experiences do that to me… So, what does Carlisle think of you being here?"

I sighed.

"I'm not really sure. I didn't give him much of an opportunity to express his opinion. I know Jasper didn't want me to come. I haven't talked to them since I got back to your house with this," I said tapping the tank.

You won't tell _him_ , though… when he checks in again?"

"No. He'd bite my head off," I said, shaking my head as I heard the grimness in my voice.

It didn't take long for Bella to fall asleep. She fell asleep a lot quicker than I thought she would have. When Charlie went up to bed, I had pretended to be asleep, and for the most part, it seemed to work.

Charlie came down early the next morning. He locked eyes with me and frowned.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?"

I shook my head.

"I've been awake for a little while now."

"Come with me," he said, waving for me to follow him. "I'll make you breakfast."

I slipped off the chair quickly and followed Charlie into the kitchen.

"How are you feeling?" he asked, pulling out a chair for me to sit in. "I hear it wasn't looking very good for you when you all left out of here."

"I'm better," I said, leaning back against the chair. "I got out the hospital about two months ago."

"Is it something in your lungs?" he asked, motioning towards the tank.

I paused as I heard Bella in the living room. Her breathing changed. She was awake now. I focused back on Charlie and nodded.

"When I was in the hospital my oxygen levels weren't staying where they need to be. Carlisle has to keep an eye on them, and if they're looking better in the next couple of weeks, then I should be out of this by July."

"We were all worried about you when the word got out on why you left."

"That's partially why I'm here actually," I said, slowly. "I wanted to come and apologize."

"Apologize for what? You've done nothing wrong."

"I heard about what happened between Bella and Edward. If I hadn't have gotten sick, then it wouldn't have happened."

"Alice, you can't blame yourself for that," Charlie said. "You have no control over what happens."

"I know that," I said. "But if he wasn't on limited time, then the break up probably could have gone a lot smoother."

"Even on borrowed time, he didn't have to end it like that," Charlie said, glaring at the skillet where he was making scrambled eggs.

"How bad was it, Charlie?" I asked, softly.

"Real bad," he sighed.

"Tell me about it. I want to know exactly what happened when we left."

Charlie moved around the kitchen to get a plate and then flipped off the stove.

"I've never felt so helpless. I didn't know what to do. That first week—I thought I was going to have to hospitalize her. She wouldn't eat or drink, she wouldn't move. Dr. Gerandy was throwing around words like 'catatonic,' but I didn't let him up to see her. I was afraid it would scare her."

"She snapped out of it though?"

"I had Renee come to take her to Florida. I just didn't want to be the one… if she had to go to a hospital or something. I hoped being with her mother would help. But when we started packing her clothes, she woke up with a vengeance. I've never seen Bella throw a fit like that. She was never one for the tantrums, but, boy, did she fly into a fury. She threw her clothes everywhere and screamed that we couldn't make her leave—and then she finally started crying. I thought that would be the turning point. I didn't argue when she insisted on staying here… and she did seem to get better at first…" Charlie trailed off, not meeting my eyes.

"But?" I pressed.

"She went back to school and work, she ate and slept and did her homework. She answered when someone asked her a direct question. But she was… empty. Her eyes were blank. There were lots of little things—she wouldn't listen to music anymore; I found a bunch of CDs broken in the trash. She didn't read; she wouldn't be in the same room when the TV was on, not that she watched it so much before. I finally figured it out—she was avoiding everything that might remind her of… him."

I found it interesting how even Charlie couldn't say his name. Both of them seemed to speak of Edward as if he was an imaginary person, and I couldn't blame them for it. I wanted to know what us leaving had done to Bella, even if it killed me to know how much I had hurt her.

"We could hardly talk," Charlie continued. "I was so worried about saying something that would upset her—the littlest things would make her flinch—and she never volunteered anything. She would just answer if I asked her something."

I closed my eyes tightly as Charlie told me about it. I felt horrible. I wanted to talk to Jasper about it, but I couldn't tell Jasper what I had learned about Bella. It would make him feel horrible.

"She was alone all the time," Charlie said, recalling my attention. "She didn't call her friends back, and after a while, they stopped calling. It was the night of the living dead around here. I still hear her screaming in her sleep…"

I flinched.

"I'm so sorry, Charlie," I said, not meeting his eyes.

"It's not _your_ fault. You were always a good friend to her. Anyways, it's like I told you, you couldn't help that you got sick."

"She seems better now though," I said, glancing towards the living room.

"Yeah. Ever since she started hanging out with Jacob Black, I've noticed a real improvement. She has some color in her cheeks when she comes home, some light in her eyes. She's happier." He paused, and his voice was different when he spoke again. It was much, much happier than it had been earlier in the conversation. "He's a year or so younger than her, and I know she used to think of him as a friend, but I think maybe it's something more now or headed that direction, anyway. Jake's old for his years. "He's taken care of his father physically the way Bella took care of her mother emotionally. It matured him. He's a good-looking kid, too—takes after his mom's side. He's good for Bella, you know."

I could see that Charlie more so hoped that it would turn into something more between Bella and Jacob. I could understand it. He seemed to make her very happy.

"Then it's good she has him," I said, not looking up from my eggs.

Charlie let out a long breath before looking at me sheepishly. "Okay, so I guess that's overstating things. I don't know… even with Jacob, now and then I see something in her eyes, and I wonder if I've ever grasped how much pain she's really in It's not normal Alice, and it… it frightens me. Not normal at all. Not like someone… left her, but more like someone died."

I understood this too. Edward and Bella loved each other more than Charlie could ever understand. To lose that love, and the bond that stemmed from love is like someone dying. I couldn't imagine losing Jasper like that.

"I don't know if she's going to get over it—I'm not sure if it's in her nature to heal from something like this. She's always been such a constant little thing. She doesn't get past things, change her mind."

"She's one of a kind," I agreed, dryly.

"And Alice…" Charlie hesitated. "Now, you know how fond I am of you, and I can tell that she's happy to see you, but… I'm a little worried about what your visit will do to her."

"So am I, Charlie, so am I. I wouldn't have come if I'd had any idea. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, honey. Who knows? Maybe it will be good for her."

"I hope you're right."

We were quiet for a moment. We both ate our eggs in silence before Charlie looked back up at me.

"Alice, I have to ask you something."

"Go ahead," I said, motioning with my Fork.

"He's not coming back to visit, too, is he?"

I knew immediately who he meant. I could hear the anger in his voice.

"He doesn't even know I'm here. The last time I spoke with him, he was in South America. He left us not long after I went into the hospital."

"That's something, at least." Charlie snorted. "Well, I hope he's enjoying himself."

My eyes flashed as I pushed away my eggs.

"I wouldn't make assumptions, Charlie."

"Are you finished with these?" he asked me quietly.

"Yes, sir," I said.

He scooted his chair across the floor, taking my plate and scraped the rest of the eggs in the trash before washing both of our dishes.

I could hear the springs from the couch in the living room squeaking as Bella stood up.

"Alice?" she asked, her voice sounded hoarse, but I could see that it was fake.

"I'm in the kitchen Bella," I called back.

Charlie left not long after that.

"How long do you think he'll be gone?" I asked, as soon as Charlie's car sped away.

"Most of the day," Bella said.

I took the tubes out of my nose and sat the oxygen tank on the coffee table.

"I had to wear that through the night," I told Bella, sitting on the couch. "Charlie was up and down."

"That doesn't surprise me," she said, shaking her head. "Charlie and Harry were close."

I nodded.

"It's hard losing somebody you're close too."

Bella shook her head.

"Tell me, what is everybody been doing since you guys left?"

I launched into telling her about what each person in the family was doing. I spoke more of Jasper to keep me from talking about Edward.

"I am so proud of him," I said, smiling at my wedding band.

"What did you and Jasper do after you left Forks? You mentioned coming back."

I decided that I was finally ready to tell Bella the truth. That's what I was going to do here anyways to keep Bella from jumping. Why should her being alive change that?

"Jasper and I went to my home country for a while," I said.

"You aren't from America?" she asked surprised.

I shook my head.

"No. I'm from England originally."

"Which explains the accent," she said slowly. "I've just now noticed it."

I laughed.

"I was wondering how long it would take you."  
"Did you learn where you were from with what James told me?"

"No," I said, shaking my head.

"So how do you know?"

"Because the story that James told you wasn't true."

"I don't understand," she said, frowning. "How was it not true?"

I sighed and straightened myself up.

"Bella, I haven't been completely honest with you," I said watching her carefully. "I wasn't ready for you to hear my story before we left, but when I saw you jump, I came here with the intent to tell it to you, to get you to give life a second chance."

"Your story?"

I nodded.

"The part that I wasn't truthful about was the part about me not remembering it. It's true, James did hunt me, and that was the reason for my change. The story that James told you, however, isn't true. It was a cover that I made to keep my family safe."

"Your family? You mean Jasper?"

"No," I said, smiling. "Not Jasper. My human family. Do you want to hear my story, Bella? I think it will help you to understand, and I think that a lot of your questions will be answered. I can see that you have several."

Bella nodded eagerly.

"Please tell me," she said, sitting up straighter than she had been.

I nodded.

"It's easier for me to start at the beginning," I said. "My story isn't short, and it's a little complicated. It's going to be a little jumbled, but I'll help you to understand it along the way."

"I'm okay with complicated," she said, smiling.

"My name was Mary Alice Black. My parents' names were Sirius and Johanna Black. I was born in London in 1976."

Bella's eyes widened.

"How is that possible? I thought you and Jasper joined the Cullens in 1950. Was that a coverup until you were ready to tell me your story?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "It wasn't a cover-up. That part is true."

"That's not possible," Bella frowned.

"It will be explained in the story," I said. When Bella nodded, I continued. "My parents were sixteen when they had me. They had fallen in love while they were in school."

"They were high school sweethearts?" Bella asked.

"Not exactly," I chuckled, "but that part will come soon enough. I don't remember much about my early life, but most children don't. I know that I had two godfathers, James Potter and Remus Lupin, and a godmother, James's girlfriend who later became his wife, Lily. My first memory was from the night that my mother died. I was four years old. I would turn five a month later."

"Alice, I'm so sorry!" Bella exclaimed. "I couldn't imagine losing Renée, especially at that young of an age. Can I ask how she died?"

I nodded.

"She was murdered. By a group called the Death Eaters. Remember that name, Bella. They will become very important later in my story. Even in my human life, I could see the future. The night my mother died, I saw my father dying instead. When the Death Eaters came for him, Dad had gone to see James, Lily, and their son, Harry. When they couldn't find Dad, they decided they were going to kill me instead."

"No!" Bella gasped.

"My mother hid me. They never found me though. They thought Dad had taken me with him. I didn't see my mother dying until it was too late. Dad, in a way, blamed me for her death. I saw him dying, not her."

"How could he blame you? You were a child!"

"Remus told me that, especially when I grew up, that I looked too much like my mother. So my father felt it was easier to blame me. Now, this all happened in 1981. On Halloween night, that same year, James and Lily Potter were killed, and my father was sent to jail."

"He killed them?"

I shook my head. "Not exactly. He was accused of killing another friend of his, James, and Remus's. His name was Peter Pettigrew. He was also accused of killing thirteen Muggles."

"Muggles?" she asked, frowning.

"I suppose it would have been easier to explain that first. A Muggle is somebody who can not wield magic. You, for example, are a Muggle. Jasper is also a Muggle."

"Magic exists?" she asked with wide eyes.

I laughed. "In a world where vampires and werewolves exist, you question the existence of magic?"

"It shouldn't surprise me as much as it does," she said, shaking her head. "So your family, they were wizards? And you too?"

"Well, technically the females are witches."

"But you are one?"

I nodded and pushed up my sleeve and pulled my wand out of the holster.

"I am. Would you like to see what all I can do?"  
Bella nodded eagerly as I stood up and stepped towards the chair.

"Expecto Patronum!" I cried.

The silver dog burst from the tip on my wand into the living room. It turned it's big head to look at Bella whose eyes had widened again.

"Alice," she breathed reaching out to touch the dog. "What is that?"

"It's a Patronus. It's a protector. It protects people from Dementors."

"What are—"

I held up a hand.

"Dementors are soul suckers. They will suck the happiness out of you little by little. If they perform what's called the Dementor's Kiss, then they will take your soul. It's a fate worse than death. For a time, they guarded the Wizarding prison, Azkaban, where my father was sent to serve his life sentence."

"Did they ever—" Bella broke off frowning.

"Take his soul?" I questioned.

She nodded.

"No. They tried once. On the last day of Harry's third year."

"Why?"

"It'll be explained later."

I waved my wand, causing the silver dog to disappear, placed my wand of the coffee table and moved away from the couch and the chair.

"Where are you going?" Bella asked worriedly.

"I'm not going anywhere," I said. "There's something else I want to show you."

I stood on the other side of the coffee table and began to focus.

As I shifted into my Animagus form, Bella looked at me in disbelief. I barked once, causing her to jump back.

I laughed as I shifted back.

"I'm what's called an Animagus. It's a witch or a wizard who can change into an animal at will. My father was one, so was James and Peter."

"Was Remus not?"

I shook my head.

"No, but he's why my father, James, Peter, and myself became one. After my father went to prison, I moved in with Remus. Remus was a werewolf," I said, sitting down. "Much like your Jacob Black, the only difference is that Remus changed during the full moons."

"Do you know why?"

I shook my head.

"I do have a couple of theories."

"Like?"

"Well for one, it's a regional difference. Maybe the werewolves in America are in more danger than the ones in Europe."

"And the other?"

"Maybe the Quileutes aren't werewolves at all. Maybe their shapeshifters. Like me."

Bella shook her head.

"I think that the first one is more likely." She paused for a moment, processing. She shared the same face that every other person who I had told my story to gave. "So you moved in with Remus?"

"I did. Each full moon, I would stay with the Weasley family. Fred and George Weasley, a set of

twins, became my best friends. We were very close growing up. When my father and Remus were in school, there was a special tree planted on the grounds that could lead Remus to a safe spot to wait out the night. My father, James, and Peter Pettigrew all became illegal Animagi, so Remus wouldn't be alone."

"Illegal?"

"Well, not so much illegal. Just unregistered. When I turned sixteen, I started working on it, and by the time I was seventeen, I became registered. But we haven't made it to that part of the story. Now, Lily and James Potter were murdered by a very dark and dangerous wizard by the name of Lord Voldemort. The Death Eaters, the same ones who killed my mother, were his followers. Lily and James weren't Voldemort's original targets. Sometime in 1979, a prophecy came of a boy who would be born at the end of July in 1980. This boy would be Voldemort's downfall. Voldemort valued power. Two boys could fit the description of this prophecy, Harry, my god-brother, and a boy named Neville Longbottom. Harry was chosen because he was literally born at the end of July. July 31. If I'm not mistaking, he was born sometime before midnight, but very close. James and Lily died protecting Harry. But something happened that night. The night his parents died, Harry Potter would be a name that every kid would know. Harry became famous that night."

"Because his parents died?"

I shook my head as I pulled my bag into my lap. I was sure I had a photo album in here.

"In my world, we have what's called the Killing Curse. Because Lily sacrificed herself, for Harry, when Voldemort went to kill Harry, Lily's love saved him. The spell rebounded and Voldemort was the one who died that night. That night concluded the First Wizarding War, and mine and Harry's lives would change forever. When James and Lily went into hiding, they were protected by the Fidelius Charm. That charm would keep their house hidden. Albus Dumbledore, the headmaster of the school Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, was very important for many other reasons. Those will come up later as well. But when the Potters went into hiding, he cast the charm, and my dad was named the Secret Keeper. Only those two would know the location of the Potter family."

"So your father told?" Bella asked watching me carefully for a moment.

"No," I said, placing my bag down when I couldn't find a scrapbook. "But that's what we all thought. Sirius was smart. He knew that Voldemort would know that he would be chosen as the Potter's Secret Keeper. So at the last minute, they changed it to Peter Pettigrew and didn't tell anyone about this change. When the Potters died, he knew that Peter sold them out to Voldemort. So he went after him. As I said, Peter was an Animagus. When my father came for him, he killed thirteen Muggles, cut off a finger, and changed into his animal form which was a rat. My father was blamed and sent to Azkaban. We all believed that he was a Death Eater. Even Remus and I."

I paused to let Bella process everything.

"So things were better for you after that?"

"Yes and no," I said, pulling my legs up next to me on the couch. " I grew up with Remus, going to the Weasley house once a month to spend the night. When I turned 11, I got my acceptance letter to Hogwarts. In Hogwarts, you get sorted into a house upon your arrival. Each house is named after a founder. The houses are Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Slytherin wasn't a lot of people's favorite house because Voldemort and a good deal of his followers came from Slytherin house. My mother, father, Remus, James, Lily, and Peter all came from Gryffindor. Most of the Black family, as well as most of my mother's family, came from Slytherin house, except for a select few. I hoped to be placed into Gryffindor like my parents, and James, and Remus, however, I wasn't so lucky. I was sorted into Slytherin house. For the next five years, I stayed in line, doing everything I was told. When I entered my fifth year, Harry came to Hogwarts. I was careful to watch after him and made sure he adjusted. He made friends. One was Fred and George's little brother Ron, and the other was a Muggle-born by the name of Hermione Granger."

"What's a Muggle-Born?"

"A witch or wizard born from Muggles. It's a blood thing. It never mattered to me. But the Muggle-borns were hated in Slytherin house."

"What were you?"

"I was pureblood," I shrugged. "Like I said. It's not important. Anyways, when Harry came, things started getting weird at Hogwarts. In his first year, Voldemort made his way into the castle."

"But I thought he was dead."

"Well, we learned that Voldemort made Horcruxes. Horcruxes are little pieces of the soul put in common day objects. He made six. So he was able to live. He attached the final little piece of himself to the Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher for that year, named Quirinus Quirrell."

"Did you ever make a Horcrux?"

I shook my head.

"No, no, no. I would never make one. In order to make a Horcrux, you have to do commit murder. The greatest evil. I don't want to kill anybody." I paused for a moment, and when Bella didn't say anything, I continued. "In Harry's second year, the Chamber of Secrets was opened for the first time in half a century. The Chamber of Secrets was a secret chamber that Salazar Slytherin had made before leaving Hogwarts. Inside of it was a basilisk. Only the heir of Slytherin could open it. Muggle-borns were being petrified. No one died though. No one ever looked into his eyes. Only through reflections. Among the petrified was Hermione Granger. That's why her blood status was important. We learned that Ginny Weasley, Fred, George, and Ron's little sister, who had just started that year, had opened it. She had gotten the diary of Tom Riddle. That was Voldemort's name before he became Voldemort. The diary was a Horcrux, and it had been destroyed by a basilisk fang from the basilisk Harry had killed."

"How old was he?" Bella asked in disbelief.

"He was twelve."

"Wow," she said.

"Right? He was young, but he was bloody brilliant."

"He sounds it."

"In Harry's third year, and my final year, my father broke out of prison. Now, during the summer between my sixth and seventh year, Remus and I had started dating. Right before my father broke out."

"You dated your godfather?" I nodded. She shook her head, but it wasn't out of disapproval like most people had. "I've never imagined you being with anyone but Jasper."

I smiled. "Despite the memories, I can't imagine myself being with anyone but Jasper either."

"Wait, wait, wait. You said you were seventeen, how old was Remus?"

"He was thirty-three. But in the wizarding world, you were of legal age at seventeen."

"Why did your father break out of prison?"

"Well everyone thought he was after Harry. He sent Remus a note, telling him to bring me, and meet him in the place where Remus transformed during his time at Hogwarts. When we met him, he told us everything. Ron had a pet rat named Scabbers. He got him not long after my father went to prison. It turns out Scabbers was Peter. Sirius was coming for him."

"Did he get to him?"

"Sort of. At the end of the school year, my father went to attack Peter. But because he was being held by Ron, he just simply dragged Ron to the Shrieking Shack. That's the place where Remus went during his transformations. All that year, I joined him, in my Animagus form. Severus Snape, the potions teacher and later a friend of mine, made what was called Wolfsbane Potion. It helped Remus keep his mind during the transformation."

"Why was it called the Shrieking Shack?"

"Because Remus's howls resembled ghosts. So the town of Hogsmeade called it the Shrieking Shack. Anyways, because he took Ron, Harry and Hermione went after them. Remus and I saw them going on the map, and went after them. Pettigrew escaped, word got out that Remus was a werewolf, and that we were dating, and my father was almost recaptured."

"Almost?"

"Harry and Hermione used a Time-Turner to go back in time to save him."

"Is that how you went back in time?"

I shook my head. "No, I went back in time a different way. But that will be told later."

"So what happened when word got out that Remus was a werewolf?"

"Well, parents didn't want a werewolf teaching their children. He resigned. Nobody seemed to be bothered by our relationship. They suspected it. It was definitely frowned upon, don't get me wrong, but because I was of legal age, there was nothing anyone could do about it. Besides, it was the end of the school year."

Bella frowned.

"What?" I asked.

"Remus was a werewolf," she said, slowly, "and you don't like werewolves. Is it because of something Remus did to you?"

I shook my head.

"No. It's because they're dangerous."

I turned around to where my back was facing her, pulling my shirt down so she could see the scar.  
"Do you see that?" I asked her.

"Where did it come from?"

"On the night that Peter Pettigrew escaped. I was trying to get him settled back down, but then he ended up scratching me. I got lucky. It wasn't enough to change me."

"That's why you don't like the wolves?"

I nodded.

"If Jacob loses control for the slightest minute, you could get hurt."

Bella shook her head.  
"Jacob wouldn't do that."

"He would if he didn't have a choice."

Bella shook her head.

"Please, Alice. Just continue the story."

I sighed and nodded.

"When I left Hogwarts, I immediately went to school to be an Auror. That's kind of like a cop for the wizarding world. They catch the dark wizards. I wanted to show the world that not all Slytherins were bad."

"Did it work?"

"Yes. During Harry's fifth year, I started doing work for the Order of the Phoenix. This was a secret organization Dumbledore created during the first war to help bring down Voldemort."

"But Voldemort was gone."

"Well at the end of Harry's fourth year, Voldemort was brought back to a human form. That's when I consider the Second Wizarding War to start."

"That's not when it technically started?"

I shook my head. "The Ministry of Magic didn't want to believe Voldemort had returned. But at the end of Harry's fifth year, that changed. See for the past year, Harry had been able to see into Voldemort's mind. The explanation will come shortly. But Voldemort knew Harry could see in his mind. It worked the reverse way too. So Voldemort got smart. My father was the closest thing Harry had to a father. So he created this false image of my father being tortured. Harry, of course, rushed in to save the day. He tried checking with Sirius, but our house elf, Kreacher, told Harry that he wasn't there. So Harry went to the Ministry where he thought Voldemort was holding him."

"He thought he took him to a government office?"

"He wasn't thinking clearly. But once Harry got there, he was swarmed by Death Eaters. They wanted to bring the prophecy to Voldemort. Me, Dad, Remus, and some other members of the Order went to the Department of Mysteries where Harry, Ron, Hermione, and some other students were. That's when the first official battle of the Second Wizarding War took place. It became known as The Battle of the Department of Mysteries. That night, was another night that my life changed. That night, only one person died." I paused and I looked at Bella. She didn't put the pieces together. "That night, my father died. That night, Sirius Black was proven to be innocent." She gasped, and I felt a lump growing in my throat. "He died two days before my twentieth birthday. He died June 18, 1996."

"Alice, I'm so sorry."

"It's okay. It's been a long time for me. I've had the time to grieve for my father. But my story goes on from there. A few hours after my father died, Remus broke up with me. After Dumbledore died sometime later, he fell in love with and married my third cousin, Nymphadora Tonks. I became depressed after Remus left me. I started working more and more for the Order." I rolled up my sleeve, removed my wand holster, and showered her the red scarring of my Dark Mark. "One of my tasks from Dumbledore was to become a Death Eater."

She grabbed my arm. "I've never seen this before."

"I do a good job of covering it up."

"Is this the mark of a Death Eater?"

"Only the inner circle was branded," I explained. "Dumbledore told me to do everything I was told. I did. I quickly worked my way through the ranks, and I became a favorite among Death Eaters and Voldemort. I was branded in under two months time. When I went to Dumbledore, he told me that it only meant I was doing exactly what he needed me too. Before he died, Dumbledore told Severus and me something about Harry. Something no one else knew. The night Voldemort went to Godric's Hollow to kill Harry, and the spell rebounded, a piece of Voldemort's soul escaped. It clung on to the closest living thing it could find. Harry was the seventh Horcrux. He was the Horcrux Voldemort never intended to make."

Bella seemed to be processing everything quickly.

"Why did you get branded so quickly?"

"The reason why they had chosen me to go undercover is because Severus, who was also undercover, told Dumbledore that Voldemort wanted to try and recruit me. He knew of my abilities, both being able to see the future and being able to do wandless magic, and he figured it was better to be with me than against."

"Is wandless magic a big deal?"

"Only very powerful witches and wizards can do it."

Bella nodded.

"Smart thinking," she admitted.

"It was. He could be smart at times." I paused as I looked down at the Dark Mark. "I tried everything I could to get it off. I tried clawing it, hexing it, cutting it. Nothing worked, and now, I'm branded for life."

Bella reached over pulling my sleeve down.

"You are not bad, Alice," Bella said, patting my arm.

"You don't know the things I've done, Bella."

"It can't be anything horrible. You're not like that."

I shook my head.

"You're wrong."

"What could you have possibly done?"

"I've killed more people than you could ever know. I killed innocents, Muggles, and Wizardkind alike. There was one family, I had to kill a little boy. I had to do it to prove to Voldemort that I was loyal to him. I darkened my soul to protect my family. My brother."

"That was for survival, Alice," Bella said, frowning. "It was a war. You didn't have a choice!"

"It was selfish," I snapped. "I could have easily let him kill me. Harry was smart. He would have won the war with or without me."

Bella shook her head.

"You would have never met Jasper."

"That's true," I said. "Jasper has helped. But he hasn't come up in my story yet."

"Where are we now?"

"Close to the end of my human life and the beginning of my immortal one. We'll skip ahead to May 1st and May 2nd of 1998," I said. I was twenty-one at the time, nearly twenty-two. That night was the end of the war. We all fought in the last, and the biggest battle. It would later be known as the Battle of Hogwarts. For the first half, I fought with the Death Eaters. That's what I was told to do, and the Order knew it. I didn't throw anything more than a small j. Voldemort offered a deal. If Harry met him in the Forbidden Forest in an hour, he would leave Hogwarts. He gave the chance to gather our dead. Voldemort knew that I had family fighting on that side. He told me I could go see if I lost anybody."

The lump in my throat grew.

"You lost people very important to you, didn't you?"

I nodded.

"I lost two people who meant the world to me."

"Who?"

"Well for one, I lost Remus. He and Tonks died together. He looked peaceful, and that night I realized that I was still in love with him. I never thought I could love anyone as much as I loved him."

"And the other?"

"Freddie," I said, closing my eyes, trying to push the memory of Fred's dead face staring back up at me. "He died much like my father. He died laughing. His last smile etched on his face. That night, I made the decision that if I lived through the battle, I would end my life."  
"Oh, Alice…" Bella said trailing off and she pulled me into a tight hug.

"I fought with my family for the second half of the battle. Harry went to Voldemort and survived the Killing Curse a second time. This time, Voldemort destroyed the Horcrux inside of Harry. So he lived. I fought to avenge my family, and a small piece of me hoped I would die too. Voldemort died. The battle and the war were over."

I paused as Bella grabbed my hand.

"It's okay, Alice."

I took a deep breath before continuing.

"I went to every single funeral. Remus's funeral was last. That night, I planned on killing myself. I went to the memorial for all the victims lost in the war, my father included, and I said goodbye to my family. I met Remus's son, Ed—" I broke off when Bella flinched away from me. "Teddy. Teddy was his nickname. That's what we all called him. He was only a baby. But he was smart, just like his dad. He remembered who I was. That night, I never made it to killing myself though. I was stopped by one of my creators. His name was Tobias. He and his mate, Helen had been looking for me. Helen is a time traveler. The night that I killed the little boy and his parents, James caught my scent. He and Victoria were hunting me. They were going to go after my family. I was changed, so my family could have the chance to survive. Tobias has a gift too. He can erase and change memories. So they changed me, they brought me to Jasper, and then they went back to 1998 and they changed James and Victoria's memories to a story I created to where he would never remember the name, Mary Alice Black."

"Is this where you met Jasper?"

I nodded.

"I saw Jasper for the first time during my transformation. Much like Emmett did with Rosalie, I thought he was an angel. I had never believed in God per se, but I wanted to believe there was something more. I saw him fully in a vision after I woke up. I knew immediately that I was in love with him, and that I had to find him."

"Was it hard?"

"No. I had Helen and Tobias there with me. What was hard was coming to a new country. Coming here where I had no family. Helen, Tobias, and Jasper all became my family."

"Where are Helen and Tobias now?"

"In Denali," I said with a smile. "They joined Tanya's coven right after Jasper and I got married."

"And Jasper, did he help you get through your past?"

I nodded.

"Jasper has made all the difference in my life. That's why I wanted to come here when I saw you jump, Bella. I wanted you to hear my story so you would give life a second chance. I did, and it worked out for the better. I gave up my old life, I lost my humanity to save my family, and I got Jasper."

"Your story has a happy ending," she said with a smile.

I nodded.

"When we left Forks, I went back to England. Jasper came with me of course. I showed him my home, introduced him to my family. They're all grown up now. They all have kids, jobs. They've made good lives for themselves. Teddy, Remus's son, he calls me his Aunt Alice. George, his son is named Fred. He looked just like his father."

I grinned and shook my head.

"Will you go back and see them again?"

I nodded.

"Now that they know I'm alive, I have no reason to stay away. They know about me, about Jasper. They know about you too."

"Me?" she asked surprised.

I nodded.

"You were my first friend outside of the family that I ever made in America. I was very upset when I found out that I had lost you."

Bella smiled, and then looked at the oxygen tank.

"Alice?" she asked, looking back up to me. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead."

"Why are you pretending to be sick?"

"Well it's not a complete lie," I said. "I am. In a way. You see I get what we call energy bursts. Once a month my energy will increase to great levels, and then it drops. I can't walk, I can barely move, I can't do magic, I can't control my visions. So by saying that I'm sick, it makes it easier to cover up what's happening."

"Why does it happen?"

"We think it's because of the magic and the venom mixing during my transformation."

"So what do you do during that time?"

"Exactly what you do when you get sick. I sleep."

"But vampires can't sleep," she said, frowning.

"They can when the potion is strong enough," I said, pulling the vial out of my bag.

"So you sleep?"

"I do. I dream too. Jasper, he stays with me the entire time. Refuses to leave my side for anything."

I smiled, but deep down, I was sad that Jasper wasn't here with me.

I put on my oxygen mask about half an hour before Charlie came home. I didn't want to take the risk of being caught without it on.

"Is that comfortable?" Bella asked, pointing to the tubes.

"It's not uncomfortable, but it isn't at the top of my list of things that I enjoy," I chuckled.

"Charlie will be leaving early in the morning," she said. "You won't have to wear it for long."

I chuckled before sitting quietly. I couldn't help but push out the idea of what would happen to Bella once I left again.

* * *

H **ey guys! I know I just put a chapter out, but I already had over half of this chapter prewritten, so that helped it to get put out quicker. Sometimes when I get writer's block, I move on and write another part of the story. Alice telling Bella her story was actually written when I was writing the story the first time. I had to do a lot of editing to get it to sound the way I wanted it to. I never realized how my writing has changed in the last few years, and I truly hope that that is for the better.**

 **One thing I want to point out is a change I had to make from the original story. As I said in the last authors note, I wanted to toy with the idea of Alice wearing an oxygen tank instead of the face mask. In New Moon, Carlisle and Esme weren't there when Alice left Denali to head for Forks, but in this story, it was necessary to have them there because of the ideas that I have.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope to have the next one out soon!**

 **Thank you, everyone, for your feedback, and for following and favoriting the story. I appreciate your support more than I can ever tell you.**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	84. Mistakes

_"We need to accept that we won't always make the right decisions, that we'll screw royally sometimes." ~Arianna Huffington_

* * *

Chapter 84- Mistakes

Charlie, much like Bella said he would, came tiptoeing down the stairs early in the morning. He was wearing a suit and tie, but his jacket was still unbuttoned. He tiptoed passed, careful not to wake us. I was very sure that Bella, much like myself, was wide awake.

Once I heard Charlie's car pull away, I sat up quickly, pushing my quilt off of me, and waiting a second before I took out the oxygen tubes.

"So what are we doing today?" I asked Bella, as she too sat up.

"I don't know—do you see anything interesting happening?"

I smiled and shook my head. I had double checked earlier when I first heard Charlie start to move around upstairs.

"No," I said, still smiling, "but it's still early."

"Would you mind if I did some housework?" she asked, looking towards the kitchen. "I've been spending so much time in La Push that I'm behind."

"I don't mind. However, if you don't technically want to clean, I could do it for you."

I gestured towards my arm where my wand holster was attached. "I have a few spells I could do and they could clean the house in minutes. I used to do it at my house after I moved out of Remus's. It was too big, and it was just me living there."

Bella shook her head.

"No, that's okay. You don't have to do that," she said. "I actually enjoy cleaning."

"Just let me know if you change your mind."  
"I will," Bella said.

She stood up and made her way into the kitchen to get cleaning supplies. I followed behind, carrying my oxygen tank with me just in case I had to quickly put it on if I needed to.

"Hey, Alice?" she asked, as she crouched in front of the sink, opening the cabinet.  
"Yes?"

"Why didn't you want to tell me about you?"

I sighed, as I leaned against the counter.

"It's not that I didn't trust you to keep my secret, but magic is a lot to take in. I wanted you to get to know me as just Alice."

"So why didn't you tell me that you weren't ready to talk about it?" Bella asked as we headed to the bathroom upstairs.

"Because it's not that simple, Bella," I sighed. "I had to figure out how to tell you. I also had to see if it were possible for you to be changed. The government for magic in America is secretive. I was afraid they'd send me away."

"So why did you tell me now?"

"I planned on telling you my story anyway. My accent made it difficult to hide, so I figured I'd have to tell you anyways. Besides, even if you were thinking about killing yourself, my story would give you a reason not to."

Bella watched me for a minute.

"Was it difficult?"

"Was what difficult?" I asked, watching her as carefully as she was watching me.

"Not using magic around me."

I shook my head.

"I managed. It helps when you're not completely dependent on magic. It helps, don't get me wrong, but sometimes it's easier to do it yourself. The energy bursts, they were difficult though."

"How did you cover it up?"

"I was very careful to make sure you were nowhere near the house. If you did come, then we'd say I was away on a hunting trip. Back in May, one day I missed school, and then you came over. It was the anniversary of my mother's death and I was in the middle of an energy burst. My magic began to surge slightly from the emotions and the energy increase. Things like that made it difficult."

Bella was quiet for a moment.

"I still see you as just Alice," Bella said as I leaned against the doorframe. "Just with a few more talents than I thought you had."

I smiled.

"I'm glad to know."

"Are there others like you?"

"What do you mean?"

"Witches and wizards turned to vampires."

I shook my head.

"No. Not that we know of."

"Have you thought about going to look?"

"No," I said again. "I think that if somebody like me did exist Hogwarts would have tried to get them to come to talk our Defense Against the Dark Arts."

"Are you going to look?"

I shrugged.

"I'm not sure."

"Other than being an Animagus, are there any other special talents that you developed from being a witch?"

"I'm a skilled Occlumens and Legilimens."

"What does that mean?"

"Legilimency is when someone uses magic to navigate through the layers of a person's mind. Occlumency is the ability to block those invaders."

"So you can read minds too?"

"That's a way of putting it," I said. "However it's not quite the same thing as telepathy."

"Do you think you'd be able to read my mind?"

"I can try," I said. I didn't tell her that Edward had wondered the same thing.

"What do I do?" she asked, turning to face me.

" _You_ don't have to do anything. _I_ on the other hand, just have to focus."

I focused on Bella. Focused on breaking through the first layer of her mind. After a moment, I was in.

 _How would I know if it worked?_ Bella thought.

"It did," I answered out loud.

"What did what?" Bella asked, surprised.

"You were wondering how you'd know whether or not I had gotten through. I did."

"So you can read my mind?"

"So it would seem. I can also go further back and see your memories."

I focused on going deeper and began to navigate my way through the memories.

 _Bella standing at the edge of the cliff, Bella and Jacob in a garage working on what looked to be a broken down motorcycle, Edward leaving._

As soon as I saw Edward's leaving, I quickly backed out of her head again.

"Would I be able to block you?"

"Probably not. You can block _him_ because he, much like you, is a Muggle. I'm using magic to do it, and because you're a Muggle, chances are you couldn't."

Bella nodded and went back to cleaning for a moment.

"How long have you been able to do that?" she asked, glancing back at me.

"Since I was recruited as a Death Eater. Severus taught me."

"Was it hard to learn?"

"Not with enough practice and focus. At first, I could only navigate through minds with a wand. That made it difficult because they could see what I was looking for. Now I do it without the wand, but I still try to be careful. Sometimes I still accidentally cause the person to see what I'm looking at."  
"Why'd you learn it?"

"Because it was necessary to know it in order for me to survive. Voldemort was a very skilled Legilimens. He could have easily read my mind and saw that I wasn't loyal. If he saw that, I would have been killed very early on."

"But wouldn't he have gotten suspicious if you always had your mind closed?"

"After enough training with Severus, I learned how to let Voldemort see only what I wanted him to see."

"And he never grew suspicious?"

I shook my head.

"I was very good at my job. It's why I was in Slytherin. I was cunning enough to outsmart the darkest wizard of my time."

"Do you think you could tell me about your time as a Death Eater?"

"What do you want to know about it?"

"Did you ever want to quit?"

"Of course I wanted to quit," I said, sitting down on the floor, folding my legs on each other. "Every single day I thought about quitting, but I knew that that would result in my death. Most days, however, the idea of dying didn't sound so bad, but I knew that if I died, I couldn't make sure Harry won."

"Were you afraid of dying?"

"No," I said. "I knew that I had a fifty-fifty chance of dying during the war. After being forced to kill so many innocent people, I kind of hoped that I would end up with the chance of death."

"It's so strange to think that there was a point in time when you weren't happy," Bella said, shaking her head. "I've always known you to be so happy."

"My memory is so much more clear than other vampires," I said. "I see them like they are movies, but sometimes the memory becomes so vivid that they become less like movies, and it's like I am actually there again. I can feel everything that I felt, which is very, very different from how I feel now."

I squeezed my eyes shut as some of the bad memories began to rise to the surface.

"Tell me about Jasper," Bella said quickly. "What does he think about magic?"

The memories faded away after hearing Jasper's name.

"He loves it," I smiled. "He says he could watch it for days without a break and still be amazed. He'll run with me when I'm in my Animagus form and sometimes he even lets me practice my Legillemancy on him."

"So he never wishes you were different?"

I shook my head.

"I used to believe that he would be happier if I was a normal vampire. Jasper used to tell me that it was the magic that made me who I am, and if I didn't have the magic, then I wasn't fully me. It's like I said yesterday. Jasper makes all the difference in my life. I don't know if I'd be alive today without him."

"Does he know that?"

"I'm almost certain he does." I smiled and looked at Bella. "Enough about me. Tell me about the people from school. How have they been? Are Jessica and Mike still broken up?"

Bella nodded.

"I think Jessica is still hoping that they can get back together, but Mike doesn't seem too interested."

"Has she asked him?"

"No," Bella said, shaking her head. "Not that I know of at least. She and Lauren are their usual selves. They don't really like talking to me."

"And Angela? How is she? I always liked her."

"She's good," Bella said.

"Is she still with Ben?"

Bella nodded.

"They're a pretty good couple. They don't fight as far as I can tell."

"I don't take Angela as the fighting type."

"Neither do I," Bella said, shaking her head.

I noticed that no matter what question I asked, about anybody from school, Bella didn't have much information to tell.

"You don't seem to know much," I said, frowning.

"I didn't talk to them for a while after you guys left," Bella said, looking at the floor. "I didn't talk to anybody really. I only started talking to them again in January. I was trying to prove to Charlie that I was coping."

"I'm sorry, Bella," I said, my voice close to a whisper.

"It wasn't your fault," she said, shaking her head. "How is Jasper holding up from it?"

"He's struggling," I said, shaking my head. "He blames himself for what happened. He thinks that because he couldn't keep control, he ruined everyone's happiness. He was afraid that I was angry with him for the first few weeks. I still don't think he believes me when I say I'm not."

"Do you think it will help if I said something to him?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "I could write him a letter. He should know that I'm not mad at him and that it wasn't his fault."

"I think it may," I said. "I think that he thinks that you are angry, and that's why he won't forgive himself."

"But I'm not," she said frowning.

"Jasper doesn't know that though. He didn't get a chance to talk to you before we left. He and I left very early the next morning to go to Britain."

"Maybe before you leave and can call and talk to him," she suggested.

"Maybe," I said, trailing off.

It occurred to me at that point that I actually hadn't thought about when I was leaving. It would have to be soon, I was sure of that much. The longer I stayed, the more it would hurt Bella when I did leave.

"What are you thinking about?" Bella asked. "You seem to be deep in thought."

"Jasper," I lied. "I miss him. I haven't talked to him since a few hours before I found out you were alive."

It wasn't a complete lie. I did miss him. The only lie I told, was that Jasper was what I was thinking about at that exact moment.

"You should call him today," Bella said. "I'll understand if you step out for a minute."

"I may call him while you are eating."

Bella nodded.

"I think he'd be happy to hear from you."

As Bella began to start scrubbing the floor, I noticed that our futures had gone black. I frowned and began to try and search to find out when the blockage would come. It was close. Much too close.

Down the road, I could hear a car, and I began to immediately understand why mine and Bella's futures went dark. Something or rather someone I couldn't see was near. A werewolf. The only werewolf of the Quileutes that I suspected to come to Bella's was Jacob Black. She didn't speak of having ties to any of the others with the exception of Sam Uley who found her in the woods the night Edward left.

The doorbell rang, and I slightly turned my head to the door. I could smell him now. It smelled much like the wet dog smell that I had found on Bella but it was stronger. It confused me. Teddy was half-werewolf, yet he didn't smell like that. Was it because he was also half-human?

"Hold on!" Bella yelled into the living room before hurrying to the sink to rinse her hands and arms off.

"Bella," I said, frustrated as our futures remained black for an unknown amount of time, "I have a fairly good guess who that might be, and I think I'd better step out."

"Guess?" Bella asked surprised.

"If this is a repeat of my egregious lapse in foresight yesterday, then it's most likely Jacob Black or one of his… friends."

"You can't see werewolves?"

"No," I said. "That is definitely one similarity between the Quileutes and Remus. I couldn't see him either."

The doorbell buzzed twice back to back. I turned to the door again before turning back to Bella.

"You don't have to go anywhere, Alice. You were here first."

I laughed darkly.

"Trust me—it wouldn't be a good idea to have me and Jacob Black in a room together."

I stepped forward, kissed her cheek, shifted to my Animagus form and darted into Charlie's room and out the window.

I landed with a soft thud on the ground outside and began to make my way to the front of the house so that I could easily get back inside.

I could see Jacob's car sitting by the curb. Two boys, who names I was unsure of, were sitting in the car looking back at the house.

I peered out from a bush as Jacob walked inside.

The two boys were still watching the house when I stepped into sight. There was no possible way that they could know it was me. Nobody on the reservation knew about me, not unless Bella planned on telling Jacob, and I really hoped she would understand that it was most certainly not her secret to tell.

I locked eyes with the boy in the passenger seat, who tapped the boy behind the wheel.

"Jared, look, that dog kinda looks like Sam."

Jared, the boy behind the wheel, turned to look at me.

"It kinda does, doesn't it?"

"I didn't know Bella had a dog," the boy in the passenger seat said.

"I don't think she does," Jared said. "I think it's a stray."

He opened the car door and stepped out, still eying me.

"If it's probably hungry," the other boy said.

"If we can get it to come over here, we could give it some food. I still have a muffin left from breakfast."

I didn't like the idea of having to eat human food. I was afraid that if I didn't go to them, they would come to me. I wasn't sure if they would be able to smell traces of vampire on me in this form, and what conclusion they would come to if they did.

I turned my head to the house and listened for a moment to see if there were any signs of Jacob leaving before Jared and the other one tried to call me over.

You should know that we can only watch our own lands with a Cullen here," Jacob Black was saying. "You'll only be safe in La Push. I can't protect you here anymore."

He didn't show signs of leaving anytime in the next few minutes which made me huff slightly.

When I looked back to the two boys in the car, Jared and the other boy had both gotten out. The one whose name I did know, was crouching down holding out the muffin.

"Come here, puppy," he called before clicking his tongue.

I watched them carefully for a second before sighing and took a few steps forward.

They took a step towards me, which called me to back up.

"It's scared," Jared murmured stepping back again. "We could always set it in the grass and let it come to the food."

 _Please_ , I thought hopefully as I stretched my legs out.

The boy whose name I still didn't know came towards the house slowly. Once he got to the driveway, he sat down the muffin before making his way back to the car.

"Yeah, I'll always be your friend," Jacob Black was saying from inside the house. "No matter what you love."

I growled lowly before turning slowly approaching the muffin in the driveway.

My plan would be to take it to the backyard so they'd think I ate it. I really didn't want to eat any human food if I had the choice. Burying it in the backyard seemed like the better option.

The boys watched me as I made my way to the muffin leaning forward as I dropped my head down to smell it. I could smell bananas and the chocolate chips were evident on top. One of them had taken it out of the paper, which would likely mean that there would be dirt on the bottom.

I looked back up at the boys who were still watching me.

"Go on, puppy," Jared said. "It's all yours."

I pawed at the muffin, trying to delay having to pick it up as much as possible.

I wondered if they would believe that a hungry stray dog would walk away from food that they had set out for it. After concluding that it wouldn't be believable, I picked up the muffin with my teeth, careful to not let it touch my tongue.

I stepped out into the road a little bit more, to be sure that they had seen that I took it before moving to step back into the yard.

From inside the house, I could hear a phone ringing, and suddenly my vision was gone.

 _Edward was standing before three vampires. All three were standing on thrones. One with long black hair stood up._

 _"Edward Cullen," he said, with a grin. "How can I help you?"_

 _"I want to die," Edward said, his voice lifeless._

My eyes widened. As my vision returned I dropped the muffin out of my mouth, and quickly shifted back to my human form.

"That's impossible!" Jared exclaimed from behind me as I sped back towards Charlie's bedroom window. They had seen me change. They knew about me know, but that was the least of my worries.

I pulled my phone out as I slid into the window sill, already dialing Edward's number.

The phone rang a few times before an unknown voice answered speaking in Portuguese.

"Damn it!" I hissed, snapping the phone shut before darting out of the room.

I stood at the bottom of the stairs, looking up at Bella and Jacob.

"Bella," I choked as the true panic set in. I could feel myself start to shake as the panic grew and grew.

Bella ran to me, putting her hands on either side of my face in an attempt to calm me down.

"Alice what's wrong?" she asked. Despite her calm voice, I could hear the panic.

"Edward," was all I could whisper.

Bella looked at me with wide panicked eyes and started to sway slightly. Suddenly, she dropped.

I picked Bella up as Jacob Black started to swear behind me. I laid her down on the couch before turning to grab my bag and threw it over my shoulder, placing my oxygen tank inside.

"What did you do to her?" Jacob demanded as I leaned over Bella.

"Bella?" I ignored, shaking Bella slightly. "Bella, snap out of it. We have to hurry!"

"Stay back," Jacob warned.

"Calm down, Jacob Black," I ordered, reaching slowly for my wand. "You don't want to do that so close to her."

"I don't think I'll have any problem keeping my focus."

"Alice?" Bella asked weakly, causing me to quickly spin back around. "What happened?"

"I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "What is he thinking?"

I dialed Tanya's house phone number right after. Somebody answered on the second ring.

"Yes?" Rosalie demanded.

"Rose, I need to talk to Carlisle, now!" I said, as quickly as I could spit out.

"Oh, Alice! Carlisle isn't here. He went hunting not long after you left. What—?

"Fine, as soon as he's back!"

"What is it? I'll track him down and have him call you—"

"No!" I interrupted sharply. "I'll be on a plane. Look, have you heard anything from Edward?"

"Well yes, Alice. Actually, I did talk to Edward. Just a few moments ago," Rosalie said. Her voice was oddly smug. "You and Carlisle were wrong. Edward wouldn't appreciate being lied

to. He'd want the truth. He did want it. So I gave it to him. I called him... I called him

a lot," I admitted. "Until he picked up. A message would have been...wrong."

"Why?" I gasped as my eyes widened. "Why would you do that, Rosalie?"

"Because the sooner he gets over this, the sooner things go back to normal. It wouldn't have gotten easier with time, so why put it off? Time isn't going to change anything. Bella is dead. Edward will grieve and then he'll get over it. Better he begins now than later."

"Well, you're wrong on both counts, though, Rosalie, so that would be a problem,

don't you think?" I snapped viciously.

"Bella's still alive?" she gasped, after a short pause.

"Yes, that's right. She's absolutely fine—"

"Fine? You saw her jump off a cliff!"

"I was wrong."

"How?" Rosalie said, her voice dropping to a whisper.

"It's a long story. A story that I quite frankly don't have time for."

"Well, you've made quite a mess," Rosalie growled. "Edward is going to be furious when he comes home."

"But you're wrong about that part, too," I said through my teeth. "That's why I'm calling..."

"Wrong about what? Edward coming home? Of course, he will. What? Do you think he's going to pull a Romeo? Ha! Like some stupid, romantic—"

"Yes," I hissed, causing Rosalie to go quiet. "That's exactly what I saw."

"No. He's not that stupid. He must realize that—"

Rosalie broke off, but I could tell she wasn't done. I stayed quiet for a moment.

"I—I didn't mean it like that, Alice! I just wanted him to come home!" Rosalie howled.

"It's a bit late for that, Rose," I said coldly. "Save your remorse for someone who believes it."

I snapped the phone shut and turned to Bella.

"Alice," Bella blurted out, holding up a hand. "Alice, Carlisle is back, though. He called just before…"

"How long ago?" I asked.

"Half a minute before you showed up."

"What did he say?" I asked, trying as hard as I could to focus.

"I didn't talk to him," Bella said.

I snapped my head to Jacob who flinched.

"He asked for Charlie, and I told him Charlie wasn't here," Jacob muttered, not looking at me.

"Is that everything?" I demanded icily.

"Then he hung up on me."

"You told him Charlie was at the funeral," Bella spoke up, looking at Jacob.

He head snapped back to her.

"Do you mind if I look at the conversation? That would be easier."

Bella nodded and stood very still.

"Bella what's—"

"Quiet," Bella said as she nudged Jacob. "She needs to focus."

I focused on Bella's mind. Breaking through the first wall was easier than the first time. Now I just had to get to that memory.

As if she could read my mind, Bella began to think about the conversation that Jacob had on the phone. That made it easier than trying to search.

 _"Swan residence," Jacob answered. There was a brief moment of silence as the other person spoke. "He's not here." He was quiet as he listened to the other person. "He's at the funeral."_

I pushed myself back out quickly.

"No," I moaned, as I sank to my knees, burying my head in my hands. "No, no, no."

"Tell me, Alice," Bella whispered. I could feel her eyes watching me carefully.

"That wasn't Carlisle on the phone."

"Are you calling me a liar?" Jacob Black snarled.

I paid no attention to him. I looked up to Bella's wide eyes.

"It was Edward. He thinks you're dead!"

"Rosalie told him I killed myself, didn't she?"

"Yes," I said. "In her defense, she did believe it. They rely on my sight far too much for something that works so imperfectly. But for her to track him down to tell him this! Didn't she realize… or care… ?"

"And when Edward called here, he thought Jacob meant my funeral."

Bella didn't sound upset. She sounded almost relieved. I watched her as she dug her nails into the wolf's arms.

"You're not upset?"

"Well, it's really rotten timing, but it will all get straightened out. The next time he calls, someone will tell him… what… really…" she trailed off as she looked at my face.

Bella didn't understand. I thought she would have understood immediately but she didn't.

"Bella," I whispered slowly, "Edward won't call again. He believed her."

"I don't understand," she said slowly as she began to frown.

"He's going to Italy."

I could see in Bella's face that she was slowly beginning to understand.

"No!" Bella shrieked. "No! No, no, no! He can't! He can't do that!"

"He made up his mind as soon as your friend confirmed that it was too late to save you," I said, turning to look at Jacob.

"But he… he left! He didn't want me anymore! What difference does it make now? He knew I would die sometime!"

"I don't think he ever planned to outlive you by long," I said weakly. "Even when he was here."

"How dare he!" Bella screamed jumping to her feet.

Jacob moved between Bella and me, seeming to be unsure of what Bella was going to do.

"Oh, get out of the way, Jacob!" Bella snapped as she moved passed him. She crouched down in front of me. "What do we do, Alice? Can't we call him? Can Carlisle?"

"No," I said, quietly. "That was the first thing that I tried. He left his phone in a trash can in Rio—someone answered it, but it wasn't Edward."

You said before we had to hurry. Hurry how? Let's do it, whatever it is!"

"Bella, I don't think I can ask you to do that. I think I have to go and try to fix this on my own."

"Ask me!" Bella ordered, pulling me to my feet.

"We may already be too late. I saw him going to the Volturi… and asking to die. I won't have the time to get the proper paperwork for a Portkey, and I don't want to upset MACUSA or they'll definitely make me go back to England. I'm already on thin ice with them as it is, living with six Muggles."

"Portkey? MACUSA? Muggles?" Jacob asked in confusion. Bella's face shared the same confusion.

"Portkeys are teleporters from my world," I told Bella. There was no point in trying to hide it from Jacob. His friends had already seen me shift. "MACUSA is the Magical Congress of the United States of America. Because of the Salem Witch Trials, they're very cautious of Muggles. The Portkey would be able to take us straight to Italy, but because I don't have time to fill out the proper paperwork that MACUSA requires to make one, we'll have to take a plane."

"But you said that we might already be too late," Bella said.

"It all depends on what they choose. I can't see that till they make a decision," I said, shaking my head slightly as Jacob Black tried to intervene with more questions for me. "But if they say no, and they might—Aro is fond of Carlisle, and wouldn't want to offend him—Edward has a backup plan. They're very protective of their city. If Edward does something to upset the peace, he thinks they'll act to stop him. And he's right. They will."

Bella looked at me frustratedly.

 _So why are we still standing here?_ Bella thought impatiently.

"If they agree to grant his favor, we're too late," I continued. "If they say no, and he comes up with a plan to offend them quickly enough, we're too late. If he gives into his more theatrical tendencies… we might have time."

"Let's go then!"

"Listen, Bella! Whether we are in time or not, we will be in the heart of the Volturi's city. I will be considered his accomplice if he is successful. You will be a human who not only knows too much but also smells too good. There's a very good chance that they will eliminate us all—though in your case it won't be punishment so much as dinnertime."

"This is what's keeping us here?" Bella asked in disbelief. "I'll go alone if you're afraid."

"I'm only afraid of getting you killed."

"I almost get myself killed on a daily basis! Besides, aren't you a witch? Is there some sort of spell you could use to keep them from killing us?"

"If I use a spell again Aro, Caius, or Marcus, it's likely that one of the members of the guard will try to kill me. If they don't kill me there, then they will hunt me until they do."

"Witch?" Jacob choked with wide eyes. "How is that possible?"

"I was born that way," I said, glaring at him. "Much like you, I assume, I didn't get a choice."

"Okay, so forget the spells," Bella said before Jacob could say anything further. "Tell me what I need to do."

"You write a note to Charlie, I have to call the airlines and get our tickets."

I dropped my bag on the floor, and pulled my phone from my pocket, dialing the familiar number of the Port Angeles airport.

"Hurry Bella," I said, cutting off the conversation that she and Jacob had been having.

I opened my bag and stepped inside leaving a wide-eyed Jacob behind me as I moved my oxygen tank into the lower half of the bag.

I ordered the tickets quickly, as I arranged everything in my bag, making sure to move as quickly as possible. I stepped out of the bag, picked it up, and threw it around my shoulders as I moved into the kitchen.

"Get your wallet—you'll need ID. Please tell me you have a passport. I really don't have the time to forge one."

Bella nodded and ran for the stairs.

"These leeches," Jacob said slowly looking at me. "They aren't like your coven are they?"

"In the ways of diets, no. They do drink human blood."

"And you're taking her there?" Jacob asked in disbelief.

"I will try my best to keep Bella safe," I said, glaring at him. "Even if it means risking my life to do it. The Volturi may drink human blood but they do know self-control."

"I don't believe it," he said, narrowing his eyes. "If the people in your coven can lose control living off the human blood then imagine what the people who do drink it will do! These people are older than any of you!"

"It was one time," I glared. "Jasper lost control once. He hadn't lost control for about five years before that."

"Okay, fine," he glared. "So you might control yourself on occasion, but these leeches you're taking her to—"

"Yes. You're right, dog," I interrupted, coldly. "The Volturi are the very essence of our kind—they're the reason your hair stands on end when you smell me. They are the substance of your nightmares, the dread behind your instincts. I'm not unaware of that."

"And you're taking her to them like a bottle of wine for a party!"

"You think she'd be better off if I left her here alone, with Victoria stalking her?"

"We can handle the redhead."

"Then why is she still hunting? If you were truly capable of handling her, wouldn't she be dead by now?"

Jacob growled at me, and his body started shaking. In the next second my wand was out and pointed straight at his chest.

"Think about the choice you are about to make here, dog," I snapped as sparks began to flare from the hand that was still dropped at my side. "If you make one move to attack me, you'll be on the floor in a minute and nobody will be able to help you."

"Stop that!" Bella yelled, causing me to look up. "Argue when we get back, let's go!"

I looked at Jacob once more before wheeling around and sped off for the car as sparks still slightly shot from my hands.

Jacob chased Bella out the door, talking to her the whole way.

He caught her arm the same way Jasper did when I was coming here to save Bella.

 _Come home to me, Alice_ , Jasper's voice rang in my ears.

"I'm going to try," I whispered, as I waited for Bella.

"You don't, though," Jacob was saying as I focused on the conversation. "You really don't. You could stay here with me. You could stay alive. For Charlie. For me."

I growled lowly and revved the engine, signaling to Bella that we need to hurry. I couldn't risk missing our flight. Not today.

Bella looked at the car, and then pulled her arm free.

"Don't die, Bella," he choked out. "Don't go. Don't."

Bella turned to look at him before throwing her arms around him, pulling him into a tight hug.

My mind instantly went to Jasper again. Would I ever see him again? Was the day that he dropped me off at the airport the last time that I would ever see my angel's face?

Bella was running towards the car now. I leaned over and threw the door open. She threw her book bag into the back seat where my bag laid with it.

"Take care of Charlie!" Bella called out the window.

I could see now that Jacob Black was gone now. Nothing was left but a shoe. As for me, I began to speed towards what could very possibly be the end of my life.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I know it wasn't a very long chapter, but when I was going through the actual chapter while I was planning, I noticed that the original chapter wasn't very long either.**

 **So I do want to talk about Embry and Jared seeing Alice's shift. I always wanted the wolves to know about Alice. No matter what I tried, I couldn't find a good spot to put it in. I decided that during Jacob and Bella's conversation would possibly work seeing as Alice just stepped out with nothing particular in mind. I wanted her to go into her Animagus form because it saved her from risking anybody seeing her without the oxygen tank. As for her admitting it to Jacob, she knew that the chances of Embry and Jared keeping it from Sam were slim, and once Sam knew the pack as a whole would know.**  
 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter and the chapters to come. The next one should be up anywhere between the next few days to the next few weeks.**

 **Thank you to everybody who has followed, favorited, and reviewed so far.**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	85. Small Chance

_"The chances of him being successful with that are slim to none, and slim just left town." ~Hans Olsen_

* * *

Chapter 85- Small Chance

Bella and I just barely made our flight. They were about to close the boarding station when we came running through. The flight attendant quickly checked our tickets before rushing us onto the plane.

"You've cut it very close, ladies," she told me, disapprovingly.

"Our apologies," I said with a small smile.

We waited as the plane sat still in the terminal. The flight attendants were working their way up and down the aisles.

I could see that Bella was starting to get anxious. Bella bounced up and down in her seat, much like I would during my energy bursts. I placed my hand on her shoulder, holding her down.

"Remember, Bella," I whispered quietly in her ear, "this is much quicker than running."

"I'm sure a Portkey would have been much faster than this judging by the description you gave."

"No," I said, narrowing my eyes. "The time it would take to get to MACUSA's headquarters alone will take the same amount of time as the plane ride. Then you add on actually going inside, sorting through paperwork and making the Portkey. Trust me. This is faster."

Bella nodded and resumed her bouncing.

Finally, after almost ten minutes, the plane began to roll down the runway, slowly lifting into the air. Before the climb was over, I took the phone off the back of the seat and turned my back to the aisle. I typed in Jasper's number and waited.

"Hello?" Jasper answered anxiously.

"Hey," I murmured with a small smile.

"Alice," Jasper breathed.

"Sorry I waited so long to call."

"It's okay," he said. "You're calling now. What's Edward going to do if the Volturi tells him no?"

"I can't be sure, I keep seeing him do different things, he keeps changing his mind… A killing spree through the city, attacking the guard, lifting a car over his head in the main square… mostly things that would expose them—he knows that's the fastest way to force a reaction…" I trailed off as I shook my head, trying to keep the flashes from reappearing.

"I'll come to help you," Jasper said quickly. "If I start running now—"

"No, you can't," I said.

"Emmett wants to help too."

"Tell Emmett no," I said.

"He and Rosalie have already left. I was supposed to wait for you to call."

"Well, go after Emmett and Rosalie and bring them back."

"Why won't you let us help?" Jasper asked.

I could imagine his eyes narrowing, and him glaring down at me.

"Think about it, Jasper. If he sees any of us, what do you think he will do?"

"He'll rush into it," Jasper said, his voice returning to normal.

"Exactly," I said. "I think Bella is the only chance—if there is a chance… I'll do everything that can be done, but prepare Carlisle; the odds aren't good."

"Have you ever thought about the fact that they may kill you too?" Jasper asked, his voice breaking.

I laughed before the lump in my throat began to swell.

"Yeah I've thought about that," I said, smiling weakly.

"Promise me that you'll make it out before they kill you too," he said. "Promise me that you'll come home to me again."

"I promise," I said, trying to keep my voice from breaking.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Jasper asked. I could tell by his voice that he was very close to crying.

"Don't follow me. I promise, Jasper. One way or another, I'll get out."

"You better," he said, his voice filling with anger. "I'm going to kill you if you don't come back to me."

I laughed weakly, before blinking my eyes quickly, trying to keep the tears from forming.

"Hey, Jazz?" I asked, my voice cracking slightly despite my efforts.

"Yeah, Al?"

"I know nothing will happen," I said, repeating the words he said to me when Maria hunted him, "but I need to be sure—"

"Don't you dare say goodbye to me, Mary Alice. You're coming home!"

"I know that," I whispered. "But if I don't, there are two things I need you to do for me."

"What?" Jasper asked as a sob escaped from deep in his throat.

"First, I need you to go back to Britain. Tell our family what happened to me. If I can't be there to do it, you need to keep our family safe."

"And the second?"

"I need you to be happy."

"Alice I—"

"Promise me, Jazz."

"I promise," he breathed. "But I won't have to worry about that. You're coming home. I have to believe that you're coming home. Keep yourself safe."

"I'll try."

"Don't try. Do."

"Okay," I whispered.

"I love you," he choked out.

"And I love you."

"Come back to me."

The line went dead, and I hung up the phone before I laid my head on the back of the seat, closing my eyes.

I had never pictured my life without Jasper. Even when Maria hunted him, I had hope that she would spare him at the last minute. What I had definitely never thought about was Jasper living without me. I knew that he wouldn't want to, but I meant what I said. I needed him to keep our family safe, and I knew that they too would keep him safe.

"I hate lying to him," I said quietly as my voice began to break.

"Tell me everything, Alice," Bella said. I could hear her turning in her seat to face me. "I don't understand. Why did you tell Jasper to stop Emmett, why can't they come to help us?"

"Two reasons," I said, not opening my eyes as I tried to picture my angel's face. "The first I told him. We could try to stop Edward ourselves—if Emmett could get his hands on him, we might be able to stop him long enough to convince him you're alive. But we can't sneak up on Edward. And if he sees us coming for him, he'll just act that much faster. He'll throw a Buick through a wall or something, and the Volturi will take him down." I sucked in a deep breath before speaking again. "That's the second reason, of course, the reason I couldn't say to Jasper. Because if they're there and the Volturi kill Edward, they'll fight them. Bella."

I opened my eyes and turned to look at Bella.

"If there were any chance we could win… if there were a way that the four of us could save my brother by fighting for him, maybe it would be different. But we can't. Even with my magic, we can't."

"Why wouldn't your magic help?"

"Because I'd be the first one that gets taken down. Jasper will fight so much harder than before and, Bella, I can't lose Jasper like that."

"Couldn't Edward hear you, though? If you didn't close off your mind, I mean." Bella asked. "Wouldn't he know, as soon as he heard your thoughts, that I was alive, that there was no point to this?"

" _If_ he were listening," I said shaking my head. "But believe it or not, it's possible to lie with your thoughts. If you had died, I would still try to stop him. And I would be thinking 'she's alive, she's alive' as hard as I could. He knows that."

I heard Bella grinding her teeth.

"If there were any way to do this without you, Bella, I wouldn't be endangering you like this. It's very wrong of me."

"Don't be stupid. I'm the last thing you should be worrying about. Tell me what you meant, about hating to lie to Jasper."

I smiled grimly.

"I promised him I would get out before they killed me, too. It's not something I can guarantee—not by a long shot."

"Who are these Volturi?" Bella demanded, furrowing her eyebrows. "What makes them so much more dangerous than Emmett, Jasper, Rosalie, and you?"

I noticed now that the man next to Bella appeared to be watching us. No doubt, he was eavesdropping too. As Bella turned to look at him too, my eyes narrowed, flashing the man a dark look which quickly caused him to look away.

I leaned closer to Bella.

"I was surprised that you recognized the name," I said quietly into her ear. "That you understood so immediately what it meant—when I said he was going to Italy. I thought I would have to explain. How much did Edward tell you?"

"He just said they were an old, powerful family—like royalty. That you didn't antagonize them unless you wanted to… die."

"You have to understand, we Cullens are unique in more ways than you know. It's… abnormal for so many of us to live together in peace. It's the same for Tanya's family in the north, and Carlisle speculates that abstaining makes it easier for us to be civilized, to form bonds based on love rather than survival or convenience. Even James's little coven of three was unusually large—and you saw how easily Laurent left them. Our kind travel alone, or in pairs, as a general rule. Both Carlisle's family, and Tanya's are the biggest in existence, as far as I know, with the one exception. The Volturi. There were three of them originally, Aro, Caius, and Marcus."

"I've seen them," Bella muttered."In the picture in Carlisle's study."

For a moment, I forgot that the painting of the three kings hung in Carlisle's study in Forks.

"Two females joined them over time, and the five of them make up the family. I'm not sure, but I suspect that their age is what gives them the ability to live peacefully together. They are well over three thousand years old. Or maybe it's their gifts that give them extra tolerance. Like Edward and I, Aro and Marcus are… talented. Or maybe it's just their love of power that binds them together. Royalty is an appropriate description." "

"But if there are only five—"

"Five that make up the family," I interrupted. "That doesn't include the guard that I mentioned earlier."

"That sounds… serious. A guard."

"Oh, it is. There were nine members of the guard that was permanent, the last time we heard. Others are more… transitory. It changes. And many of them are gifted as well—with formidable gifts, gifts that make my visions of the future look like parlor tricks. The Volturi chose them for their abilities, physical or otherwise."

I watched as Bella opened her mouth and closed it again. I could see now that she was beginning to take this more seriously than she had going into this.

"They don't get into too many confrontations. No one is stupid enough to mess with them. They stay in their city, leaving only as duty calls."

"Duty?" Bella questioned, frowning at me.

"Didn't Edward tell you what they do?"

"No," she said, her face going blank.

I paused, looking at the man behind Bella. He had turned to look back at us. I leaned down, making sure I was close enough to Bella to where she could still hear me despite my low voice.

"There's a reason he called them royalty… the ruling class. Over the millennia, they have assumed the position of enforcing our rules—which actually translates to punishing transgressors. They fulfill that duty decisively."

"There are rules?" Bella said, much too loud, causing a few people to turn to face our direction.

"Shh!" I hissed, lightly tapping her hand. "We have to be quiet, Bella. The businessman is watching too closely for me to even attempt to cast a spell that would let us talk louder." "Shouldn't somebody have mentioned this to me earlier?" she whispered back angrily. "I mean, I wanted to be a… to be one of you! Shouldn't somebody have explained the rules to me?"

I chuckled and shook my head.

"It's not that complicated, Bella. There's only one core restriction—and if you think about it, you can probably figure it out for yourself."

Bella paused for a moment, trying to figure it out.

"Nope, I have no idea."

I sighed and shook my head. She didn't understand what I meant when I said that she was a human who knew too much.

"Maybe it's too obvious," I chuckled, shaking my head. "We just have to keep our existence a secret."

"Oh," Bella mumbled, looking away from me quickly.

"It makes sense, and most of us don't need policing. But, after a few centuries, sometimes one of us gets bored. Or crazy, maybe, I don't know. And then the Volturi step in before it can compromise them, or the rest of us."

"So Edward…" she trailed off and looked at me.

"Is planning to flout that in their own city—the city they've secretly held for three thousand years, since the time of the Etruscans. Since before Wizardkind went into hiding from Muggles. They are so protective of their city that they don't allow hunting within its walls. Volterra is probably the safest city in the world—from vampire attack at the very least."

"But you said they didn't leave. How do they eat?"

"They don't leave. They bring in their food from the outside, from quite far away sometimes. It gives their guard something to do when they're not out annihilating mavericks. Or protecting Volterra from exposure—"

"From situations like this one, like Edward," Bella finished.

"I doubt they've ever had a situation quite like this," I said in disgust. "You don't get a lot of suicidal vampires."

A small cry escaped from Bella. It was quiet, but it was a high shriek to me.

"We'll do what we can, Bella. It's not over yet," I said, putting my arm around her shoulders.

"Not yet. And the Volturi will get us if we mess up."

I looked at her in disbelief and my body stiffened.

"You say that like it's a good thing," I said.

She didn't answer me or even look at me for that matter. She simply shrugged.

"Knock it off, Bella," I snapped, instantly retracting my arms, "or we're turning around in New York and going back to Forks."

"What?" she asked finally turning to face me.

"You know damn well what. If we're too late for Edward, I'm going to do my damnedest to get you back to Charlie and get myself back to my husband and my family. I don't want any trouble from you. Do you understand that?"

"Sure, Alice."

I leaned back in my seat glaring at her.

"No trouble."

"Scout's honor."

I rolled my eyes.

"Let me concentrate, now. I'm trying to see what he's planning."

"Wait, before you do that, can I ask you a question?"

"Depends on that question."

"The Volturi….do they know about you?"

"They know who I am, but they don't know I'm a witch if that's what you mean. If they did, they would have come for me years ago to place me with their guard. I don't think Aro would have given me much of a choice either. I never told them because I wasn't sure if they knew about wizards. After all, we didn't hear about the Volturi when we were learning about vampires. "

After saying it, I wasn't very sure if I was right. If Aro reads Edward's mind—and I'm sure he would considering Edward's request—then Aro would see everything. He would see everything from the moment that Edward and I met in 1950. So then he would know. Would he try and keep me there in Volterra, even if he didn't kill us?

"Are you okay?" Bella asked, placing a hand on mine.

I nodded.

"Yes. I just need to focus now."

I left my hand on the armrest and leaned back against the seat.

I focused on Edward. In a few moments, I could see him.

 _Edward came out of the ocean running. He was going as fast as he could, but even that didn't seem to be enough. I didn't know where he was, but I could see that he was close. From the signs, he was already in Italy._

Edward's surroundings faded, and instead, I was back in the throne room.

I lost track of the time. I watched several different approaches that Edward had begun to think of. Some were similar, others were completely from the rest, but all ended the same way. The three kings would discuss it, and call back when they have an answer.

"Alice," I heard Bella call before I felt something warm touch my arm. "Alice, we have to go."

I snapped out of it as quickly as I could. Once I got my eyes to open, I shook my head back and forth.

"Anything new?" Bella asked me quietly, glancing at the man who still seemed to be listening.

"Not exactly," I whispered back in a voice so low that I was almost certain she couldn't hear it. "He's getting closer now, and he's trying to decide on a way to ask him. No matter what he says, they tell him they'll have to think about it."

"Do you think it's possible that they'll say yes"?"

I shrugged.

"I don't think Aro would want to offend Carlisle, so I don't think he will unless Edward did something to threaten the secret, but we already knew that."

"Will you be able to see what he decides?"

"Sometimes if I focus hard enough on somebody, I can see their present rather than their past. It was a gift I developed when I went back in time. Helen and Tobias thought it would go away the day I was born, but during one of my energy bursts, I found out that it's not actually gone. It's harder to spark it now, but I think that I may be able to do it on the next plane if I focus hard enough."

Bella nodded, and the two of us began to make our way off of the plane.

We had sat talking for too long. We had to run again in order to make our connector flight, but we did make it there with enough time to spare.

Once the plane started to lift in the air, I curled up in the seat, running my finger along my wedding ring as I began to focus on Edward again. I focused harder now than I had before, focusing on his present rather than his future. After a while, the fuzzy picture began to become more clear, and I could see now that he was already there. In Volterra.

 _Edward was beginning to make his way down a hallway with wooden paneled walls, and a thick green carpet. Sofas were placed against the walls as well as pictures of the landscapes of Tuscany. He pushed through the wooden doors without looking back. Here, Edward was met with another long hallway, this one very different from the last._

 _After Edward made it down the second hall he paused outside of the doors of what I was sure was the doors to the throne room._

 _As Edward went to reach for the door handle, the door swung open. A man built like Emmett was on the other side. He looked down at Edward for a moment._

 _"Who is it, Felix?" a voice called from behind him._

 _Felix looked down at Edward._

 _"Edward Cullen," Felix responded._

 _"Let him in!" the voice exclaimed._  
 _Felix moved to the side and Edward walked very quickly into the room. When he entered, Aro was standing at the bottom of the steps leading to the bottom of his throne. There was a large grin on his face as Edward approached the steps more slowly than when he had entered the room._

 _"Edward Cullen!" Aro exclaimed. "What an honor it is to finally meet you! Carlisle has told me all about you in his letters."_

 _Edward nodded and looked around the room wearily._

 _"What troubles you young one?" Aro asked, frowning at Edward._

 _"I want you to kill me," he said quickly. His black eyes met Aro's._

 _"You want me to do what?" Aro's eyes widened as he spoke. Caius and Marcus eyed each other and Marcus's frown seemed to grow more worried as he turned back to Edward._

 _"I want you to kill me. Please." Edward sounded like he was close to begging._

 _"Why would you want that?" Caius asked in a hard voice as he leaned forward on his throne._

 _"I never wanted this life," Edward said, glaring at the floor. "I never asked for this and I don't want to do this anymore."_

 _"I don't understand," Aro said, slowly. "Has Carlisle not given you a good life?"_

 _"I am grateful for all that Carlisle has done for me. I just can't do it anymore."_

 _"Do you mind if I look?" Aro asked, taking a step closer to Edward._

 _Edward held his hand out to Aro, who took it eagerly._

The moment Edward took Aro's hand, I could hear everything that Aro was reading from Edward's mind.

 _Aro flipped through Edward's life through his thoughts. From his birth to his death, and his rebirth. Him rebelling against Carlisle and returning back to him. Esme's transformation, and Rosalie's, and Emmett's. Next, Jasper and I finding them in Helena, and I could hear my voice echoing as I told my story, and watched as I showed them my magical abilities. Aro watched all the way into recent years. Edward meeting Bella, bringing her home to meet us, the baseball game and James's hunt. Suddenly, there was Jasper snarling, and Emmett holding him back as I tried to calm him back down. I watched me saying goodbye to Edward before Jasper and I left the coven, him leaving Bella, and his leaving the coven. Finally, we were in the hotel in Rio. Rosalie's words were deafening._

 _"She jumped off a cliff. Alice saw her jump. She's gone, Edward. Bella is dead."_

 _When Aro dropped his hand, Edward's face was like stone. His black eyes were lifeless._

 _"You've suffered a great loss," Aro said as he watched Edward carefully. "I understand why you're wanting to die, but Carlisle—"_

 _"This isn't Carlisle's choice," Edward snapped. "It's mine! It's what I want."_

 _Aro nodded._

 _"Very well then," he said grimly. "We will deliberate your request, and call you back once we've made our decision."_

 _"Thank you," Edward said quietly, as he turned on his heel and sped out of the throne room._

I focused less on Edward, pulling myself from his present as he sped down the hallway. I shifted my focus, instead, to Aro's mind.

 _"He's given us quite the request," Aro said, turning to face Marcus and Caius. "What are we going to do?"_

 _"Maybe we should kill him," Caius said. His voice was hard and cold. "If he wants to die, we should let him. He's a pathetic excuse for a vampire."_

 _"He's lost his mate," Marcus said, sitting up a little bit more. "I understand why he wants to die."_

 _Caius rolled his eyes._

 _"Life is full of inconveniences, Marcus," Caius said bitterly. "You don't see anybody else running here for us to kill them because something went wrong in his life. He'll move on. Find somebody else."_

 _Aro looked between the two._

 _"Carlisle is our friend," Aro said looking between Caius and Marcus. "We can not kill his creation. Carlisle thinks of all of them as his children."_

 _"Carlisle has a big heart," Marcus agreed. "It would be cruel of us to kill him."_

 _"Edward also holds great talents," Aro mused, with a small smile. "To be able to read minds without touch. One can only dream."_

 _"You sound like your mind is already made up," Caius grumbled, watching Aro._

 _"We still have to consider all of our options," Aro said. "However, to kill him would be a waste of his talents."_

I lost my focus on Aro's present as his decision was solidifying. The vision was pressing at the edges of my vision, begging to be seen.

 _"I think we have a decision," Aro said, with a satisfied smiled. "Felix, bring Edward back in."_

 _Felix nodded once before slipped out the doors._

 _"I still think you're making a mistake," Caius grumbled._

 _"Quiet, Brother," Marcus said. "Aro knows what he is doing. If he feels like this is the right decision, then it's what shall happen."_

 _After a moment, Felix returned with Edward at his side. Felix remained next to the door as Edward made his way to the thrones, where Aro now sat with Marcus and Caius._

 _"Have you decided?" Edward asked flickering his eyes between the three of them._

 _"It was an intriguing debate," Aro answered. "We don't get very many suicidal vampires."_

 _"Pathetic," Caius spat, glaring at Edward. "Disgraceful!"_

 _Edward ignored him and turned back to Aro._  
 _"And your decision is what?"_

 _Aro sighed and shook his head as he smiled weakly._

 _"I'm afraid that your gifts are much too valuable for us to be able to destroy. Disposing of you will be wasteful. But if you are unhappy with your lot, then consider joining us. We would be more than happy to utilize your gifts. Consider staying here in Volterra with us."_

 _"So you won't do it?" Edward asked, looking between the three kings._

 _"I'm afraid not," Aro said._

 _"You know it will happen anyways," Edward said through clenched teeth._

 _"No," Marcus said sharply. "Not without a cause."_

 _Edward stood frozen for a minute, watching the ground before turning back on his heels and speeding once more out of the throne room._

 _"Such a waste," Aro murmured, shaking his head disappointedly as he watched after Edward._

I pulled myself out of the future, slowly bringing myself back to the present. I was grinning. I knew I was. We had a chance now.

When I opened my eyes, I noticed that Bella had fallen asleep. I shook her shoulder lightly.

"Bella," I whispered.

When Bella didn't budge, I shook her a little bit harder.  
"Bella!" I hissed loudly. It was too loud. A few people turned to look at me.

Bella woke up then, turning her face up to look at me despite her eyes still being closed.

"What's wrong?"

"It's not wrong. It's right! They're still deliberating, but they've decided to turn them down!"  
"The Volturi?" she asked groggily

"Yes. Of course the Volturi, Bella, keep up. I can see what they're going to say."

"Tell me."

Before I got the chance to respond again the flight attendant made his way down the aisle.

"Ladies, can I get either one of you a pillow?" he whispered as his eyes flickering from me to Bella and back again. I hadn't realized how loud we were being until I heard how quiet his whisper was. I also hadn't realized how late it was. Mostly everybody in the cabin was sleeping with the exception of a few people, Bella and myself included.

"No thank you," I beamed, smiling up at him.

The flight attendant watched me for a second before turning away from me dazed with a smiled on his face.

"Tell me," Bella whispered when the flight attendant was far enough away.

"They're interested in him—they think his talent could be useful. They're going to offer him a place with them. A place in the guard."

"What will he say?"

"I can't see that yet. I know that he tries to tell him that they'll kill him anyway, but I haven't seen what he will decide because they haven't talked to him yet. I bet whatever his answer is will be colorful. This is good news," I continued, "the first break. They're intrigued; they truly don't want to destroy him….Well, Caius might, but I don't think that Aro and Marcus will let that happen. Their rejection may be enough to force him to get creative. The longer he spends on his plans, the better for us. Knowing Edward, chances are he may take some time trying to figure out the quickest way to get them to kill him."

"Alice?" Bella asked frowning at me.

"What?"

I was worried as to why she wasn't more relieved.

"I'm confused," she said shaking her head slightly before looking up at me. "How are you seeing this so clearly? And then other times, you see things far away—things that don't happen?"

"It's clear because it's immediate and close, and I'm really concentrating. The faraway things that come on their own—those are just glimpses, faint maybes. Plus, I see my kind, —Wizardkind and vampires— more easily than Muggle humans. Edward is even easier because I'm so attuned to him. I've been around him for the last fifty-six years."

"You see me sometimes."

"I shook my head.

"Not as clearly as I do Edward or Jasper, or Harry and George even."

"I really wish you could have been right about me. In the beginning, when you first saw things about me, before we even met…"

I frowned at her slightly.

"What do you mean?"

"You saw me become one of you," she whispered.

I sighed and shook my head again.

"It was a possibility at the time. I didn't think it would have ever turned out like this. I never thought he'd leave you"

"At the time," Bella repeated, laying her head back against the headrest.

"Actually Bella," I hesitated for a moment, debating on whether or not I should tell her what I had been thinking about since we had left Forks. "Honestly, I think it's all gotten beyond ridiculous. I'm debating whether to just change you myself."

Her body stiffened as she froze in her seat. This wasn't the reaction I had expected. I had thought that she would have had a more positive reaction about this. I remembered her arguing with Edward about him sucking the venom out instead of letting it spread when James had attacked her.

"Did I scare you?" I asked watching her face. "I'm sorry, I thought that it's what you had wanted."

"I do!" she exclaimed loudly, causing the attendant to turn his head to look at us again. I looked between him and Bella as Bella continued. "Oh, Alice, do it now! I could help you so much—and I wouldn't slow you down. Bite me!"

I threw the attendant an apologetic smile before turning back to Bella.  
"Shh," I hissed. "Try to be reasonable. We don't have enough time. We have to get into Volterra tomorrow. You'd be writhing in pain for days and I don't have any potions or spells that could speed that up," I paused and looked at the flight attendant and some of the sleeping passengers before wrinkling my nose. "And I don't think the other passengers would react well."

"If you don't do it now, you'll change your mind," she said, biting her lip.

"No," I said firmly, frowning slightly. I don't think I will. He'll be furious, but what will he be able to do about it?"

"Nothing at all," Bella said. I heard her heartbeat speed up, and I was sure that it was out of excitement.

I laughed very quietly.

"You have too much faith in me, Bella," I sighed, "I'm not sure that I even can. I'll probably just end up killing you. Unfortunately, unlike Rosalie for example, I have tasted human blood. I couldn't keep control unless somebody was there on standby to put a stunning charm on me."

"So why couldn't you do that?"

"Because it would then be dangerous for whoever was in there with me."

"What about Jasper? Could you teach him how to do the spell and have him do it?"

I shook my head.

"Magic doesn't work like that. Sure, he could wave my wand, but to a Muggle, it'll be as useless as waving a stick in the air. The wand will know he's a Muggle, and it won't work."

"Then I'll take my chances."

"You are so bizarre, even for a human."

"Thanks."

"Oh well, this is purely hypothetical at this point, anyway. First, we have to live through tomorrow. I can't change you if I'm dead."  
"Good point," she said quietly. "If the Volturi interested in vampires with abilities, do you really think that they'd kill you? Considering that you do have magic."

"I think that they would. I think that in the Volturi's eyes, even if they are the most extraordinary vampire on Earth, a criminal is still a criminal, and as I told you, they would see me as his accomplice."

Bella nodded, but she didn't give me a verbal response.

"Go back to sleep," I encouraged. "I'll wake you up when there's something new. That is if there is anything new."

I pulled my legs back into the seat with me, wrapping my arms around them. I began to rock myself back and forth, much like Jasper would, as I tried to focus.

I focused on Edward's present again. I was sure that they were finished deliberating now. The only reason why they were still going when I refocused on my present, was because Caius was still hoping he could get Aro to change his mind. To kill Edward.

 _Edward was walking back to the throne room. He was much quicker now than he had been earlier._

 _"Have you decided?" Edward asked, bringing my vision to life._

I listened closely as they went through the conversation that I had already seen. Edward didn't directly tell them no about joining the Volturi's guard. He didn't answer them at all. He simply left the room and began his planning as he made his way out of the underground.

Before I came decided to look for his future rather than his present, I decided I would make an attempt at stopping him without actually being there. It was a long shot though. I didn't even know that it would work. I hadn't tried it since 1948, back when I told Harry and George that they had to stop looking for me. I began to focus harder than I had before.

I felt myself become separated from his mind, and after a moment, I saw his back, he was sitting at the edge of the city, trying to figure out what to do next.

 _"Edward," I whispered in his ear, crouching beside of him. "Edward, please don't do this."_

 _"Get out of my head, Alice!" Edward said, clapping his hands over his ears. "You aren't actually here! I know you're not. Jasper wouldn't let you come here."_

 _"How do you know I'm not here?"_

 _"Because this is different from me hearing your thoughts. This feels like you're actually here."_

 _"I guess you're right about that," I said, "I'm not here. Not physically at least. But that doesn't mean that I'm not here."_

 _"That's impossible."_

 _"How so?"_

 _"Because it's just not possible.'_  
 _"Maybe I'm here in spirit," I suggested._

 _"I've lost my mind," he said as I sat down next to him._

 _"You're not mad. Not completely at least. We all are a little bit mad."_

 _"I'm talking to myself," he pointed out. "I'm hearing voices."_

 _"One voice," I reminded him. "It's just me."_

 _Edward sighed, and shook his head._

 _"This is all inside of my head," he said._

 _"So what?" I asked, watching his face carefully. "Dumbledore once told Harry that just because it's happening inside your head, it doesn't mean that it's not real."_

 _Edward shook his head again._

 _"You have to understand why I'm doing this, Alice," he said. "Imagine if you lost Jasper."_

 _"I don't know what I'd do without him," I said, looking at my lap. "But I do know that he'd want me to be happy."_

 _Edward laughed bitterly._

 _"I don't think Bella would want that for me."_

 _"Why would you say that?"_

 _"Because I left her. I broke her when I left, Alice."_

 _"So? That doesn't mean that she doesn't still love you."_

 _"Didn't," Edward said. "She's dead now, Alice. So I don't suppose any of that matters."_

 _"How do you know that my vision wasn't wrong? Maybe she thought about it, but changed her mind."_

 _For a third time, Edward shook his head._

 _"You're wrong."_

 _"How do you know?"_

 _"Because Rosalie said that you've been gone for two days, and none of them has heard from you. And then Jacob Black said that Charlie was at 'the funeral'"_

 _"Maybe it wasn't Bella's funeral. Maybe somebody else died."_

 _"Stop trying to change my mind!" he snapped._

 _"I thought I was in your head?" I questioned._

 _"You are."_

 _"Then how am I trying to change your mind? How do you know you're not having doubts?"_

 _"Because this is what you would do if you were actually here. You would do everything in your power to try and convince me that she's alive."_

 _I sighed._

 _"You're right. So why do you think that I'm here then?"_

 _"I think it's because I feel guilty for being so horrible to you over the years. I really do love you, Alice. You're my sister and my best friend. I wanted to say goodbye, you know."_

 _"So don't do this!" I urged. "Don't do this, and you can come home and make it right to me. Come home, Edward!"_

 _"I can't do that, Alice. I want to, but I can't. I can't live without her."_

 _"But you weren't going to live with her," I said angrily. "You can't have it both ways."_

 _"I was going to go back," he said, a small sob escaping from his throat. "As soon as Victoria was dead, I was going to go back for her, and see if she was happy."_

 _"I think she was waiting for you to come back to her. You were right. She broke when we left."_

 _"I have to do this, Alice," he said. "You can't talk me out of it."_

 _"Edward, please—"_

 _"Go away, Alice," he told me, covering his ears again._

I sighed. There was no way he was going to continue to listen to me here. So I would have to save him using Bella as we had originally planned. I focused away from the present, into the future.

I watched Edward make several decisions about how he would anger the Volturi. He flipped through picking up a car and throwing it at a wall, breaking a wall, and so many more. He changed his mind time after time so quickly that some of them didn't show up completely. They were just flashes that were gone in the next second.

After what felt like an eternity, Edward seemed to have made a decision. It came to me very slowly, fading in like the beginning of a movie. When it finally became clear, I saw Edward in the heart of the city. He was following a young woman, and I very quickly began to understand what was happening. He wasn't just following the girl. He planned on hunting her, right there in front of, what seemed to be, the hundreds of humans that were crowded in Volterra.

I began to panic slightly. Bella and I wouldn't make it there in time for that. If he went through with that plan, he would be executed before we left Florence. If that were the case, if we were already too late, then we'd get back on a plane. I'd fly back with her to Forks, and then I would leave right after.

Suddenly, right at the last second, Edward changed his mind. The vision of him

 _The loud ringing of the clock tower rang throughout the square, echoing off the nearby walls._

 _Edward came out of the alleyway from under the clocktower. He was shirtless, a pile of white fabric laid at his feet. He gave a very, very small smile, before taking the final step into the sun._

My eyes snapped open as I jerked back into the present. Looking out the window, I could see that the sun was slowly starting to creep up in the sky.

"What's happening?" Bella mumbled as she too woke up.

"They've told him no," I murmured back, looking at my lap.

"What's he going to do?" Bella asked, the panic rising in her voice.

"It was chaotic at first. Most of it was only flashes because he kept changing his plans."

"What kind of plans?" Bella asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

"There was a bad hour. He decided he would go hunting."

Bella looked at me confused for a moment.

"In the city," I elaborated. "He was going to hunt a woman in the heart of Volterra. It got very close. I thought we were much too late, but he changed his mind at the last minute."

"He wouldn't want to disappoint Carlisle," Bella mumbled, looking away from me.

"Probably," I agreed. "I did, however, try to approach this in a different way."

"What do you mean?"

"Remember how I told you that if I focus hard enough I can see somebody's present rather than their future?"

Bella nodded.

"You had thought that you had lost the gift."

I nodded.

"Well when I could do that before my birth, I could actually talk to the people who I was focusing on. When I had found out that it was still there, I couldn't do that, but looking back now, I think it was just because I was too weak. I tried it again when I started looking into Edward's present again."

"Did it work?"

"Yes. He thought he was hearing voices, so I decided to pretend that I was a voice inside of his head. I tried as hard as I could to talk him out of it."

"And that didn't work," Bella stated, as she nodded along to my story.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I tried to convince him that he was hearing me because he was having doubts, but he was very adamant about doing this. He told me to go away, and I couldn't get him to listen to me anymore."

"How did he know that you weren't actually coming?"

"He said it was very different from reading my mind. He said that it sounded like I was actually there, and he said that Jasper would have never let me go."

"But Jasper doesn't control you," Bella frowned.

"No. But he wasn't wrong. Jasper would have made sure that I didn't leave."

"How would he do that?"

"I'm not sure," I said, "but if I know Jasper, and after all this time I'd say that I do, he would have something or another up his sleeve. I'm sure he'd call Harry or George, and get them to cast a spell on me."

I chuckled slightly, before shaking my head.

"Harry and George," Bella repeated. "Would they have done it?"

I nodded.

"If there was even the slightest possibility that I was doing anything that could result in them losing me again, they would be the first ones to jump up and help Jasper keep me from doing that thing."

"Will there be enough time?" Bella asked, looking at the rising sun out of one of the other open windows as the plane began to turn downwards.

"I'm hoping that there will be. If he sticks to his most recent plan, then maybe."

"What is his most recent plan?"

"He's keeping it simple. He's going to walk out into the sun, and expose himself to the humans."

Bella looked back at the window mortified.

"We'll be too late. Alice, we're already too late!"

I shook my head.

"No, we're not. We still have time. He's leaning towards being melodramatic. He wants the biggest audience possible, so he'll choose the main plaza, under the clock tower. The walls are high there. He'll wait till the sun is exactly overhead."

"So we have until noon?" Bella questioned.

"If we're lucky. If he sticks with this decision."

The pilot came over the intercom then, announcing our landing. The seatbelt lights dinged and flashed, and the flight attendants checked to make sure everyone was buckled up.

"How far is it from Florence to Volterra?"

"It depends on how fast you drive," I said, trailing off as I began to question how we would get there. "Hey, Bella?"

"Yes?"

"How strongly are you opposed to grand theft auto?"

"Any other day, I would be strongly against it, but today…today I wouldn't mind it as much."

When the plane landed, Bella and I quickly made our way through the airport.

"Stay here," I told Bella as we came passed the food court, "try and eat something, and I'll be back soon."

I quickly began to duck and weave through the people that were coming and going. A lot of them, as I hurtled myself at them, moved out of my way. At that rate, it didn't take me long to get to the edge of the airport.

Once I was out of sight, I broke out into a run. I was running as fast as I could in the opposite direction of Volterra. If we were going to get there, I had to find the fastest car I could, and I couldn't risk being caught. Not today. I was already running out of time.

As I ran, I began to think. I began to think about Jasper, and Harry, and George. Did Harry and George know by know what was happening? I had missed mine and Harry's weekly call, did he then call Jasper, or would he give it a few days? Would they all forgive me for what I had done?

I shook my head quickly.

"Focus, Alice," I told myself. "Find the car, and get back to the airport."

I reminded myself of my promise to Jasper. I had to come home. Thinking of this made me push myself to go faster and faster.

It didn't take me long to find a car once I got to a place where I thought I'd be far enough away to not get caught. A bright canary yellow Porche caught my eye.

"That should get us there before noon," I said, with a small smile.

The drive back to the airport was quicker than the run to it. I found Bella pacing outside, and came to a screeching stop in front of her. Everyone turned to stare at the car.

"Hurry, Bella!" I called impatiently when she didn't make an effort to move towards me.

After another second, Bella began to run towards the car, throwing open the door and jumping in.

"Sheesh, Alice," she said, looking around the car. "Could you pick a more conspicuous car to steal?"

"The better question to ask yourself," I said as I sped off through the crowded airport, "is if I could have stolen a faster car, and I don't think so. I got lucky today."

"I'm sure that will be very comforting at the roadblock."

My laugh seemed to echo throughout the car.

"Trust me, Bella. If there is going to be a roadblock, then it's going to be behind me, not ahead."

I hit the gas as soon as we got out of the crowded cars that were leaving the airport.

As we sped through Florance and it's surrounding cities, I began to think again. Instead of people, I thought about my past. I thought about the day that I told everyone I was leaving. I had told them I was coming to Italy in an effort to save what little bit of myself remained. I found it ironic, that they place where I said I was going to save myself, was the place where I would likely lose my life.

"Do you see anything else happening?" Bella asked, pulling me out of my thoughts.

"There's something going on," I said, thinking back to my visions from the plane. "Some kind of festival, I think. The streets are full of people and red flags and red robes. What's the date today?"

"The nineteenth, maybe?"

"Well, that's ironic," I mused as my eyes swept across the landscape. "It's Saint Marcus Day."

"Which means what, exactly?"

"The city holds a celebration every year. As the legend goes, a Christian missionary, a Father Marcus—Marcus of the Voltun, in fact—drove all the vampires from Volterra fifteen hundred years ago. The story claims he was martyred in Romania, still trying to drive away the vampire scourge. Of course, that's nonsense—he's never left the city. But that's where some of the superstitions about things like crosses and garlic come from. Marcus used them so successfully. And vampires don't trouble Volterra, so they must work. It's become more of a celebration of the city, and recognition for the police force—after all, Volterra is an amazingly safe city. The police get the credit. I remember learning about it in Hogwarts. But I never knew that Marcus actually led the Volturi. I just thought he was a vampire who had already died."

"They're not going to be very happy if Edward messes things up for them on Saint Marcus Day, are they?"

"No," I said, coldly. "They'll be sure to act very quickly today."

Saint Marcus Day complicated things. If we didn't make it there, right when we needed to, then it would be too late, and this all would have been for nothing.

"He's still planning on noon, isn't he?" Bella asked staring at the sun.

"Yes. He's decided to wait. And they're waiting for him."

"Tell me what I have to do."

"You don't need to do anything. He just has to see you before he moves into the light. And he has to see you before he sees me."

"How are we going to work that?" she asked skeptically.

I'm going to get you as close as possible, and then you're going to run in the direction I point you." I paused and glanced at her. "Try not to trip. We don't have time for a concussion today. Trip afterward, and I'll heal you then."

"There are healing spells?"

I nodded.

"There are spells for just about anything," I said. "Except for bringing back the dead. Magic can't do that."

While I drove, I moved between the future and the present. As far as I could see, Edward was still waiting for noon, but the sun was climbing higher and higher, and I feared that he would do it much sooner than the time that it would take us to get to Volterra.

"I could try talking to him again," I mused, more to myself than to Bella, "but it would be more difficult to do while driving."

"Do you think you could?"

"I don't know. I've never tried. Maybe today isn't the day to risk it."

I pressed on the gas again as my race against the sun continued.

After some time, I began to see the city in the close distance. It was slowly beginning to creep over the hill.

"There," I said, pointing the hill out to Bella. "That's Volterra."

As we quickly approached the city, I began to brace myself for whatever would happen today, and I hoped and prayed harder than before that I would make it out of this city alive.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I actually kept up with a deadline for this chapter. I am actually proud of this. I think that it helped that I had started writing the chapter before the last one was posted, but I won't lie, I had several late nights pushing myself to finish this chapter on time.**

 **Looking back at my plans, I decided that I would combine what was supposed to be chapter eighty-six and eighty-seven together in one chapter, so this make take me a little bit longer for me to plan, chose what quote I'm going to use, and get it written. I'm hoping to take two weeks at the most, however, if it takes longer, I'm sorry.**

 **Also, I am sorry that this is so close to canon. It will start to stray away from that as the next few chapters come up. The only thing that I want to say is that Alice, Bella, and Edward will spend more time in the throne room than they do in the book.**

 **Thank you all so much for your support throughout this story. I have tried to reply to each new reviewer and any reviews with any questions, but if it takes me a little while to get to you, I am so sorry.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	86. Volterra

_"One should always aim at being interesting, rather than exact." ~François-Marie Arouet_

* * *

Chapter 86- Volterra

As we began to climb the hill of Volterra, the road became far too narrow for me to weave through the cars. We were stuck behind all the cars flooding into the city for the Saint Marcus Day festival. It was then that the clock seemed to speed up, and noon seemed to grow closer and closer.

"Alice," Bella groaned as she looked at the crowd of people.

"It's the only way in," I said through a strained voice.

We slowly began to make our way into the city, and as we got closer, we began to see the cars that were crowding the parking lot, and the people from those cars making their way through the gates of the city.

"Alice," Bella whispered urgently, staring wide-eyed at the cars.

"I know," I said.

I quickly tried to think of a plan, something to say to the guard that will let me take the car into the city. Bella's attention had been caught by the people heading into the city. She watched as a woman lost her scarf to the wind.

"Bella," I said, fiercely catching her attention. "I have a plan, but I can't see what the guard will decide. If my plan doesn't work, then you will have to go in alone. You're going to have to run as fast as you possibly can. Just keep asking for the Palazzo dei Priori, and you run in the direction that they give you. Please, don't get lost."

"Palazzo dei Priori, Palazzo dei Priori," she repeated, trying to memorize it in her head.

"Or just simply 'clock tower' if they speak English. I'll go around and try to find a secluded spot somewhere behind the city where I can jump over the wall."

Bella nodded, and started to repeat Palazzo dei Priori again.

"Edward will be under the clocktower," I continued, "to the north of the square. If you look to the right, you'll find a very narrow alleyway. He'll be waiting in the shadows. You have to try to get his attention before he moves into the sun. If you get his attention, then we can save him."

Bella nodded once more before I turned to look at the line ahead of me. We were close to the front now. The guard in the navy blue uniform was directing people to the parking lot. When I reached the front of the line and noticed that he wasn't paying attention, I moved to edge around him, heading straight for the gate.

He shouted at us to come back, but he didn't chase us. He waved at the cars who tried to follow me.

The guard at the gate saw us coming and stepped into the middle of the road. I angled the car slightly before stopping, so that way if this didn't work Bella could quickly get out, and I could quickly get around the wall.

I quickly reached around the seat, grabbing my bag to grab money from it before setting the bag at Bella's feet. I would need it to reattach my wand holster as soon as it was safe.

When I didn't move, the guard grew irritated, he came around the car and angrily tapped on my window. I rolled down the window halfway, and the guard's anger seemed to immediately disappear as soon as he saw my face.

"I'm sorry, only tour buses allowed in the city today, miss," he told me in English in a heavy Italian accent.

I grinned at him, causing his eyes to widen slightly.

"It's a private tour," I said, reaching my hand out the window to grab his. I pulled it into the car and placed the money into the palm of his hand before closing his fingers around it.

He was dazed as he looked at the roll of cash that now sat in his palm.

"Is this a joke?" he mumbled, still half dazed.

"Only if you think it's funny," I said, flashing another bright smile at him. "Please, sir, I had to fly all the way to America and back to bring her to see the festival."

He glanced at Bella and back at me. The clock was ticking down.

"I'm in a wee bit of a hurry," I added when he still didn't respond.

The guard blinked twice at me, tucked the money away, and moved to the side, letting us proceed through the gate. Bella and I both sighed in relief as we went through the gates to the city.

The city was crowded with foot traffic which made it slightly harder to get through.

"Just a little bit further," I told Bella as I saw her grab the door handle.

I had to drive in quick spirits, and the stops were just as sudden. The pedestrians turned and shouted at me while they shook their fists. As the clock continued to grow closer to noon, I continued to try and get Bella as close to the clock tower as I could manage. Then, once I realized that I couldn't get any further, I stopped the car.

"This is as far as I can take you, Bella," I said, turning to face her. "We're at the southern end of the square right now. Run straight across, to the right of the clock tower. I'll try to find a way around—" I broke off as I could see the slight shadows of some of the guard. "They're everywhere?" I hissed, glancing around the immediate area.

Bella froze and turned to look at me with wide eyes. I shook my head and pushed her arm as I ducked down to grab my bag and my wand, quickly attaching it to my arm.

"Don't worry about them, Bella," I said, as I too stepped out of the car. "You have two minutes. Go, Bella, go!"

Bella took off in the direction of the clock tower while I faded into one of the unoccupied alleys.

Carlisle had once told me that all of the alleys in Volterra all linked together. You could get to one place by going through another. That was my safest option. I pulled out my wand and started heading North.

The winding alleys seemed to never end. I was almost scared that despite the decades that Carlisle spent in Volterra, he would be wrong. I was afraid that the alley would not lead to the one with Edward, but I would instead wind up at the beginning where I had started.

I could hear two other footsteps walking through the other alleys. I knew it wasn't them, but one of the footsteps sounded like Emmett, and the other sounded like Jasper.

The two in the other alleys sped up, and I decided that I would follow where they went. If they had been waiting for Edward, chances are that they would lead me right to him.

Suddenly, the people in the ally disappeared. Their footsteps were gone, and I had nothing to follow. I looked down at my wand before placing it in the palm of my hand.

"Point me!" I hissed in the dark.

The wand began to spin, and then suddenly, it stood in one direction until I followed it, where it then turned straight. Using wandless magic, I lifted the wand into the air so that I could rely on sight rather than on touch. It twisted and turned, and then before long, I could hear Edward speaking.

"Then I'm afraid that I'll be unable to accept Aro's invitation, Demetri," Edward was saying.

"That's just fine," another voice said. I recognized this voice from my vision. It was Felix.

"Aro will be disappointed," a third voice sighed. I was sure that this was Demetri. As far as I knew, it was just them.

"I'm sure he'll survive the letdown," Edward said. His voice was almost a growl, and I decided now would be a good time for me to step in.

"Let's behave ourselves, shall we?" I asked, placing my wand back in the holster as I flittered down the alleyway and to Edward's side. "There are ladies present."

Demetri and Felix straightened up when they saw me. Both of their eyes flickered to the evident wand holster on my arm. They gave each other a worried glance. Despite me seeing them, they hadn't seen me.

"Don't worry," I said, with a slight wink. "I shouldn't have to use it. However, we are not alone," I pointed out, looking past Demetri and Felix to a little girl standing near the alley.

Demetri glanced over his shoulder and turned back to face Edward again.

"Please, Edward," Demetri said, shaking his head. "Let's be reasonable about this."

"Let's," Edward agreed. "And we'll leave quietly now, with no one the wiser."

"At least let us discuss this more privately," Demetri sighed. He was starting to grow agitated now. I could hear the slight frustration in his voice.

"No," Edward said in a stern and protective voice.

"That's enough," a high, sharp voice said from behind us.

I jerked around to find somebody only slightly shorter than me. They had straight hair, that was cut short.

"Jane," Edward greeted, dropping his arms.

I folded my arms over my chest as she two glanced at my wand.

"Follow me," Jane commanded.

I followed Jane immediately, and Edward stepped into place with me, his arm around Bella's waist.

"Well, Alice, I guess I shouldn't be surprised to see you here," Edward said, turning to look at me.

"It was my mistake," I said, quietly. "It was my job to set it right."

"What happened?" he asked.

"It's a long story," I said, flickering my eyes at Bella. "In summary, she did jump off a cliff, but she wasn't trying to kill herself. Bella's all about the extreme sports these days."

I showed him my conversations with Bella where she told me about the cliff, and Victoria hunting her, and Jacob Black hunting Victoria.

"Hm," Edward said curtly.

"You aren't wrong though," I said, glancing up at his stony face. "You shouldn't be surprised."

"Why is that?" he asked.

"Because I told you that you were right. That I would do everything in my power to convince you that she was alive. I figure, what better way to prove it to you, than by bringing her to you."

"You never—"

Edward broke off before he got the full sentence out. He looked at me with wide eyes.

"That was really you?" he gasped.

I nodded.

"I figured out how to channel into people's present again," I said. "I thought it was gone completely, but one day, during one of my energy bursts, Jasper was out hunting. I was thinking about him, and then suddenly I was in his present. I wasn't sure whether or not I'd still be able to communicate, but I figured that I would have to give it a try."

"So everything you said—"  
"I meant it," I said, turning to face the dark alleyway. "And I heard everything you said."

Edward turned away from me sheepishly.

"What kind of magic can you do, little witch?" Demetri asked. He was grinning widely at me when I turned to face him.

I fell back in place between him and Felix.

"So Aro told you, did he?"

"Yes."

"I suppose I'm not surprised," I said. "But you'll have to specify your question. Is it strictly related to magic using a wand? Or just in general?"

Demetri thought about it for a moment.

"It's not all through the wand?" Felix asked.

I shook my head.

"No. I can do magic with a wand, and that's mostly a numerous amount of spells. I can also do wandless magic, potion making, divination—"  
"Which would be your visions of the future, correct?" Demetri asked.

I nodded.

"Yes, but it goes further than that."

"Care to elaborate?"

"Where's the fun in that?" I asked, striding forward ahead of Bella and Edward.

"I like her," Demetri whispered to Felix.

I smiled as I dropped into the hole in the street, landing upright on the wet stone next to Jane.

"It's alright, Bella," Edward was saying above us. "Alice will catch you."

"Alice?" Bella called, with a trembling voice.

"I'm right here," I reassured as Jane let out a deep sigh.

"Ready?" Edward called down to be.

"Drop her."

Bella fell just as quickly as I had. She winced slightly as she landed in my arms.

"Sorry," I said, lowly as I sat her upright on the ground.

Edward dropped next, followed by Demetri, and finally Felix.

"Is that all that you're able to do?" Demetri asked, falling into step with me again.

"No," I said, shaking my head.

"What else is there?" he pressed eagerly.

"Is this strictly out of curiosity, or are you trying to use it against me? Because even if I didn't have my senses, you wouldn't be able to outrun the magic. A mere Muggle like yourself couldn't use it against me."

Demetri and Felix looked at each other with wide eyes.

"I guess it's a good thing it was out of curiosity then," Felix muttered.

"So it's curiosity then?"

Demetri nodded.

"I've never met a witch or wizard before. The magical governments always wrote us letters. They never came to visit, and we never went to them."

"Magical governments?" I asked, frowning. "You mean they know about you? And you know about them?"

"You didn't know?"

I shook my head.

"Before my transformation, I had never heard of the Volturi."

"And you didn't question your Minister when you went back to England?"

"You knew about that?"

"Aro saw it in Edward's thoughts," Demetri said, jerking his head in Edward's direction.

"I never questioned Kingsley because I didn't want to put him at risk if he didn't know. That's why I never mentioned you to my family."

"That's very smart," Demetri said. He leaned down to where he was close to my ear as Felix ran forward to catch up to the others. "I think you would have gotten away with it though. Aro has taken a great liking to you. He has since Carlisle first told him about you."

His voice was low enough to where Felix, Edward, Bella, and Jane, who were all ahead of us, wouldn't have been able to hear him.

"So I could tell them?"

"Hypothetically. When I left, Aro was talking about writing to you Minister, and sending an attached letter that would go to your brother."

"Why does he want to write to my brother?"

"To compliment you."

"I don't think Harry would be too happy with receiving a letter from you if I'm going to die here."

"I don't think that you _will_ die here."

I looked at him in surprise and came to a complete stop.

"I'm not going to die?"

Demetri shook his head.

"Not today."

"Why are you telling me this? Surely you're going to get in some kind of trouble."

Demetri shook his head again.

"No, I won't. Edward thought that you may try to come after him, even if your husband wouldn't let you. He thought that you would find some way out and come to keep him from trying to die. Aro heard it in our thoughts. Before I was sent out, I was given the order that if you were to come here, to inform you that you were safe. We aren't going to hurt you."

"Why?"

"Mostly because Kingsley Shacklebolt is Aro's favorite amongst the magical governments. Kingsley once spoke of a friend of his. A friend that had killed herself. He called her Mary Alice, but we had never made the connection back to you. He told us that she was one of the most powerful witches before she died."

"So Aro figures it's best to be on my good side rather than to risk being against me?"

"No, you're missing my point."

"That's because your point isn't clear."

"Aro will not kill you because he wouldn't want to offend Kingsley."

I scanned Demetri's face.

"How do I know that you're not lying to me?"

"Do you have any form of magic that can test lies?"

"I don't have any Veritaserum, however, I could look into your mind."

"You can read minds too?"

"I guess you could call it that. However, I can see everything you've ever thought, or I can look through every memory. Even the ones that you can't remember. I go through the layers of your mind."

He went to extend his hand out to me.

"Not like that," I said. "Just stay still."

He became incredibly still, resembling a statue.

I focused on his thoughts, and once I broke the first wall, I immediately searched for the conversation with Aro. Because it was recent, it didn't take me long to find.

 _"Demetri, can you stay back for just a second," Aro called, as he and Felix headed for the doors. "Felix, you go ahead."_

 _Demetri paused at the doors before turning back to Aro._

 _"Yes, sir?" he asked while walking back to Aro._

 _"Edward Cullen believes that his sister, Alice Cullen, will follow him. He thinks that her husband may not let her come here, but he also thinks that she'll find a way around him, and come to stop him."_

 _Demetri didn't answer. He continued to listen to Aro._

 _"Alice Cullen, if she does come, is not to be harmed if she comes here. Am I understood?"_

 _"Sir?"_

 _"Alice Cullen is an old friend of Kingsley Shacklebolt. He had believed her to be dead, but he saw her again when she returned to England to see her family. Now that he knows that she is, in fact, alive, I do not intend to break the trust I have with the Ministry of Magic by killing the Minister's friend. I repeat, Alice Cullen is not to be harmed. If Edward does not intend to have us kill him, bring him here, and bring Alice, but no harm will come to her while she is in the walls of Volterra. I simply want to meet her if she's here."_

 _"Should I tell her about this conversation?"_

 _"If you wish."_

 _"Understood, sir," Demetri said before heading for the doors._

I quickly pulled myself from Demetri's mind.

"You're telling the truth," I said in surprise.

"I am," Demetri said. "Now come on, we should catch up with the others."

Demetri and I both sprinted down the hallway to catch up with Jane, Felix, Bella, and Edward. Thankfully, they weren't too far ahead.

Edward looked at me questioningly as I returned to his and Bella's side.

"It's nothing," I said quietly, shaking my head.

We had just entered a brightly lit hallway with off-white walls. It was very short, and Jane stood waiting by an elevator, holding the door open.

The elevator ride seemed to be no more than a couple seconds. It was like we had just stepped on when the doors opened into the wood-paneled room from my vision. In the middle of the room, was a mahogany desk that I hadn't seen it.

Behind the desk was a woman, with dark skin, brown hair, and green eyes that reminded me of Harry. She was human. Bella clearly noticed this, as she stared at her in surprise.

"Hello, Jane," the woman smiled.

"Gianna," Jane nodded, not breaking her step.

She led us to the wooden double doors. On the other side, was a person who I didn't know by name. I went off of Carlisle's description, and I guessed that this was Alec, Jane's twin brother.

"Jane," he smiled, extending his arms.

"Alec," she smiled, as she kissed both of his cheeks.

"They send you out for one and you come back with two… and a half," he said, glancing at Bella carefully. "Nice work."

She laughed at Alec's praise and turned to face us.

"Welcome back, Edward," Alec greeted. "You seem in a better mood."

"Marginally," Edward said.

Alec chuckled and turned to examine Bella more closely.

"And this is the cause of all the trouble?"

Edward smiled and then froze, turning to look at Felix.

"Dibs," Felix chuckled.

Edward began to snarl as Felix egged him on.

I placed my arm on Edward's shoulder.

"Patience, Edward," I said.

"Aro will be pleased to see you again," Alec said as Edward calmed back down, holding Bella tighter than before.

"Let's not keep him waiting any longer," Jane said, moving forward.

Alec nodded and glanced at me.

"Welcome to Volterra, Ms. Alice."

I smiled and nodded as he took Jane's hand and they continued forward.

"Why are they so polite to Alice?" Bella whispered lowly.

"I'm not entirely sure."

We went through another door, and up some stairs before approaching the throne room. I didn't remember seeing this part when I was following Edward. After a moment, we were at the doors of the throne room. That I did remember, and I glanced at Edward, and then at Demetri.

Jane opened the door and stepped inside.

There was only a handful of people in the room. There were all talking in low voices. It seemed different than it had when I came here following Edward's present. The door and the wall had seemed to warp. The door that I had thought was stone, was actually wood. The edges of the room were less blurry. If I had to guess, I would say that I hadn't focused enough.

"Jane, dear one, you've returned!" Aro exclaimed as he caught sight of Jane. He began to make his way towards us, his smile never leaving his face.

"Yes, Master," Jane said grinning at Aro. "I brought him back alive, just as you requested."

"Ah, Jane. You are such a comfort to me."

His eyes finally fell on Bella and me, and his face lit up like a child on Christmas.

"And Alice and Bella are here too?" he cheered, clapping his hands together. "This is a happy surprise! Wonderful!"

I gave him a smile as his eyes fell on me.

"Felix, be a dear and tell my brothers about our company. I'm sure they wouldn't want to miss this."

"Yes, Master," Felix said before he quickly moved from the room.

"I love a happy ending." Aro sighed. "They are so rare. But I want the whole story. How did this happen? Alice? Your brother seemed to think you infallible, but apparently, there was some mistake."

"Oh, I'm far from infallible, sir," I smiled, as I curled my fingers into tight balls against my thighs. "As you can see today, I cause problems as often as I cure them."

"You're too modest," Aro said in a voice that sounded almost like he was scolding me. "I've seen some of your more amazing exploits, and I must admit I've never observed anything like your talent. Kingsley Shacklebolt also held you in very high standards, so you must be as amazing as I hear."

My eyes flickered at Edward, who gave me a small reassuring smile. I would have been far calmer if I had Jasper here. Despite Demetri's promise of safety, being in close proximity to Aro made me nervous.

"I'm sorry, we haven't been introduced properly at all, have we?" Aro said, calling my attention back to him. "It's just that I feel like I know you already, and I tend to get ahead of myself. Your brother introduced us yesterday, in a peculiar way. You see, I share some of your brother's talent, only I am limited in a way that he is not, and judging from what he shows me of your magical abilities, you are not limited in that way either."

I turned to glance at Edward again.

"And also exponentially more powerful," Edward said, dryly. He turned to eye me. "I'm not sure how much of Aro you saw when you were following my present. Aro needs physical contact to hear your thoughts, but he hears much more than I do. You know I can only hear what's passing through your head at the moment. Aro hears every thought your mind has ever had."

 _So he has a lower form of Legilimency?_ I thought, to make sure that I had Aro's abilities right.

"Pretty much," he murmured.

"To hear from a distance," Aro said, gesturing between Edward and me, "That would be so convenient."

"It was nothing bad," I reassured Aro with a small smile. "It's only that your gift reminds me of a talent that I have. It's called Legilimency. I can go through the layers of the mind, and I can see every thought, and every memory a person's had, even the ones they don't remember. Take for instance Bella's mind. Edward can't read her mind. I can. I've traveled through the layers of her mind and have found useful memories and thoughts that have been useful in the two of us coming here to Volterra."

"I've seen it myself, sir," Demetri piped up from beside me. "It's actually quite extraordinary."

Aro looked at me with amazement.

"You hold many talents, don't you? Can you elaborate on what Edward meant by following his present while we wait for my brothers?"

I nodded.

"Of course, sir. You see, in my early years as a vampire, I developed an odd gift of being able to watch the present of people as it happens. I focus in on a person, and I exist there in a spirit-like form. If I focus harder, then I can communicate with that person. I believed that it was because I was existing in a time before my own. I was born in 1976, and I was living in 1948, but I found out a few months ago that I still had the gift."

"How did you discover that?" Aro asked in wonder as Felix fell back into place next to us and Marcus and Caius came to stand behind Aro.

"From where my magic combines with the venom, I have these things once a month that we call energy bursts. My energy will go to an extreme high, and then I crash. During one of the crashes, my husband, Jasper, was out hunting, and I was thinking about him, and then suddenly I was there with him. Things were warped from where my energy was very low, but I was able to tell that it was his present and not his future."

"How did you know?" Aro asked, not noticing his brothers that were behind him now.

"Being in someone's present is a lot different from being in their future. The future is hazy because nothing is certain. A small decision can make the greatest impacts. The present, however, is crystal clear because it is happening now and all of the decisions had been made."

"Fascinating," he said."And the mark from your time as a Death Eater. Could I maybe see that? I've never known a vampire to keep marks from there human life."

I nodded and pulled up my sleeve before removing the wand holster.

"I have that, and a scar going up my spine."

"What did that come from?" Aro asked in surprise.

"My godfather, Remus."

"He was a werewolf, yes?"

"No wonder," Caius grumbled to Marcus. "Werewolves. You can't trust them."

As soon as Caius spoke, Aro twirled around, his robes flowing behind him.

"Marcus, Caius, look! Bella is alive after all, and Alice is here with her! Isn't that wonderful?"

Caius and Marcus didn't share Aro's enthusiasm. Caius's face looked like he was almost angry, and Marcus looked bored. However, when their eyes swept over me, both of them looked at me curiously before their faces returned to the state that they had been in before.

"Alice has been enlightening us by telling of some of her abilities as a witch. They are quite fascinating, but if she is willing, I would love to hear more about her." He paused and turned to me. "Would you be willing?"

I nodded.

"Of course, sir," I said, with a slight nod.

"Fantastic. The story I want to hear about right now is what happened between these two," Aro said, pointing between Bella and Edward before turning to me, "and where your vision went wrong."

Caius left our little circle then. He began to make his way to his throne. Marcus on the other hand lingered by. Aro and extended a hand out to him.

As Marcus dropped his hand back down to his side, Edward snorted very quietly. I was curious about what Marcus had said, but I had to be very careful about using magic against the Volturi or else my promise of survival could be changed to a death sentence.

I turned to look at Edward curiously, but his mind was quiet as he focused on Marcus and Aro. "Thank you, Marcus," Aro said with a smile. "That's quite interesting."

Marcus, however, was very clearly uninterested in what he had shown to Aro. He turned on his heel and left to join Caius at the thrones, followed by his bodyguards.

"Amazing," Aro said shaking his head as Marcus left him. "Absolutely amazing."

I turned to look at Edward again, more frustrated this time.

 _I can't use magic on the Volturi! What did he say?_

"Marcus sees relationships," Edward explained in a low voice. "He's surprised by the intensity of ours."

He gestured between Bella and himself.

"So convenient," Aro said, smiling to himself. "It takes quite a bit to surprise Marcus, I can assure you."

Bella and I both looked at Marcus. I was curious about what was going through his head.

"It's just so difficult to understand, even now," Aro mused, staring at Edward's arm which was still wrapped tightly around Bella's waist. It was hard for me to follow Aro's chaotic train of thought. I struggled to keep up. "How can you stand so close to her like that?"

"It's not without effort," Edward answered calmly.

"But still—la tua cantante! What a waste!"

Edward chuckled. "I look at it more as a price."

"A very high price."

"Opportunity cost," Edward said with a bitter edge.

"If I hadn't smelled her through your memories, I wouldn't have believed the call of anyone's blood could be so strong. I've never felt anything like it myself. Most of us would trade much for such a gift, and yet you…"

"Waste it," Edward finished.

"Ah, how I miss my friend Carlisle! You remind me of him—only he was not so angry."

I chuckled slightly at this, much to Aro's delight.

"Carlisle outshines me in many other ways as well."

"I certainly never thought to see Carlisle bested for self-control of all things, but you put him to shame."

"Hardly," Edward said.

"I am gratified by his success," Aro said with a smile. "Your memories of him are quite a gift for me, though they astonish me exceedingly. I am surprised by how it… pleases me, his success in this unorthodox path he's chosen. I expected that he would waste, weaken with time. I'd scoffed at his plan to find others who would share his peculiar vision. Yet, somehow, I'm happy to be wrong. But your restraint! I did not know such strength was possible. To harden yourself against such a siren call, not just once but again and again—if I had not felt it myself, I would not have believed."

Edward didn't respond. Instead, he watched Aro with what almost looked like a glare.

"Just remembering how she appeals to you…" Aro chuckled. "It makes me thirsty."

Edward tensed, and I looked at Aro with worry before taking a step behind Edward, closer to Bella.

"Don't be disturbed," Aro reassured, looking between Edward and myself. "I mean her no harm. But I am so curious, about one thing in particular. May I?"

"Ask her," Edward said, jerking his head towards Bella.

"Of course, how rude of me!" Aro exclaimed. "Bella," he addressed me directly now. "I'm fascinated that you are the one exception to Edward's impressive talent, with the exception of Alice being able to block her mind from Edward using her other gifts—so very interesting that such a thing should occur! And I was wondering, since our talents are similar in many ways if you would be so kind as to allow me to try—to see if you are an exception for me, as well?"

Bella turned to look at Edward. He face was filled with uncertainty and horror. She was afraid of Aro. I could understand it. However, I knew that I had no reason to fear him as long as I have him no reason to cause me harm.

Edward smiled and nodded at Bella reassuringly. As soon as he did that, she extended her hand to the ancient vampire, who took it greedily.

"So very interesting," Aro mused in a soft voice as he began to pace slightly in between Edward, Bella, and I. "That was a first…I wonder if she is immune to all of our powers. Jane, dear?"

Before Jane had the chance to respond, or step forward, Edward began to snarl from beside me.

"No!"

I grabbed his arm with one hand. In the next second, he shook me off.  
I now noticed that Jane was smiling happily at Aro.

"Yes, Master?" Jane asked happily.

Edward continued to snarl. Felix grinned happily and took a step forward. When Aro turned to him, he froze in his place, and the grin faltered into a sulky frown.

"I was wondering, my dear one," Aro said to Jane over Edward's snarls, "if Bella is immune to you."

I saw Edward leaping at Jane before he had actually done it.

"Edward, don't!" I cried, leaning forward to grab him.

Edward was already gone. I couldn't stun him now. I would risk hitting Jane, and then my fate would remain uncertain.

In the next second, before I had the chance to come up with a backup plan, Edward was already on the ground. His stony face turned to one of pain as he writhed on the floor.

"Stop!" Bella shrieked, moving to jump forward between Jane and Edward.

I quickly grabbed her wrist, pulling her to me before putting a quick Stunning Spell on her to keep her from trying to wiggle out of my grip.

"Alice you have to do something!" Bella cried as I lightened up the spell. "Cast a spell to stop her! Or use a spell to help him! Help him!"

"I can't Bella," I whispered into her ear. "If I use magic against any of the Volturi members, I will die. My death will be certain then. I don't know if a shielding spell would work against a Muggle's power."

"Jane," Aro called. Suddenly Edward was still, and I removed the spell that I had cast on Bella in the next second.

Aro inclined his head towards Bella and me. Bella had begun to struggle, which almost caused me to put my spell back on her.  
"He's fine," I whispered in her ear. "Worry about you now. We don't know what to expect."

Edward sat up before jumping to his feet. He watched Bella with the same expression of horror that she had watched him with, but Bella wasn't writhing in pain. His eyes, as well as my own, snapped over to Jane, who was no longer smiling. She was glaring at Bella.

When nothing happened, Edward walked over to Bella and me and put a hand on my arm.

"You can let her go now, Alice," he murmured in my ear.

I retracted my arms and stepped away from them as Edward wrapped his arm around Bella's waist again.

"Sorry," I said quietly.

Aro laughed and clapped his hands together.

"This is wonderful."

Jane hissed and leaned forward preparing to spring at Bella.

"Don't be put out, dear one," Aro told Jane placing a hand on her shoulder. "She confounds us all."

Jane's lip curled up over her teeth as she glared at Bella.

"You're very brave, Edward," Aro continued turning to Edward, "to endure in silence. I asked Jane to do that to me once—just out of curiosity." He paused and then turn to me. "You have something similar in your world, do you not?"

"We do, sir," I said. "It's called the Cruciatus Curse. It's a torture curse. It's very, very similar to what Jane does, only it's not a mental thing. It's physical."

"Do you think maybe you could show it to me?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"You do know it's illegal, don't you?" I asked in surprise.

"Yes, I do. If you get into any legal trouble, I will write to the Ministry and tell them that it was done on my behalf."

I looked between Aro, Marcus, and Caius. Caius sat up in interest now. He was watching me very carefully and raised an eyebrow.

I sighed and pulled my wand from its holster.

"Stand very still," I warned Aro. "It's going to hurt. There's nothing I can do to stop that."

"Of course," Aro said, stiffening as soon as he stepped away from Jane.

"It will take me a minute to prepare myself," I said. "In order for it to work, you have to _want_ it to work."

"What does that mean?" Edward asked from behind me.

"It means that I have to be angry," I said turning to face him. "Anger is the best way to get the curse to work."

I began to think of my past. I thought of the moments in my life where I felt the most rage. Voldemort killing Harry in the Forbidden Forest, the anger I had felt at myself each time I broke our diet, Maria coming for Jasper.

Once I felt the anger building, I turned my wand on Aro.

"Crucio!" I cried.

Everyone watched me closely, anticipating the spell. As Caius opened his mouth to speak, Aro dropped to the floor writhing in the same manner that Edward had. His yells began to echo through the stone room. I didn't expect him to hold back the screams, but I hadn't anticipated the echo that followed them.

Before I had the chance to remove the spell from Aro, I too began to feel pain. It started in my chest and then worked its way through my body. It felt like knives were stabbing me everywhere My wand clattered to the floor as my knees buckled. A loud bang rang through the room as my head cracked against the ground. I clenched my jaw to keep myself from screaming. It was easier to do than I would have thought.

Jane's gift of torture was painful, I couldn't deny that. It reminded me vaguely of the Cruciatus Curse, but nothing could compare to that pain. I began to fight against it, the same way I would fight against the Cruciatus Curse, struggling to close my mind from Jane.

"Protego!" I yelled, raising my hand to Jane.

The large white ball hit her in the center of her chest, causing her to fly back, hitting the far wall.

"I am so sorry, Alice!" Aro exclaimed rushing forward to help me to my feet. "Jane should not have done that to you." He turned to glare at Jane who was being helped to her feet by Alec, before turning back to me. "Do you think you could show me a few more spells?"

"That depends on what you want to see," I said stepping back into place next to Edward before taking my wand from him. "No more illegal magic, and nothing that will have me attacked by your guard."

"Of course," Aro said. He pondered it for a moment. "What all can you do?"

"Loads of things," I said. "I can do both Occlumency and Legilimency, I am an Animagus, there are countless spells and charms."

"What is an Animagus?" Caius asked from behind Aro.

"Some witches and wizards can turn into an animal at will, kind of like a shapeshifter. When they can do that, they are known as an Animagus."

"And only selects witches and wizards can do that?" Caius asked.

I shook my head.

"No, I suppose if they try hard enough any witch or wizard could become an Animagus. It takes hard work though. Most people give up halfway through."

"But you didn't."

"No," I said. "I didn't."

"Show me," Caius demanded edging closer to our circle.

"Of course," I nodded.

I stepped to the side where I had more space before quickly shifting.

Aro and Caius looked at each other before turning to face me.

"Can you still speak?" Caius asked me.

I shook my head.

"She resembles a dog in that form," Edward said. "She can only bark, however her thoughts are the same."

"Very interesting," Aro said.

I noticed now that Marcus's look of boredom seemed to disappear. He leaned forward watching me carefully.

I shifted back and offered a smile to the three kings.

"Anything else?" I asked.

"Is there any way that you can show us the Legilimency?" Aro asked.

I nodded.

"If I focus a certain way, I can show the person what I'm seeing." I turned to Caius. "May I?"

He nodded and went to extend his hand to me in the same way that Demetri had.

I shook my head.

"All you have to do is stand still," I told him. "Aro, if you take his hand, you should be able to see what I show him."

Aro eagerly took Caius's hand as I turned and locked eyes with Caius.

 _It didn't take much to get through the first wall of Caius's mind. I headed straight past his thoughts, catching snippets of his current thoughts as I headed straight for his memories._

 _I started with the things that he couldn't remember. Things in his human life. His birth, the forty years prior to his transformation, and his transformation. I watched him tracking werewolves, meeting his wife and finding Aro and Marcus. I watched as two females joined, and then those two turned to one._

I exited Caius's thoughts then. I feared seeing something I wasn't supposed to.

"Amazing," Aro said, grinning at me. "What else do you think you can show us?"

"What do you want to see?"

Demetri stepped forward watching me.

"You said out in the hallway that even if your senses were taken, a Muggle couldn't outrun the magic. Could you show what you mean."

"I would need a target," I said.

"Felix?" Aro asked, turning to watch the large vampire.

"Of course, Master. But what spell would she cast on me?"

"Nothing painful," I said. I paused to think about it. "How would you feel about getting wet? I can dry you off right after we've finished."

Felix nodded and moved to step forward.

"Wait until my senses are gone before you move," I told him.

Aro turned to Alec.  
"Alec?"

Alec moved his hands out in front of him and looked at me hesitantly.

"Don't fret, dear one," Aro said. "Alice has given her permission for you to do this."

The shimmering mist escaped his hands and slowly crept forward. It took it a minute to reach me, but I knew when it had. Everything was suddenly gone.

I began to focus as I attempted to find Felix. I began to form the ball of water between my hands, remembering where the three kings had been to prevent them from being soaked.

 _Find_. I thought before pushing the ball from me.

After a moment, my senses were back, and loud laughs surrounded the room.

"Magnificent," Aro clapped. "Even when he ran from it, it still caught him!"

I turned to find Felix behind me, dripping wet.

"It knew it's target. It would always find you."

"You are a very talented witch, Alice," Aro said as I pulled out my wand to dry Felix off. "Your family, human, and vampire should be very proud of you."

"I agree," Marcus said stepping forward. "You are very talented, indeed. If it is alright with you, we would like to write to your brother and express our high thoughts."

I nodded.

"That's okay," I said with a slight smile. "However, you will have to explain who you are and your importance to the vampire world. I didn't tell my family about you."

"Why?" Caius asked leaning forward cocking his head to the side.

"Because I didn't risk putting them in danger. My creators, Helen and Tobias, made sure that I understood that I could not tell them about you. It would put them at risk of death, and I've worked so hard to keep what's left of my family alive. That's why I'm a vampire. I traded my life for theirs."

Aro grinned at me.

"We now know of your secret. As an exchange, we give you permission to tell them ours."

"Thank you, sir."

"We just ask that you ensure that it stays contained to your family."

I nodded.

"Of course. After you write them, I will talk to them and explain the rules."

"Thank you," Marcus said with a small smile before turning on his heel and heading back to his chair.

"Now," Aro said turning back to Bella and Edward. "What do we do with you now."

Edward and I both stiffened.

I was afraid that they would send me out and allow me to leave Volterra, but I feared that as soon as I left, Edward and Bella would die.

"I don't suppose you've changed your mind have you?" Aro asked turning to Edward. "Your talent would be an excellent addition to our little company."

"I'd rather not," Edward said, slowly.

"Alice?" he asked, turning to face me. "Would you be interested in joining us?"

"Sir?" I asked in surprise.

"Your talent amazes me. I would, of course, be sure to make sure your stay is comfortable."

"No, sir," I said, quickly shaking my head. "My husband is expecting me to come home."

"So we can bring him here," Caius suggested.

I shook my head.  
"No, no thank you. I'd just like to go home, please."

Aro nodded.

"Of course. We understand. You will be free to leave in just a moment, dear." he turned away from me to Bella. "And you, Bella? Would you care to join us?"

Edward hissed very lowly. Bella, on the other hand, didn't answer straight away. Instead, she stared at Aro, dumbfounded.

"What?" Caius demanded. "We hadn't discussed that!"

"Caius, surely you see the potential. I haven't seen a future talent so promising since we found Jane and Alec. Surely she's no witch, but can you imagine the possibilities when she is one of us?"

Edward fumed as Bella seemed to consider the offer.

"No, thank you," Bella said, barely louder than a whisper.

"That's unfortunate." Aro sighed shaking his head. "Such a waste."

"Join or die, is that it? So Alice is the only one who is going to leave here because she's a witch? I suspected as much when we were brought to this room. So much for your laws."

"No, no, no. Of course not. That's not the case at all," Aro said, quickly shaking his head as if he were trying to shake the thought out of his head. "We were already convened here, Edward, awaiting Heidi's return. Not for you."

"Aro," Caius hissed. "The law claims those two."

Caius jabbed a finger at Edward and Bella.

"How so?" Edward demanded.

"She," he snapped turning his finger to Bella, "knows too much. You have exposed our secrets."

"There are a few humans in on your charade here, as well," Edward snapped in a tone that matched Caius's.

"Yes," Caius agreed as his face twisted into a smile. "But when they are no longer useful to us, they will serve to sustain us. That is not your plan for this one. If she betrays our secrets, are you prepared to destroy her? I think not."

"I wouldn't—" Bella started before Caius cast his icy glare to her.

"Nor do you intend to make her one of us," Caius snapped turning back to Edward. "Therefore, she is a vulnerability. Though it is true, for this, only her life is forfeit. You may leave with Alice if you wish."

Edward grinded his teeth together, glaring at Caius.

"That's what I thought," Caius said smugly, away from Edward.

"Unless," Aro intervened with a quick glare at Caius. "Unless you do intend to give her immortality."

Edward paused for a moment. His eyes flickered between Bella and Aro.

"And if I do?" he answered, breaking the silence.

"Why, then you would be free to go home, with Alice, and give my regards to my friend Carlisle. However, I'm afraid you would have to mean it," he added.

He extended his hand. It took me a second before I understood that he would want proof.

Edward's lips tightened as he turned to look at Bella.

"Mean it," she whispered to him as a tear formed in the corner of her eye. "Please."

 _I told you, Edward. You couldn't have it both ways. You refused to live with her but you say you can't live without her. Since you can't decide, I'm making the decision for you,_ I thought before stepping out of the line to Aro. Edward made a quick attempt to catch my hand but I jerked it away from him and turned to face him.

 _You should have made the decision on your own._

Edward's eyes pleaded with me.

 _Alice,_ he thought loudly catching my attention. _Please. Don't do this to me._

"I'm doing what I can to get home. To get all of us home."

I raised my hand to Aro as I walked towards him. As I approached, I realized that I would not be able to keep my blocked without Aro believing that there was something that I was hiding. I couldn't let risk letting anything keep me from getting back home to Jasper.

Aro waved off the anxious guard who moved in to keep me away. Aro stepped forward to meet me, and eagerly took my hand.

Suddenly everything that I once held secret was gone. Every kiss and touch between Jasper and I. Every conversation between Fred and George that I had never told anybody. Me considering leaving Carlisle and returning to England after Jasper and I came back.

Aro bent his head over our hands, closing his eyes as he focused. I didn't move. I was afraid that the Volturi would change their mind at any minute and they would decide to kill me.

After a long silence, Aro broke the silence by laughing his high pitched laugh.  
"That was fascinating," he said as he slowly looked up at me.

"I'm glad you enjoyed it," I said.

"To see what you have seen. To see what hasn't happened yet."

"But that will happen," I assured him. "If Edward won't, I'll do it myself."

"Yes, yes, it's quite determined. Certainly, there's no problem."

"Aro," Caius complained as his twisted smile turned into a frown.

"Dear Caius," Aro smiled. "Do not fret. Think of the possibilities! They do not join us today, but we can always hope for the future. Imagine the joy young Alice alone would bring to our little household." He paused and stared at me for a moment. "Jasper, of course, would be invited should you change your mind… Besides, I'm so terribly curious to see how Bella turns out!"

"Then we are free to go?" Edward asked.

"Yes, yes," Aro said pleasantly. "But please visit again. It's been absolutely enthralling!"

"And we will visit you as well," Caius said. "To be sure that you follow through on your side. Were I you, I would not delay too long. We do not offer second chances."

Edward nodded as he locked his jaw.

Caius smirked before turning back to join Marcus, who had moved out of his chair and was moving towards a cabinet.

Felix groaned loudly as I watched Marcus questioningly.

"Ah, Felix." Aro smiled. "Heidi will be here at any moment. Patience."

Edward turned to look at me and then back to Aro.

"Hmm. In that case, perhaps we'd better leave sooner rather than later."

"Yes. That's a good idea," Aro said with a sad smile. "Accidents, unfortunately, do happen. Please wait below until after dark, though, if you don't mind."

"Of course," Edward nodded.

"And here," Aro said, waving Felix forward. Felix stepped forward and removed his cloak before tossing it to Edward. "Take this. You're a little conspicuous."

Marcus came close to us, offering a small smile.

"Alice, could I have a word with you?" he asked. He was holding a small box in his hand.

I nodded and stepped away from Aro, following Marcus to a corner of the room.

"I admire your bravery, young one," Marcus told me in a low voice. "You have worked so hard to save your family, and you continue to do the same in this life. For that bravery, I would like to give you this."

He held the box out to me. I took it and opened the lid.

Inside was a brass necklace. Deep magenta stone sat next to the three glass cabochons. The glass pieces were dark blue with specks of light blue throughout. At the top of each cabochon was a dark crimson dot.

"It's beautiful," I said, tracing my finger along the brass.

"It belonged to my wife," Marcus said with a sad smile. "She was like you in many ways. I give it to you now, and trust that you will take care of it."

"I will, sir," I said offering him a smile.

"Wear it proudly," he told me. "Wear it to remind you of your bravery."

"Thank you, sir."

He nodded.

"Of course. Your brother will be receiving our letter before the week is out. We keep an owl for this reason."

I nodded.

"As soon as he receives it, I will talk to him about keeping it inside the family."

"Thank you."

I nodded.

"Go now," he said, his hand hovering on my upper back as he guided me back to the circle. Edward and Bella were watching the two of us carefully. "Heidi will come soon."

"Of course," I nodded. "Oh, sir?"

"Yes?"

"Try and think of the good memories of her," I told him with a small smile. "It doesn't seem like much, but it helps."

"Do you think that there is anything you can do?" he asked in a quiet voice. "Can you bring her back?"

I shook my head.

"I'm sorry, sir. Magic cannot bring the dead back."

Marcus sighed.

"I thought not. But it was worth the effort."

"Just think of the good memories," I repeated. "That's what I did for a long time when I thought of my parents, or my best friend Fred."

"They've died?"

"In the war," I said.  
We had reached the circle now. Aro smiled at the box.

"What have you given Alice, Marcus?" Aro asked grinning.

"A necklace," Marcus said. "To remind her of her act of bravery for her family."

Aro smiled and leaned towards me.

"I think he likes you," he said with a grin.

"Marcus is very kind," I told him. "While you all hope that my brother is proud of me, I hope his brothers are proud of him."

"Of course we are," Aro said, smiling as Marcus drifted back to his chair. "Goodbye, my young friends. I hope that we all shall meet again. Hopefully next time, I can meet young Jasper."

"Let's go," Edward said, urgently turning to look at me.

I nodded while Demetri stepped forward, waving for us to follow him.

"We're not going to be fast enough," I said, stepping into place with Edward.

Bella stared up at me, horror in her eyes. I didn't answer. I stayed very quiet and kept my face emotionless. The way I was composing myself, made me feel like I was a Death Eater again, and I hated it. I was ready to leave Volterra and go back home.

"Well this is so unusual," a man boomed.

"So medieval!" a woman gushed back to him.

Demetri motion for us a give the oncoming group room to walk. We pressed against the stone wall, and I kept my eyes on the floor. I listened to their footsteps making their way to the room that we had just left.

"Welcome, guests! Welcome to Volterra!" Aro sang.

I listened as a woman, in a panicked voice, began asking questions around her. It was in a language that I couldn't understand.

I squeezed my eyes shut as the memories of the first humans I had killed in this life started to creep into my mind.

"Alice," Edward said too quickly for Bella to hear. "It's not real. Focus on now."

"It is real," I said. Finally looking up as I heard the final footsteps fade away. "It happened."

When I looked up, a woman, who I assumed to be Heidi, stood watching us. More specifically, she watched Bella.

"Welcome home, Heidi," Demitri smiled, confirming my assumption.

"Demitri," she greeted as her eyes flickered between Edward and Bella.

"Nice fishing."

"Thanks," she smiled. "Aren't you coming?"

"In a minute. Save a few for me."

Heidi nodded and began to walk to the room we left, and Demitri motioned for us to continue.

Edward began to walk quickly. Bella had to run to keep up to us. Despite our almost run, the screams still echoed through the halls as the vampires in the other room attacked.

"We make it quick," Demetri told me when we made it back to the reception area.

"It's not my business," I said, looking down at the floor.

"But it still bothers you."

"That's because of all the death I've seen. I was born in the middle of a war, I watched my mother die, I fought in another only fourteen years after the first one ended. I watched my father die, lost friends and family, killed innocent people. Muggles and Wizardkind alike. Then I died. In this life, I killed innocent people because I couldn't control my thirst. I'm tired of killing. I'm tired of death, but what you guys do is not my business."

"Is that why you wouldn't join us?"

I shook my head.

"No. I didn't want to join you because I still have a family. Two, actually. I have to keep my human family safe."

Demitri nodded.

"I understand." He turned back to look at Edward. "Don't leave until after dark."

I nodded and took a seat next to Edward and Bella.

"What now?" Bella asked in a shaky voice.

"Now we wait," I said, closing my eyes and resting my head against the wall.

* * *

 **Hey guys! Apparently, it didn't take me two weeks to get the new copy of my plans written out. It took me almost three hours to do that, then it took me about a week to write the chapter. The longest part it took me to write was Alice showing the Volturi the magical aspect of her talents and the scene between Marcus and Alice. Despite its length, it took me a couple of hours to get it to sound the way that I wanted it.**

 **I did make it to where Alice was never at risk for death, however, she was still very careful to not upset Aro, Marcus, and Caius because she didn't want them to change their minds. As for Demetri, I had him be exceptionally kind to Alice because according to the Offical Illustrated Guide, Demetri was actually created by Amun of the Egyptian coven, and when Aro found him, he had Chelsea dissolve Demetri's bonds with Amun and create bonds to the Volturi. The way I see things, Demetri feels the loyalty to the Volturi that Chelsea created, but there's also a small part of him that is still loyal to Amun and he wishes to return to the Egyptian coven. That may not be the case, but that's just me.**

 **Also, Aro and Caius were also kind to Alice because Aro wants Alice to join the Volturi more in this story than in the Twilight Saga because as a human she was a powerful witch, and now that's she's a vampire, she's even more powerful. Marcus, however, was kind to Alice because like he said in the chapter, she reminds him of Dydime. Which I know that nobody was supposed to know that Aro killed her, but sometimes a person is in the wrong place at the wrong time and things get out and rumors spread. SO ANYWAYS, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I'll see you in the next one.**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	87. Back To Jasper

_" Nothing feels better than when you love someone with your whole heart and soul and they love you back even more." ~Karen Kostyla_

* * *

Chapter 87- Back to Jasper

Bella didn't stay sitting for long. As soon as Demetri opened the door, the screams could be heard again, and I could hear Bella jump up from her chair, and began pacing in front of us.

"Are you okay?" he asked Bella standing up and catching her as she stepped in front of him.

When I opened one of my eyes, Bella was beginning to shake in Edward's arms. Her knees were shaking especially hard as they tried to hold her up.

"You better have her sit back down before she falls," I told Edward as the both of us watched her carefully."She's going to pieces."

A sob ripped from Bella's throat, and Edward pulled Bella away from the desk where Gianna was watching us, to the couch against the furthest wall. I followed quickly and quietly, sitting down next to Edward.

"Shh, Bella, shh," he soothed as I sat down.

"I think she's having hysterics. Maybe you should slap her," I murmured watching her carefully.

Edward frantically turned to look at me.  
"Is there anything you can do to help?"

I nodded.

"I have a Calming Drought in my bag. I started having nightmares after we came back from England, so Jasper had me brew some."

"They won't be to strong will they?"

I shook my head.

"I didn't have to strengthen them."

Gianna watched us as I dropped my bag on the ground and stepped inside. I quickly made my way down the stairs and to the potions cabinet that I had kept set up. I grabbed the Calming Drought before quickly darting back up the stairs.

"All those people," Bella was sobbing as I stepped back into the room.

"I know," he whispered

"It's so horrible."

"Yes, it is. I wish you hadn't had to see that."

I crouched down in front of Bella as Gianna stepped behind the couch.

"Here," I said. "Drink this. It helps. It'll taste funny at first, but it's going to help. I promise."

"Is there anything I can get you?" Gianna asked politely, as I made sure Bella finished the potion.

"No," Edward responded coldly, turning to face her.

I watched as Gianna quickly hurried away before smacking Edward's arm as I returned to my spot next to him.

"Don't be rude," I scolded. "She's only trying to help."

"I'm sorry, Alice," he said quietly watching as Bella rested her head on his chest.

"It's not me you need to apologize to," I snapped closing my eyes again.

"Does she know what's going on here?" Bella demanded.

"Yes," Edward said quietly. "She knows everything."

"Does she know that they are going to kill her someday?"

"She knows it's a possibility," Edward answered, "but she's really hoping that they'll decide to keep her."

"She wants to be one of them?" Bella asked in almost what sounded like disgust. "How can she want that? How can she watch those people file through to that hideous room and want to be a part of that? "

I wasn't sure what disgusted Bella. Gianna wanting to become a vampire, or her wanting to join the Volturi. I didn't think it could be Gianna becoming a vampire because she too wanted to become a vampire, and now, she had to. Either become one of us or face death at the hand of the Volturi.

"Alice, please stop," Edward begged in a low voice.

"Sorry," I said in a flat voice.

"What is the matter with you?" he hissed at me.

"What's the matter with me?" I repeated as my eyes snapped open and I turned to stare at Edward. "Nothing is the matter with me. Need I remind you, Edward, that I came here to save _you_."

Edward looked at the floor, before turning back to Bella, who hadn't seemed to notice our dispute.

"Oh, Edward," she cried against his chest.

"What's wrong?" he asked anxiously.

"Is it really sick for me to be happy right now?" Bella asked, tightening her hold on Edward.

He pulled her to closer to his chest.

"I know what you mean," he murmured, resting his lips on the top of her head.

I couldn't help but smile at the two of them.

"But we have lots of reasons to be happy," Edward continued. "For one, we're alive."

"Yes," Bella agreed, with a slight nod. "That's a good one."

"And together," Edward murmured. Bella didn't answer him. She simply nodded as he continued to speak in a quiet voice. "And, with any luck, we'll still be alive tomorrow."

"Hopefully."

"The odds of that are looking good," I said in a kinder tone. "I'll see Jasper in less than twenty-four hours."

I grinned as I thought of Jasper. I didn't focus on anything but his face. I couldn't help but wonder if he'd be angry with me.

"Probably not," Edward said in a low voice bringing me out of my thoughts. "I think he's going to be more angry with me."

"You never know," I said, turning to face him again. "I didn't have to come to save you. He could be angry that I did."

"You're right. You didn't have to save me, but I am very grateful that you did."

"Does it really matter that she's alive now?" I asked, watching Bella in his arms. "You're going to leave again as soon as we get to Forks."

"I've been thinking on that," he said quietly. "I don't want to leave her again. I thought I had lost her once. I don't want to lose her again. So maybe we could move back to Forks?" he asked looking at me sheepishly.

"You want to move back?"

He nodded.

"I do." He paused before turning to look at me. "Are you still staying with us?"

"What do you mean?"

"When Aro was reading your thoughts, there were several occurrences where you had thought of leaving us and moving to England permanently."

"It hasn't been decided yet," I told him, looking at my lap. "I guess it depends on how the family is after you come back."

"I really wish you'd stay," Edward said, nudging my shoulder playfully. "I meant what I said. You're my sister and my best friend, and I want to make it up to you."

"It doesn't always feel like that," I said, looking straight ahead, watching the doors.

"I know," Edward sighed, "but I'm going to try."

"We'll see," I said. "You've said that before you know."

"I know," Edward said. "Please believe me. I want to try this time."

"Right now we need to focus on how we're getting home," I said. "Planes, where to meet the family, all of that."

"We can call them, and tell them that I want to move back to Forks."

"So we'd all just fly back to Forks. Do you think that they could have everything moved back by then?"

"Most likely. I'll call Carlisle in a moment to talk to him."

I nodded and leaned back in my seat.

"What was all that talk about singers?" I asked. "I speak French, Greek, and a touch of Romanian. Not Italian."

"La tua cantante?" Edward asked.

"Yes, that."

"They have a name for someone who smells the way Bella does to me. They call her my singer because her blood sings for me."

I laughed slightly.

"I guess it does, doesn't it."

We went quiet for a little while. Bella laid in Edward's arms as he rocked her side to side.

"Tell me about everybody. What were you doing before you came here?"

"We were in Denali," I said, looking down at my wedding ring. "Laurent is dead."

"How?" he asked frowning.

"He hunted Bella as a favor to Victoria. She was in the meadow that you took her too. The wolves smelled him, and they found Bella there. He tried to run, and they killed him."

"Does Irina know?"

"I didn't get a chance to tell her. I didn't want Bella to be panicked by me calling home."

"What about Jasper?"

"I called him on the plane. Rosalie, Emmett, and Jasper were trying to come here."

"But you wouldn't let them."

"I can't lose Jasper like that, Edward. I've worked too hard to keep both of my families safe."

"I know," Edward said. "I understand why you didn't let them come."

"You think I'm selfish," I accused.

Edward shook his head.

"You did it to protect him. It was love. Not selfishness."

"Maybe," I said, watching as he leaned down to kiss Bella. "I don't think Jasper will see it that way.

Edward watched me and followed my gaze to his arms wrapped tightly around Bella.

"You miss him, don't you?"

I nodded.

"Very much. I know it's only been a few days, but Jasper and I are always together."

"I understand," Edward said. "Just think, you'll see him soon."

"I could see him now," I said, pulling my knees to my chest, "but I don't want to close my eyes here."

"Alice, you're safe here. They aren't going to hurt you."

"It's not me I'm worried about," I said, turning to look at him as I rested my cheek on my knees. "I know that I'm safe here. But you two, they could always change their mind."

"Marcus and Demetri have taken a great liking to you. Both for very similar reasons."

"My magic?"

"Your bravery."

"Bravery," I said, shaking my head. "Everyone claims I have it, but I really don't see it."

"Everyone else does. The way you rush forward to save everyone, even if it's going to risk your life, that's bravery. Lying to the darkest wizard of your time, all while knowing that if he figures it out you would die, that's bravery."

I sighed and turned my face the other way, rocking myself side to side.

"You're upset with me," Edward said.

"So what if I am?" I asked, not turning back to face him. "It's not the first time. Not the last time."

"Do I get to know why?"

I shrugged.

"There's not much to it."

"So tell me."

"I'm tired, Edward. I'm tired of you being kind to me one moment, and then the next you change. I'm tired of the fact that no matter what I do, it never seems to be enough for you. You told me that I had to leave my family, who I hadn't seen if over fifty years, a family that thought I was dead for nearly a decade because I was missed somewhere else."

"I told you, Alice," he said quietly. "I'm going to change."

"I'm sorry, Edward," I said, shaking my head, "but I don't believe you. Not until I see it."

"And you will."

We both went quiet. After a little while, I looked at my watch.

"It should be getting dark soon. I'll have to go find a new car."

"What about Bella's bag?"

"It's sitting on the top stair in here," I said, raising the bag that was on my lap. "I put it in there when I was getting my wand. When I go find a car, I'll get it so she can change, brush her teeth, all of that."

Edward nodded.

"What did you steal to get here?"

I showed him the canary yellow 911 Turbo in my head.

"Beautiful isn't it?"

"It is," Edward said. "I suppose you'll have to stash that somewhere."

"Somewhere close by," I said. "They will most likely have set up barriers closer to the airport. I can only take it but so far."

"Where will you get a car? Volterra isn't exactly close to other cities."

"The cars that the people from the festival brought…they're technically outside the city, you know."

Edward thought about it for a moment.

"I suppose that would work," he mused. "Try to take one that's further away from the city. I'm willing to bet that there are cars that are going all the way down the hill."

I nodded.

"I remember learning about the festival in Hogwarts," I said. "I wanted to come to see it before I died. Kind of like a bucket list thing. I never got the chance, but then I was changed, and I found out the truth, about the Volturi and all that," I paused and turned to look at Edward and Bella, who were listening to me very closely. "I was afraid to come here. Helen and Tobias told me that the biggest flaw in this world was to keep the secret. I was afraid to come here because I knew the secret before my transformation, and I didn't know that the Volturi cleared it with the Ministry. I wasn't afraid of what they'd do to me, I was afraid of what they'd do after I was gone. I was afraid that they would go for Harry or George. I knew that Jasper would come here and pick a fight with them, and he too would die."

"I never knew you were afraid of them," Edward said.

I shook my head.

"I'm not afraid of _them_. I was afraid of what they could do."

"You say was," Bella said speaking up.

"I'm not afraid of that anymore," I said, with a small smile, "and it's great to know that I won't have to hide this from Harry and George."

"Alice?" Bella asked, sitting up slightly.

"Yes?"

"Why were they so nice to you? I mean they were nice to all of us, but when Jane used her gift on you, Aro was angry. Why?"

"As it would turn out," I said slowly, trying to figure out how to word what I wanted to say, "I was never going to die here. Even if you two had, they were going to let me go."

"Why?" Edward asked, frowning. "Because you're a witch?"

I shook my head.

"I thought that's what is what too," I said. "When Demetri and I fell behind all of you, he told me that Aro had ordered him to ensure that if I were to come to Volterra, I would be protected. As it would turn out, Aro has grown fond over Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"Who is that?" Bella asked.

"An old friend," I said, turning to look at them again. "He trained me when I started training as an Auror, and he fought alongside me in the war."

"So how did he help?"

"Because Kingsley is the Minister for Magic. The head of the Ministry for the United Kingdom and Ireland. He communicates with the Volturi, and Aro has evidently grown very fond of him. Kingsley once wrote Aro a letter. Demetri says that he told the story of his old friend, Mary Alice, who killed herself at the end of the war. They never connected it back to me because they never knew I was a witch before they saw it in Edward's memories."

"What would you have done?" Edward asked me quietly. "If Bella and I had died?"

"I wouldn't have been able to fight the Volturi alone," I said, turning to the ground. "I wouldn't have been able to go back and face the others, or Charlie. I would have moved back to England."

"What about Jasper?"

"I would have told him that he could come with me if he wanted, but if he couldn't be with me, I would understand that as well."

"Would you have gone back to pack?"

"I already am," I said.

"You already are packed?" Edward asked.

"I'm already packed. I've been

"During the war, I was never sure when I would have to run, so I kept my bag packed at all times. I came here, and I did okay, I never felt the need to run until James came for Bella. After that, I always had two backpacks that stayed packed. One for me, one for Jasper."

"Alice, you don't have to run anymore," he said. "We're going to keep you safe."

"I know," I said, "but old habits die hard."

Edward watched me for a minute.

"One of us should call Carlisle," Edward said quietly as he turned away from me.

"I'll do it," I offered, as I jumped to my feet. "I need to get up and stretch my legs anyway."

"Are you okay?" Bella asked as her eyes began to follow me.

"My energy is starting to go up. Nothing major to worry about," I smiled.

"It's a little early this month isn't it?" Edward asked frowning.

"The stress of today must have sparked it. As of right now, it's not going up very quickly, but it might."

"Sorry," Edward said sheepishly.

"Don't be sorry," I said. "Chances are it would have started early anyway."

"Why's that?"

"Because she was already stressed from me jumping off the cliff," Bella said. "Alice, I'm so sorry—"

I held my hand up.

"Don't be sorry. Whether it was early or not early, it still would have come. There's nothing I can do to stop it."

I smiled at Bella again before I stepped away from the two of them and away from Gianna's desk.

It took a minute for the phone to pick up the call, but despite being underground, the reception seemed to be fine. I wondered how they did it, but before I had the chance to think of an answer, Carlisle answered the phone. He had been waiting for my call.

"Alice," he breathed into the phone. "How did it go? Did you make it in time? Did you get him?"

"Barely," I said glancing at Edward. "We were almost too late."

"But you did make it?"

"Yes."  
"I sense that there is a but coming."

"They know," I said, quietly as I looked down at my feet.

"They know what?"

"Everything. They know about me, and they know that Bella knows about us. Aro saw it in Edward's thoughts."

"Bella wasn't harmed was she?"

"Caius wanted her to be killed, but they've let her go. For today at least."

"What are the conditions?" Carlisle demanded. "I know Caius well enough to know that he is not going to send her away without conditions attached."

"We have to change her. We can't get around it either. They'll be coming to check."

"When?"  
"They didn't say. Although, judging from Caius's tone, I expect it will be soon."

"What about you? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

Carlisle paused for a moment.

"Nothing happened to you?"

"Well, I wouldn't say nothing. Aro asked for demonstrations of my magic and one of my demonstrations ended with Jane using her gift on me."

"What were you demonstrating that caused her to do that?"

"Aro was curious about the Cruciatus Curse. He asked me to cast it on him."

Carlisle was quiet for a moment, and I heard somebody speak on the other end. They were speaking too quickly and too quickly and too quietly for the phone's microphone to pick up clearly, but I could tell that it was a man.

"Jasper wants to talk to you," Carlisle said after a minute.

"Tell him I'll call him as soon as I get on my plane in Rome. I think I have my mirror at the bottom of my bag. I'll call him on that. Right now, I need to talk to you."

Carlisle repeated my message to Jasper and then was quiet as Jasper responded.

"He says he's waiting for your call."

"It may take a while," I said. "We can't leave the city until after dark."

Carlisle leaned away from the phone again to talk to Jasper again. Jasper said something short, and then I heard a door slam shut.

"Jasper says to call as soon as you're on the plane."

"I will."

"Now what did you need to talk to me about?"

"Edward is coming home with me," I said.

"That's great!" Carlisle exclaimed.

"Yeah," I smiled. "It is. He also wants us to move back to Forks."

"He does?" Carlisle asked in surprise.

"Yes. He says he doesn't want to leave Bella again, so he wants to move back."

"If we run to Anchorage, we should be able to catch a plane and make it to Ithaca before you get to your connecting flight. How long is your layover?"

"Three hours I think."

Carlisle thought about it for a moment.

"Maybe after you come back we could get the stuff."

"If you run, you should be able to make it back before we get there," I said. "We don't exactly have much to transport. Books, clothes. None of the furniture is coming. We still have furniture at the house."

"That's true," Carlisle mused. "And we can get Helen and Tobias to drive the cars back and then if they don't mind, then they can bring the Volvo from Ithaca to Forks."

"I'm sure they wouldn't mind," I said, as I turned to look at Bella and Edward. "They were rooting for Bella and Edward to work out."

"I'll have to ask them to make sure that they are definitely okay with it," Carlisle said.

"It sounds like a plan then."

"I'll have Esme go find Jasper, Helen, and Tobias."

"Is he upset with me?" I asked as I thought of the door slamming only moments before.

"Not with you. However, it is my understanding that Harry and George are slightly upset, but I'm not sure whether it's more with you or with Edward."

"They know?"

"When you didn't call Harry yesterday, and he didn't hear from you this morning, he called Jasper to make sure that you were okay. Jasper didn't tell them about the Volturi, but they know that you are in a life-threatening situation. I'm not sure how angry they are with you, but from what I heard Jasper tell Helen and Tobias, he is most definitely not happy with Edward. Or at least they won't be when they find out that he is in fact alive."

I sighed and shook my head.

"I forgot that yesterday was Tuesday."

"I think Harry will understand, Alice."

"I hope so."

"While I have you on the phone, what did you tell Charlie about the oxygen tank when you were in Forks."

"I said that the doctors said I would have to be on it until July at the latest."

"We may have to push that back to the end of August to maybe mid-September."

I groaned.

"Why?"

"Because all the planes and the stress of the events in Italy would have put more strain on your body if you were actually sick."

"That does make sense," I sighed. "I guess it also doesn't help that my energy burst is coming early."

"How soon will the highest point be?"

"I think sometime next week."

Carlisle thought about it for a moment.

"We'll have to say that you're sick," Carlisle murmured, sounding like he was talking more to himself than to me. "How about we say that because you were sick again they extended it to the end of August just to be safe."

"I suppose a month more won't hurt me."

When I looked up again, I saw Demetri in front of Bella and Edward. From what I could see, he was talking in a low voice to Edward. When I looked down at my watch and quickly converted the time, I frowned. It should only be two o'clock here.

"Hey, Carlisle, I have to go. Tell Jasper that I love him, and I will call him as soon as we get to the airport in Rome."

"I will. Be safe, Alice."

"I will."

I snapped the phone shut before darting back to Edward and Bella. Demetri and Edward were talking quietly.

"Hello, Alice," Demetri said grinning as I stepped into place next to him. "You're just who I was looking for."

"Is everything okay?" I asked, frowning.

"Of course. I'm just here to deliver a message."

He extended an envelope.

"For me?" I asked, taking it.

He nodded.

"From Marcus. It's nothing bad, I promise."

"Thank you, Demetri," I said as I sat back down next to Edward.

"Someone will come back here in a couple of hours and let you know that you can leave," Demetri told Edward. "Should you need anything, inform Gianna, and she will get it for you."

"We should be okay, but thank you," I said smiling at Demetri.

With another smile at me, Demetri turned on his heel and headed back for the doors and disappeared through them.

"What's that about?" Edward asked motioning towards the envelope.

I shrugged and quickly as I quickly slipped my finger under the flap and pulled the letter out.

"Dear Alice," I read out loud as Edward leaned over to read over my shoulder. "We have written and sent our letters to Mr. Harry Potter, and to Mr. Kingsley Shacklebolt. Aro remembered that Kingsley once said that an owl can find a witch or wizard without a physical address, so we simply told the bird to find your brother. It should arrive in the next several hours, so we ask that you go speak to your family as soon as possible after ensuring that Bella has been returned home. Best wishes, Marcus."

"So you'll be leaving as soon as we get to Forks?"

"I'll have to book our tickets as soon as we get there."  
"Our?"

"I don't expect Jasper is going to let me travel alone now that I'm on the Volturi's radar. I don't know if you've noticed, but he's protective of me in the same way that you're protective of her," I said, motioning toward Bella with a slight smile. "Besides, Jasper loves my family, and they love him. Especially James."

"I thought you said Harry's father died," Bella said.

"He did. I'm referring to Harry's son. James Sirius Potter."

"Did any of them name their kids after you?" Bella asked.

I shook my head.

"Not yet, but Harry told me that when George and his wife, Angelina, found out that they were going to have a baby, George came to him and asked permission to name him after me if it was a girl."

"Why would he have to ask permission?"

"I suppose it wasn't so much asking for his permission," I said, frowning. "It's more so that George wanted to memorialize both me and Fred, and he wanted to make sure that Harry would be okay with it."

"And is he?"

I nodded.

"However neither of them has had girls, so we don't have to worry about that just yet."

Bella nodded, and settled back down, staring at Edward.

 _What did Carlisle say about moving back to Forks?_ Edward thought.

 _Helen and Tobias are going to drive the cars back to Forks while the others take a plane from Alaska to Ithaca. Then while they run back, Helen and Tobias will get your Volvo from Ithaca. The others are going to meet us at Sea-Tac._

"And Jasper?" Edward asked out loud. "Is he mad?"

"Yes. So is Harry and George. Or at least they will be when they find out that you're alive."

"They know?"

"They don't know the exact details. They don't know about the Volturi. Not yet anyway. They just know that I've put myself in a life-threatening situation, and risked my life to save yours."

"How did they find out?"

"Since I've come back to America, Harry and I have called each other twice a week every week. Every Tuesday and Thursday. When I didn't call him yesterday, and he still hadn't heard from me come this morning, he panicked and called Jasper, and Jasper told them the story."

"They panicked after that short amount of time?" Bella asked raising an eyebrow at me.

"You have to look at it from their point of view, Bella," I said a little more coldly than I had meant to. "My family has believed that I was dead for eight months shy of eight years. Even in my human life, if I said I was to do something on a certain day at a certain time, I always there at least five minutes early."

"She does that still," Edward said leaning over to whisper in Bella's ear. "She's been like that since I met her."

"Why?" Bella asked. "Is there a reason?"

"Well, I've always done things according to the time. It became more apparent when I joined the Death Eaters."

"Why that specific time frame?"

"Because as a Death Eater you couldn't be late. If you were late, then you certain to earn yourself a punishment. I had to play my role, and I couldn't do that if I was being tortured somewhere."

Bella shuddered and Edward glared at me.

"Knock it off, Alice?"

"Knock what off?" I snapped. "I'm only telling the truth."

"You're scaring her."

"She's not wrong, Edward," Bella pipped up. "She is telling the truth."

As Edward sighed and shook his head I leaned towards his ear.

"I could be telling her worse things," I told Edward too quickly and too quietly for Bella to hear. "I could tell her about the innocents I killed. I could tell her about how I watched my mother die when I was four years old, or how I watched my father die when I was nineteen. There are worse stories that I could tell her about my world. Hinting at a few vague punishments will not traumatize her for the rest of her life."

"I'm sorry, Alice," he murmured, not meeting my eyes. "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"No. You shouldn't have. Especially not when I am simply giving Bella an answer to a question that _she_ asked."

I dropped my bag on the floor and opened it up.

"What are you doing?" Bella asked.

"I have to go find my mirror," I said.

"Your mirror?"

I nodded.

"Sometimes in my world, we can enchant mirrors and if somebody else has the matching mirror to yours, you can communicate with them."

"Who has the matching mirror to yours?"

"Jasper, of course," I smiled. "Would you like to come?"

"I don't understand," Bella said. "I swore I saw you disappear inside of that earlier."

"You did. I can't very well keep my potions in sight of Muggles, now can I?"

"I suppose not. But how to do hide it?"

"With the use of some charms. Come on. I'll show you."

I moved the platform door and stepped inside, motioning for Bella and Edward to follow.

"Is that my bag?" Bella asked as she stepped inside.

"It is. It'll stay there until dark when we leave. Then I'll put it back in the car for you."

She nodded and continued to make her way down the stairs.

"How did you do this?" Bella asked when she reached the floor.

"An Undetectable Extension Charm. Then Jasper and I built the stairs. I could have used another charm, but we didn't have a lot to do at the time, so we built the stairs and the platform.I'll have to get a new bag soon though. This has lasted the last sixty some years through charms and loads of patchwork, but it's not going to last long. When I get home I'm going to get a new one, and just put the other charm on it and give it a switch between Muggle mode and Wizardkind mode. I got that idea from Newt Scamander."

"Should I know who that is?"

I moved to the side where I still had some books scattered. I picked up one of my copies of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and handed it to Bella.

"He's a famous Magizoologist. He wrote that book. You can keep it. I have too many copies. Jasper keeps trying to get me to get rid of them. Maybe when I go see Harry I'll put some of them in a thrift shop."

Bella and Edward were quiet for a moment as Bella flipped through the book.

"Why do you have so many copies?" Bella asked.

"Because you never know when you'll need to identify a creature. I don't have that many copies really. I have four. One I keep at home, one I keep in my bag, the one I just gave to you, and my copy from my time at Hogwarts."

"So then you're only giving away one copy?"

"Two," I said. "Jasper makes a good point. I always have my bag, so I shouldn't have to worry about not having a copy if I really need it. However, I've been studying magical creatures long enough that I think I'd be able to tell what an animal is without the book."

"Hey, Alice?" Bella asked.

"Hm?"  
"Is that a broomstick?"

She was looking to the far corner of the well-lit room where my newest broom was propped against the wall.

"Yeah," I grinned. "It is. I got it when I was in England. I haven't gotten the chance to use it since I've come back to America. Ithaca is too crowded."

I pulled it off its spot on the wall and showed it to Bella.

"Isn't it beautiful? This is my favorite mode of transportation. Although, I did enjoy Apparating."

"What's Apparation?"

"If you were to see it, you'd call it teleportation."

"You used to be able to do this?"

I nodded.

"I seemed to have lost the ability when I became a vampire, however, I have considered maybe retracing the steps to learn Apparition. Maybe I'd be able to reclaim the ability."

"If you could simply do it that way, why didn't you do that in the last fifty years?" Edward asked.

"Because I never thought about it."

Finally, I found my mirror sitting on a shelf with some books about Astrology.

"Here it is," I said with a large smile."Here's my mirror."

I slid it into the pocket of my jeans looking around.

"We used to have a tent down here," I said, pointing to the corner where it used to stand.

"What happened to it?"

"It was old and torn and I never got the chance to get a new one."

When we made it back to the lobby, Gianna was watching my bag curiously. When we appeared from it, she smiled to herself and sat back down at her desk.

"I wonder if she knows about my world," I said to Edward as we sat back down.

"She does," Edward said. "She's seen the letters between Aro and the magical governments."

"And she knows she can't tell?"

"Aro would kill her instantly if she did anything that would expose your world's secrets. He told her when she was first informed of them that it wasn't their secret to tell, and therefore it was a greater secret to keep."

"Well that's a way of putting it," I said.

I didn't stay sitting much longer. After a while, I began to pace through the room.

"Is she okay?" Bella asked Edward quietly.

"Jasper usually keeps her calm during these," Edward whispered back. "Jasper isn't here, so she isn't going to stay still very long."

"I thought she said it only just started."

"Even in the very beginning, it makes it difficult for her to stay still."

I did sit down a few hours later. It was nearing seven when I sat back down.

"It should be getting dark soon," I said, closing my eyes.

Edward nodded.  
"Somebody should be coming out soon."

"I'm ready to go home."

"I know, Alice," Edward said, patting my shoulder. "Soon."

Not long after that, Alec stepped through the double doors. Edward grew tense while I perked up.

"You're free to leave now," Alec said warmly. " We ask that you don't linger in the city."

"That won't be a problem."

Alec nodded, turned to smile at me, and then disappeared through the doors again.

"Follow the right hallway around the corner to the first set of elevators. The lobby is two floors down and exits to the street. Goodbye, now."

I looked at her curiously before I grabbed my bag and headed for the exit.

"I got to go stash the Porche," I told Edward quietly. "I'll meet you outside of the city walls with a car."

I broke out into a run, weaving through the people. I ensured that I was careful enough to where I wouldn't touch any of the humans. I succeeded. Nobody saw me until I got back to the Porche.

A few people glanced at me as I opened the door and started the car, but they all moved out of the way as I turned the car around and sped for the gates.

I knew that Edward and Bella would take longer to get through the gates, so I was able to get back down the hill and a couple of miles away from Volterra to stash the car. I left at the entryway of a forest before turning on my heel and darting back to Volterra.

I decided to go for a car that was further away from the entry point of the gates. Chances are they would remain in the city for a while to wait for the crowd to clear before they get to their cars.

I tried looking for something that would be fast enough to get us to the airport on time. I still had to book our tickets, but I knew that I would be able to do that in the time it would take for Edward and Bella to get out of the city.

I found a black Mercedes, almost like the one that Carlisle had back home. It was an older model than his car was. I was almost certain that it was a 2001 model.

"That'll have to do," I murmured to myself as my eyes swept over the cars once more.

I pulled my wand from my arm and unlocked the door before slipping inside. I pointed my wand at the ignition and turned it to turn the car on.

I pulled the car up to the wall before pulling my phone out and called the airport. After I finished, I slipped my phone back into my pocket before reaching into my bag for Bella's luggage and my air tank. I knew I would have to wear it on the flight, especially the one to Seattle. You never know who might be there.

Edward and Bella came from the entrance almost five minutes later. Bella clung tightly to Edward as he held her upright and helped her walk.

"I'm sorry," I said as Edward and Bella slipped into the back seat. "There wasn't much to chose from here."

"It's fine, Alice," Edward said, grinning at me in the rearview mirror. "They can't all be 911 Turbos."

"I may have to acquire one of those legally when we get back to America. I'm not big on driving, however, that was fabulous."

"I'll get you one for Christmas," Edward said. I could tell he was sincere, and I turned to beam at him.

"Yellow, please."

Yellow wasn't my favorite color, however, I did enjoy the way that it looked on the car.

"You can sleep now, Bella," Edward murmured. "It's over."

Bella was quiet for a minute.

"I don't want to sleep. I'm not tired."

"Try."

I glanced back at the two in the rearview mirror. Bella shook her head at Edward, which made him let out a deep sigh.

"You're still just as stubborn."

Bella didn't answer.

 _Hey, Alice?_ Edward called causing me to look up at him in the rearview mirror. He took this as his sign to continue. _You can read Bella's mind, right?_

I nodded.

 _Can you show me?_

I shifted my attention to Bella and focused on her mind. I didn't look into it, but I did navigate through it for Edward while I drove.

 _Thank you_ , Edward said when I exited her mind again.

 _Did you find what you were looking for?_ I thought back, raising an eyebrow in the mirror.

Edward nodded.

I wanted to see what it was like when we left. I wanted to see what she was thinking now…I just wanted to see what it was like.

"I'm glad I could help," I said out loud offering him a small smile.

The ride to the airport in Florance was quiet. Edward and I talked once or twice about flight arrangements.

"What is it I saw about an oxygen tank?" Edward asked.

"We were planning to leave Ithaca in June," I told Edward too quickly for Bella to understand. I didn't want to be the one to tell her that we were moving back to Forks. I wanted Edward to do that. "People were starting to ask more and more questions about how sick I was. Emmett told Carlisle that I should wear an oxygen tank outside of the house. Then I saw Bella jump, and Carlisle reminded me that people here thought I was dead. Or at least dying. So he asked Jasper to convince me to wear an oxygen tank. I told Charlie that I would have to wear it until July, and after this little rescue, it's been pushed back to the end of August."

"So why do you have to wear it on the plane?"

"Because we don't know who will be in Seattle when our plane lands. Somebody could see me without it, and then I'll reappear with it on. Too suspicious."

"So when will you put it on?"

"Before we go to the airport in Florance. It was the only way I could get a seat to myself on the plane from Rome to Atlanta."

"Why do you want a seat alone?"

"Because I'm using my mirror to talk to Jasper. I'll still have the phone to my ear, but the mirror is easier. I told both of the airports that it was easier on me if I had the seat next to me alone, and was close by you two. So I'll be sitting next to you from Florance to Rome, and then by myself from Rome to Atlanta. "

"Smart," Edward commented.

"I know," I grinned. "I don't mind the ones that you pull rather than wear, so I think I'm going to change the way this looks when we get to Florance."

"How do the other ones look?"

"They're the ones you pulled. I figured that this would be convenient since I was only supposed to be there for a day. Then I didn't exactly have time to go change them out, now did I?"

"You were there for two days weren't you?"

"Yes. But Bella wasn't keen on me leaving her."

Bella hadn't heard any of this conversation. She remained against Edward, watching his face as she fought off sleep.

I parked the car in the far back of the airport, and Edward pulled Bella as we made our way through. I put on my oxygen tank in the car and changed it to where I could pull it, or hold it on my back. I handed Bella her bag so that she could change her clothes and brush her teeth, and then began searching for clothes for Edward. There was a surprising amount of clothes in a gift shop in front of the airport. I bought Edward a new shirt and a pair of jeans so that he could change out of the old ones.

Edward quickly ran out to dump the old pair of jeans and the grey cloak in an ally before rejoining us.

It took slightly longer to get through security here. Edward and Bella breezed through. I, on the other hand, had to be taken to the side and be patted down since I told them I couldn't be disconnected.

Edward smirked as I stepped through security and I glared at him.

"Not a word, Cullen," I grumbled.

"Not a problem, Whitlock," He grinned. "My lips are sealed."

"Isn't your last name Cullen too?" Bella asked frowning slightly.

"Not legally. I only changed my name to Mary Alice Black Whitlock. I never officially added Cullen. In England, I didn't use Cullen at all. I go by that here though"

"How do you get the medical paperwork?"

"Carlisle forges it."

"What did the school in Ithaca say about you?"

"I'm not enrolled in school. I didn't want to be alone," I said, glancing at Edward.

"Do you mind me asking you so many questions?" Bella asked.

I shook my head.

"No. There are new things that you have to learn about me. I understand."

Bella nodded and looked down to the ground.

On the plane from Florence to Rome, Bella kept up a conversation with me. I was almost certain it was to keep herself awake, but I was okay to talk to her all the same.

"Why didn't you go by Cullen in England?"

"Because it was easier to go by Whitlock. It's my married name, and I wasn't creating an identity for humans. It was just my friends and my family."

"So you only use the name Cullen in America because they're pretending to be your mother and father?" Bella asked.

I shook my head.

"No, no, no. That's not it at all. I do think of Carlisle and Esme as my mother and my father, and my family in England know that. It's just easier to go by my married name than by my adopted name. Edward goes by Cullen. That has become his last name. As for me, I had to keep the other pieces of me in my name. I had to keep Black so I could remember who I was doing all of this for. I added Whitlock because I had needed to remind myself that I had one more person to fight for. By a technicality, because the adoption papers do exist, and they are on record, my name is, in fact, Mary Alice Black Whitlock Cullen. Am I making sense?"

Bella thought about it for a moment.

"Vaguely."

"Alice thought for a long time on what name she would sign on the marriage document. She didn't want to take Black off her name but she didn't want to not add Jasper's last name. Carlisle and Esme reassured her that they wouldn't be hurt if she didn't add Cullen onto her name. She's still a Cullen."

Bella looked at me worriedly.

"I didn't mean to sound rude."

"It's okay. You were just trying to understand."

We talked more about Harry and George. I told her more about Freddie and my mother and father.

When the plane landed in Rome, we all made our way off as quickly as we could. I put the tank on my back and made my way with Edward and Bella through the airport.

We didn't have much time between flights, so we continued to our next gate. As soon as I settled on the plane, with a blanket that I had been sure to pull to the top of my bag, I pulled my mirror out of my pocket and pulled the phone off of the back of my seat.

I quickly cast a spell on the mirror so that only I could hear it.

"Alice!" Jasper exclaimed.

"Hey, Jazz," I smiled.

"Are you okay? Are you hurt? Carlisle told me about what happened with Jane and—"

"Jazz, Jazz, shhhh. I'm okay. I'm fine. I promise. It barely even hurt."

"Don't be brave."

"I'm not," I smiled. "I've been tortured with the Cruciatus Curse and went through the vampire transformation. I don't think anything compares to those two pains."

Jasper's eyes scanned my face.

"Do you promise that you're okay?"

I nodded.

"I was never in danger."

"Carlisle told me that part too. He said that Aro is friends with Kingsley."

I nodded.

"They know about me now," I said as I looked to Edward and Bella.

"Hey, Al, look at me." He paused until my eyes drifted back down to the mirror. "I promise you, I am going to keep you safe."

"I know that."

"Don't be afraid."

"I'm not afraid."

Jasper grinned at me. At then cocked his head to the side.

"Why is there a blanket on your face."

"Cause I have the oxygen tank on."

Jasper's eyes lit up.

"I want to see!"

"You will see. When I get to Seattle.

"Can you pull the blanket down please?" Jasper asked with a smirk. "I want to see your face."

I quickly shook my head.

"Not happening."

"Oh come on!" he whined. "I haven't seen your face in nearly five days."

"You can live for a few more hours."

Jasper groaned.

"You're stubborn you know that?"

I nodded.

"You've told me once or twice."

He laughed.

"I know that."

"Where are you?" I asked Jasper. "It doesn't look like you're in Ithaca."

"That's because I'm not. We're back in Forks."

I frowned.

"You shouldn't be back in Forks yet. You should still be in Ithaca packing."

"We had some help."

"Helen and Tobias helped?"

Jasper nodded.  
"They're here waiting on you."

"Will they be at the airport?"

Jasper shook his head.

"No, but Carlisle, Rosalie, Esme, and I will be."

"Good. I miss you."

"I miss you too, Darlin'."

"After I get back, you and I have to pack."

"Pack for what?" he frowned.

"We had to go back to England for a couple of days. The Volturi wrote to Harry. They're giving me permission to tell my family about them since they know about me and my family."

"We can wait a few days right?"

"Maybe a day or two," I mused. "I'll have to call Harry anyways and let him know that we're coming."

Jasper nodded.

"Excuse me, ma'am?" a woman said from behind me.

I moved my mirror facing down and turned around to find the flight attendant smiling warmly at me.

"I'm sorry to interrupt ma'am, but the plane is about to take off. Can I ask that you hang up your call."

I nodded.

"Of course."

"Thank you, ma'am."

"Jazz, I have to go," I said, turning the mirror back up and looking at Jasper sadly.

"It's okay. I'll see you soon."

"I love you."

"I love you more."

"Bye."

I turned and hung up the phone and slipped my mirror into the bag at my feet.

"Can I get you anything?" the flight attendant asked as she stepped back to me from Edward and Bella.

"No thank you."

"Just let me know if you do."

I smiled and nodded.

Edward shifted in his seat to turn and look at me.

"Where are they?"

"At the house. In Forks. Jasper said they had help and got done early."

"Helen and Tobias?"

I nodded.

"What'd he say about the oxygen tank?"

"Nothing. He didn't see it."

"You seriously keep the blanket over your face the whole time?"

"It was only five minutes. He'll live until tomorrow."

"Are you going to be okay on the plane ride?"

I nodded.

"I brought my sketchbook."

"Good. I promise, after we get her situated back home, I will run with you for as long as you want to make this up to you."

"You don't have to make anything up to me," I frowned. "It was my mistake. If I had called them, and told them that Bella was alive, then it wouldn't have been an issue."

"Stop blaming yourself, Alice," Bella said, glancing at me through the seat. "If I hadn't jumped, you wouldn't have seen me. You wouldn't have come rushing to Forks, and Rosalie wouldn't have had anything to tell Edward.

I sighed and shook my head before reaching up to scratch my nose.

"What's that like?" Edward asked.

"It's strange," I said leaning forward. "I have to remember that I have to keep breathing. It's not comfortable when the air has nowhere to go. But it doesn't hurt like I expected it to."

"Do you have these in your world?" Bella asked.

I shook my head.

"Not that I've ever seen."

'Why did you think it would hurt?"

"Because it's forcing air into your lungs."

Edward laughed.

"It's not really _forcing_ it. Just assisting."

"Still. You get the idea."

"Are you still struggling with Muggle technology?"

"Sometimes," I said. "I definitely do better than I used to, but some things are still easier for me to do by magic. I remember when I was first shown electricity. I thought Jasper was going to hurt himself."

"You didn't have electricity?"

"Well my house had lights, but it didn't have the plug things."

"Electrical sockets?" Edward asked.

"I never bothered to keep up with the names. But yes. Those."

"Who taught you about the Muggle world?"

"Well, I knew some from my world. Remus was a half-blood. I didn't know much about what you guys learned in school, but I learned it from Jasper and Edward. Jasper taught me how to drive after I got over my fear of Muggle transportation, and then a little bit of everyone taught me about everything else."

Bella smiled at me.

"They did a good job. I would have never known."

I smiled and leaned back in my seat as Bella and Edward turned back around in their own.

On the way to Atlanta, I pretended to sleep and drew for a little while. I began to think about what I was going to tell my family about the three kings and their guard who had grown fond over me in the short time that I was there.

We stayed in Atlanta for close to three hours before the connecting flight to Seattle left. As my excitement grew, I began to bounce around in my seat more and more. Edward, who sat between Bella and me, tried his best to keep me distracted, but my mind kept going back to seeing Jasper again.

"No use," he murmured to Bella. "She's too excited. Much like you, she's too stubborn. Only her husband seems to be able to get his way."

Bella laughed while I smacked Edward's shoulder.

"Hush. You only have to put up with me for a few more hours and then I am back in the arms of my husband, and out of your hair," I said, grinning.

I looked down at my hand and began to toy with my wedding band.

We were flying over Seattle when the sun began to rise. Edward and Bella both snickered as I grew more and more excited. Before I knew it, the plane was landing, and it was time to get off.

I put my air tank on my back as Edward and Bella got Bella's bags together, and then the three of us made our way into the airport.

Jasper was waiting in the terminal. As the other couples around us began to hug and kiss, Jasper's eyes searched for me, grinning widely when they did.

I ran at human speed to him before he pulled me into a tight hug.

"Never do that to me again," he whispered pressing his forehead against mine. "Never."

"I won't," I promised.

He leaned down and kissed me passionately as one of his hands found my waist and the other cupped my cheek.

When he pulled away from me and opened his eyes, his thumb lightly grazed across my cheek.

"Don't laugh at me," I said.

"I wasn't going to laugh," he murmured. "I think you look nice."

He kissed me once more before stepping away from me. He tugged the oxygen tank off my back and quickly grabbed my hand with his free one.

"I can carry it, you know."

"I know. I just figured I'd help you out a bit," he said, smiling as we went to find Esme and Carlisle who were waiting in the shadows of a wide pillar.

"You will never put me through that again," Esme was scolding Edward when we made it to them.

"Sorry, Mom," Edward smiled.

"Thank you, Bella," Carlisle told her. "We owe you."

"Hardly," Bella slurred. "Alice did more work than I did."

"She's dead on her feet," Esme said, watching Bella. "Let's get her home."

"I better call Harry," I murmured.

"No need," Jasper smiled, catching my wrist.

"What do you mean? I can't show up unannounced."

"What would you say if I told you that Harry and George were waiting for you at the house?"

"They're at the house?" I asked, wide-eyed.

"I told them to meet me in Ithaca. If I didn't hear back from you after yesterday, I was going to leave Denali and head for New York. So when Carlisle told me that we were going back to get our stuff, I called Harry and told him to wait for me there. They wanted to come to see you."

"They were your extra help," I said.

Jasper nodded.

"They even shrank the Volvo down and Apparated us to Forks."

"What'd the others think about that?"

"Carlisle and Emmett loved it, Esme and Rosalie didn't."

I laughed.

"And you?"

"Still hate it." he smiled.

I laughed as he switched the oxygen tank to his other hand and wrapped his now free arm around my waist.

"You know, I don't entirely hate that," Jasper said tapping where the tube sat under my nose.

"Really?"

Jasper nodded.

"You still look as beautiful as always."

I smiled and laid my head on his shoulder.

"So is Helen and Tobias actually at the house?"

Jasper nodded.

"No formal introductions have been made though. Everyone felt it was only right for you to make the introductions."

"So what have they been calling everybody?"  
"They haven't really spoken to anyone but me. They've been up in our room, Helen and Tobias were in the living room when I left. Like I said. They want you to make introductions. Not me."

"Even the rest of the family?"

"Even the rest of the family."

"We better get going then. I don't want to leave them hanging."

Jasper and I picked up our pace, catching up to Carlisle and Esme.

"We're going to ride with them," Jasper murmured in my ear. "Rosalie wants to apologize to Edward and Bella. Come on. I'll take you to the car."

Jasper led me away from Esme and Carlisle to the silver Volvo that was parked a few spaces over.

"How angry are Harry and George?"

"They're less angry with you then they are with Edward. They want to talk to him before they leave, and I'm sure they're going to raise hell."

Jasper smiled as I shook my head.

"And Helen and Tobias? Are they mad?"

"They understand why you did it, but they wish you hadn't run headfirst into the heart of the Volturi's city. Much like Harry and George, they're upset with Edward more than you."

"And you?" I asked, twisting in my seat as Jasper pulled me into his lap.

"I'm not angry with you at all. I am however beyond angry with Edward."

"It wasn't his fault—"

"He could have called you. He knew you would come after him. He almost took you away from me."

"I wasn't in any real danger, Jazz."

"But we didn't know that."

"Will you be talking to him too?"

Jasper nodded before hugging me tightly to him.

"Never do that to me again, Al."

"I won't, Jazz. I promise."

He laid his forehead on my shoulder.

"I missed you."

"I missed you more."

He shook his head.

"That's impossible."

Carlisle and Esme made it to the car then. Carlisle and Esme were both beaming at me as I readjusted in the seat next to Jasper.

"Thank you, Alice. We know you put a lot at risk by going after Edward."

"I was righting my wrongs," I said, looking down at mine and Jasper's intertwined hands. "I did what I had to. It wasn't some noble cause."

"I beg to differ," Esme said. "You risked your life to save your brother and bring him home to us."

"Like I said, I was righting my wrongs."

Carlisle sighed and turned to Esme.

"I don't think she's going to stop being modest long enough to accept our praise. Maybe Harry and George, or Helen and Tobias may have better luck."

Jasper and Esme chuckled as I scowled at Carlisle.

"How are you adjusting to that?" Carlisle asked motioning to the tank at Jasper's feet.

"I don't like the ones that you have to carry like I carry my bag, so I turned it into this. I like this better."

Carlisle nodded.

"I'll make sure that the rest of them are like that then."

I nodded and laid my head on Jasper's shoulder and closed my eyes.

"You're safe now, Ali," Jasper said, laying his cheek on the top of my head. "Rest now."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I thought about having this chapter go a little bit longer, but then I figured that if I cut the chapter off where I did then the next chapter would also go a little longer. For the next chapter, Helen, Tobias, Harry, and George will be in most if not the whole chapter, and at the end of the chapter, there will be an unexpected guest in the Cullen house. New Moon is almost finished! We have the next chapter and one more chapter after that, and New Moon will be done, and then there are two chapters between the New Moon and Eclipse timelines, then we're onto Eclipse!**

 **So with that, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope you enjoy the chapters to come! Best wishes!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	88. The Not So Little Talks

_"The art of communication is the language of leadership." ~ James Humes_

* * *

Chapter 88-The Not So Little Talks

The ride to Fork was quiet. I laid in Jasper's lap, and he kept his arm wound tightly around my waist. Carlisle and Esme glanced up at us in the mirror every so often, but they were careful not to disturb us. Occasionally Jasper would lean down and kiss the top of my head, but neither of us spoke. Not until we pulled up to the house.

"They're going to kill me, aren't they?" I asked, staring straight ahead at the house.

"Not kill," Jasper murmured as his lips brushed against my cheek. "Edward on the other hand, they might kill him. I can't say that I blame them though. I might too."

Jasper grinned and picked up the oxygen tank and slid out of the car.

"Come on," he said extending his hand out to me.

I sighed and took his hand, letting him pull me from the car.

"It's going to be okay, Alice," Jasper murmured.

"I know that."

"So why are you worried?"

"Because I'm afraid of how much I upset them."

"They're going to be okay. Now come on. They're waiting for you."

Jasper wrapped his free arm around my waist and pulled me to the house.

Helen, Tobias, Harry, and George were sitting in the living room when we walked in. Harry and George were on the white couch, and Helen and Tobias had set up a chess board in the corner.

"Look who's here," Jasper announced as he sat the oxygen tank on the ground.

The other four looked up, and before I knew it, Harry and George came bounding at me.

"Alice!" George exclaimed as he hugged me tightly. "I'm so glad that you're okay."

"Did you ever doubt I wouldn't be?"

"Yes, actually," Harry glared. "Jasper wouldn't tell us where you were! He only said that you were risking your life to save Edward's, and the people you were going to were dangerous, but he couldn't tell us about the people you went to see."

Helen and Tobias stepped forward.

"Harry got a letter while they were waiting in Ithaca. He said he hasn't opened it yet, but I know that envelope. Why are they writing to Harry?"

"Because they wanted to offer him their praise."

Harry looked between Helen and me.

"What are you talking about?"

"We'll go over all of that here in a minute," I promised. "For now, I believe introductions are in order. Jasper said that you all believed that I should do introductions."

Before continuing, I stopped and pulled the tubes out of my nose and moved the tank against the wall before walking back over to the group.

"Harry, George, I want to formally introduce you to my creators and my first friends in this world. This is Helen, and this is Tobias."

"Thank you," Harry said as he shook Tobias's hand. "You and your wife saved my sister, and in turn, you saved me and the rest of our family."

"It was all Alice," Helen said as she hugged Harry. "She made the decision, we just helped her along the way."

"Didn't you also introduce her to Jasper?"

"No," Tobias smiled. "We just showed her where to look."

"They did a lot more for me than they give themselves credit for."

Helen and Tobias laughed as I led Harry and George to the other side of the room.

"And these two are Carlisle and Esme. I'd like to think of them as my mother and my father. But that doesn't mean that I don't still think of Molly and Arthur as my parent. I just have more parents than the average person."

Everyone laughed.  
"What?" I asked, frowning up at Jasper.

"You're rambling, Darlin'. Why are you nervous?"

"She's afraid that we won't approve," Harry said.

I hid my face in Jasper's arm. I knew that if I could, I'd be blushing just as hard as Bella does.

"You don't have to worry, Alice," George said, resting his arm on my shoulder. "We are eternally grateful to them because they've kept you safe for the last fifty years."

I peaked out from Jasper's arm and glanced over at Carlisle, Esme, and Harry who were all smiling.

"We owe them," Harry said. "They gave you a family."

"It's nice to finally meet you guys," Carlisle said, turning to smile at Harry and George. "I feel like I already know you. Alice told us everything about you. Both of you."

"She's very proud of you," Esme said, "and she has every reason to be."

Harry smiled.

"She told us about you guys when she came to England."

"All good things I hope," Carlisle said raising an eyebrow at me.

"Of course," Harry said, taken by surprise. "Should she have had anything bad to say?"

"No, of course not," Esme said startled. "At least we hope not."

"Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie should be back soon," I said, quickly jumping to change the subject. "Edward will be going back to Bella's after Charlie goes to bed."

"Charlie?" George asked. "I don't remember you mentioning a Charlie."

"It's Bella's father. He's the chief of police here in Forks," I paused and turned to look at Carlisle and Esme. "He's not going to be happy with Edward."

"What about you? Was he okay when you came?"

I nodded.

"As far as he knew I left Forks half dead. He told me it wasn't my fault, but he's not happy with how Edward went about things. Leaving Bella in the woods and all that."

"It's understandable," Jasper said coldly. "Why would he leave her in the woods, to begin with? Especially that far from her house?"

I studied Jasper's face.  
"How long are you going to be angry with Edward?"

"Undetermined," he answered.

I sighed and shook my head.

"I don't mean to interrupt, but can we talk about this letter while we wait?" Harry asked, raising the letter from the Volturi.

"Yes," I said, waving them to the couch. "You may want to read it first. I don't know what they said and what I will have to explain, so it will be easier to read that first."

"You know they sent it?" Tobias asked.

I nodded.

"They told me that they would."

Harry eyed the letter and then me.

"Go on," I urged as encouragingly as I could. "Open it."

Harry slowly opened the envelope and pulled the letter from inside.

"Dear Mr. Potter," Harry read. "We are writing to you to offer our compliments to you in regards to Ms. Alice. Your sister possesses many great talents and with those talents, she had done and will do many great things. We admire Alice's bravery demonstrated in the past and the present, as well as her determination to save the members of her family, human and vampire alike. We also admire her ability to adjust to the Muggle world all while following our rules. She is the only one of our kind that is like her. We communicate quite frequently with the magical governments, and none of them have ever mentioned a witch or wizard who is also a vampire, nor have we ever come across one in the many years that we have existed. We hope that you are proud of her achievements and of the many great things that she will do in her future, even if that future is yet to be determined. Best wishes to you, to Alice's and your family, and to Alice herself. Sincerely, Aro, Marcus, and Caius."

Harry and George both frowned at the paper that Harry still held.

"I don't understand," Harry said turning to look at me.

"I know, but you will. Soon. I have one more thing to show you before you can fully understand who the people who wrote to you are, and why I didn't mention them before."

I motioned for Harry and George to follow me. Everyone stood up and followed.

"They're allowing me to tell you about them because they found out about them because they found out about you through Edward," I said as I led the group of the stairs. "I didn't want them to know about you, or about me for that matter, because I wanted to be sure that James wouldn't find us."

"These people being Aro, Marcus, and Caius, right?"

I nodded as I paused in front of Carlisle's study.

"I ask you to keep an open mind just like I asked you too when I told you about why I left. I didn't keep this from you to hide secrets but to keep you safe. I didn't know what danger you would be put into if I told you about them."

I pushed open the door and made my way for the picture of Carlisle with the Volturi.

"Aro, Marcus, and Caius aren't your typical vampires. They are kind of like the Ministers of vampires….well 'minister' isn't the right word. _Kings_ are a better term."

"Vampires have royalty?"

"I was surprised when I found out too," I said. "Do you remember in Hogwarts, when we learned about Saint Marcus? You, Fred, and I wanted to go to the Saint Marcus Day Festival in Italy?"

George nodded.

"Fred and I promised we'd take you after the war ended."

"Well, Saint Marcus is Marcus of the Volturi."  
"The Volturi," Harry repeated.

I nodded.

"That's the name for the kings and their guard."

"They have a guard?" George asked in surprise.

"Other specially gifted vampires. Each member of their guard has a talent.

"What about Aro, Marcus, and Caius? Do they have talents?"

"Caius doesn't," Carlisle answered from the doorway. "Aro admired his thirst for power and he and Marcus let him join."

"This is where I've been for the last three days. In the Volturi's city. Volterra. When Bella jumped off the cliff, I thought she was dead. I didn't see her get pulled out of the water and I didn't know if I'd get there in time to save her. Rosalie told Edward why I came back to Forks, and he decided that he wanted to die too, so Bella and I ran to Volterra to fix my mistake."

"But Jasper said that you put your life at risk by going to the Volturi."

"You don't bother the Volturi," Tobias said. "Not unless you want to die."

"It doesn't help that Edward broke the most sacred rule. Because I was there, if he had been charged I would have been seen as his accomplice, and I would have died too."

"What rule did he break?"

"Humans aren't supposed to know about us," Jasper said.

"Apparently the Volturi made a deal with all magical governments," I said. "If they didn't tell us about the Volturi when they taught about vampires, then, in turn, the Volturi would not tell the other vampires about us unless they were already in our world. Like Sanguini."

"So what saved you?"

"Kingsley," I said. "Apparently Aro is very fond of Kingsley. Kingsley once wrote to him about me, but because Kingsley thought that I was dead, Aro never made the connection between that Mary Alice and me."

"I don't understand. Edward left her," George frowned. "Why would he care if she was dead?"

"He still loved her, you know," I said as I began to move through the room. "He left her to keep her safe."

"I know that," George sighed. "But still."

"Because he never planned on outliving her. He wanted her to have a normal human life, but he was never going to get over her. She's his soulmate after all."

I broke off as soon as I heard tires turning up the driveway. I paused in the center of the room and turned to look at the window.

"Alice?" Harry asked. "Are you okay?"

"They're home," I said. "Rosalie, Emmett, and Edward. They're pulling up the drive."

George and Harry looked at each other.

"Is that bad?"

"No. I'm just curious on how things went with Charlie."

"I'll go show them where we all are," Esme said, turning for the door.

I nodded and turned back to Harry and George.

"These three are the people who wrote to you. They saw some of what I could do through Edward's thoughts and what I had demonstrated for them. They think that I am very talented, as the letter showed."

"Is that why you and Jasper were talking about the Cruciatus Curse?"

I nodded.

"Aro wanted me to show it to him. When I did, one of the members of the guard, Jane, used her own gift against me."

"What is her gift?"

"Pain," I said grimly.

"Jane's gift is sort of like the Cruciatus Curse," Helen said.

"Not nearly as bad though."

"Why did she use it against you if Aro wanted to see?"

"Because she saw it as a threat."

"But you're okay?"

I nodded.

"I'm fine."

"Is that everything that happened?"

"I was given a gift from them," I said, setting the bag that was still around my shoulder on the floor.

I reached inside and pulled the box with the necklace and held it out to Jasper to take.

Carlisle stepped forward and inspect the necklace closely.

"That's Dydime's necklace," he said turning to look at me. "Marcus let Aro give that to you?"

"Marcus gave it to me actually."

"Marcus gave you Dydime's necklace?"

I nodded.

"He told me that I reminded him of her."

"Who's Dydime?" George asked.

"Marcus's wife," Carlisle said. "She died a long time ago. Long before my transformation."

Esme, Emmett, Edward, and Rosalie joined us then.

I turned to look at Jasper who was glaring at Edward, who was looking down at the ground.

Jasper strode past me, heading straight for Edward before pinning him against the wall opposite of Carlisle's office.  
"Why would you do that Edward?" Jasper demanded. "You knew she would come after you! You knew that she would risk herself to save you!"

I darted out of the room and slipped into the tiny space between Edward and Jasper.

"Let him go, Jazz," I said, pulling his face down to look at me. "It's okay. I'm safe. Come on, let him go."

Jasper's eyes scanned my face before his arms wrapped tightly around me as he dropped Edward.

"I'm sorry," Edward said quietly. "I didn't mean to put her in danger, Jasper. But what if it was her? What would you do?"

Jasper's arms tightened around me.

"That isn't the point," he growled. "It wasn't her. You promised me that she would not pay for your mistake."

"And she won't," Edward promised in a voice that was still quiet and still sheepish. "I'm sorry, Jasper. I really am sorry."

"I can promise you that if you ever put my wife in danger again, I will kill you before the Volturi gets a chance."

"Understood," Edward said, looking at the ground again.

I pulled Jasper away from Edward and pushed him back into Carlisle's study.

"Feel better?" I murmured, as we paused in the back corner as Harry and George watched us in surprise.

Jasper didn't say anything. He just simply rewrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in my hair.

"Is he okay?" Harry asked, watching Jasper worriedly.

"He will be," I said, squeezing Jasper's hand.

"I can't lose her," Jasper mumbled as he began shaking his head back and forth.

"You're not going to lose me. I promise."

George turned to Edward.

"I'm not happy with you, Edward Cullen," he said in a cold tone. "Not only because Alice risked herself for you, but because she's given you so much, and I feel like you do not give her the respect that she deserves even if she didn't do what she does for you. I watched you when you came to England. You came into our house and disrespected her. I didn't say anything then because Alice asked me not to, but the way that you treat her isn't right. Especially not after everything she's done for you."

"I understand," Edward said, "and you're not wrong. Alice has done so much for me since she joined our family, and I haven't given her the respect she deserves."

"Treat her better," George said. "You have to treat her better. She has given you more chances then you deserve, Edward Cullen. But even Alice has her limits. Before long you'll drive her away for good, and that will be the greatest mistake that you have ever made."

Edward's eyes returned to the ground.

"Okay you two," I said, looking between Jasper and George. "That's enough. He already feels bad."

"It's okay, Alice," Edward said. "I deserve it."

"Whether that's true or not, they've said what they needed to get off of their chest, and it's done."

"Harry didn't say anything," Harry pointed out.

"That's because I have nothing to say to you," Harry said. "Everything I needed to say has already been said, and it does no good to repeat it."

Edward nodded and returned his eyes to the ground.

"Alice, about what I said—" Rosalie started.

I interrupted Rosalie by holding up a hand.

"It's okay that you blame me for all of this, Rosalie. I blame me too, but you don't have to be so hateful all the time. I know I made a mistake, but you made a mistake too. If you had waited for me to call instead of running directly to Edward, this could have been avoided. I wouldn't be on the Volturi's radar. Harry and George wouldn't be either. You could have easily put all of us at risk because of what you did."

"I'm sorry," she said in the same tone as Edward.

"What's done is done," I said. I turned back to Harry and George. "George, Harry, this is Emmett and this is Rosalie. Emmett here enjoys the Skiving Snackboxes and the Punching Telescope."

"Your work is brilliant," Emmett said as he stepped forward to shake George's hand.

"Alice helped. She had to help us perfect the charms, and the helped us make the bruising paste."

"They've gotten us out of some trouble," Carlisle agreed. "Alice has had to use them in Ithaca."

"I"ll send you some more so that way you can use them here when you start school again."

"Thanks, George," I smiled.

"We'll leave you to talk," Esme said. "You four have a lot you need to talk about."

I nodded.

"Come on," I said, pulling Jasper along with me. "We'll talk in mine and Jasper's room."

I led the way, pulling Jasper along with Harry and George in tow.

"Come in," I said, waving them forward.

"Jasper said that you decorated in here," Harry said looking around again. "It's very nice."

"Thank you," I said smiling.

Jasper had already unpacked everything. It was like we were never gone. I looked over at the bookshelf, and all my photo albums sat where they used to.

I moved to the bookshelf and began scanning through my photo albums.

"Remember this?" I asked, pulling the leatherbound book off the shelf and holding it out to Harry.

"Mum gave this to you the day you left," George said looking over Harry's shoulder.

I nodded.

"I never thought to pull it out while I was in England," I said. "I just wanted to show you what I've been up to for the last several years."

"I didn't know if you had kept it," George murmured.

"Of course I kept it. I kept everything that you all gave me."

I darted in the closet and pulled my jewelry box down.

"See?" I said opening it on the dresser against the bedroom wall. "The ring and the bracelet from you and Freddie, the necklace from Remus, the bracelet from Dad. Everything from everyone. I don't plan on getting rid of any of it either."

George smiled and picked up the ring.

"I remember when Fred and I went to go get this."

"Freddie picked it out didn't he?"

George nodded.

"He told me that you would need a piece of us if the war wasn't over by Christmas. He said that you needed a piece of us to remind you what you were fighting for, and so you'd know that you needed to stay safe, so you could come back to us."

"I was always so afraid that's I'd die before I could say goodbye," I whispered watching the ring.

The more I looked at it, the more the memories of the war tried edging into my memory.

I squeezed my eyes shut and clamped my hands over my ears.

"Alice?" George asked panicked. "What is it? What do you see?"

"I know that face," Jasper said, as he wrapped his arms tightly around me before pulling me to the bed. "It's not a vision. It's a memory. Harry, shut the jewelry box, please. Alice, Darlin', it's okay. I have you. You're okay. Nobody is going to hurt you now. I've got you."

Jasper began making shushing noises in my ear as he rocked me back and forth in his lap.

"Jasper, what's happening to her?" Harry asked.

"Alice sees memories differently from the rest of us. She describes it as it's like she's watching a movie except she can feel everything that she had felt during the memory. Sometimes certain triggers set her off. The memories kind of pull her back. She can't get out of them sometimes, so I have to try and remind her of where she is."

The more I listened to Jasper's voice, and the more that he pushed his calming energy to me, I began to relax in his arms.

"You're safe now," Jasper murmured, kissing my temple. "I have you, and I will never let anybody hurt you again."

I twisted in Jasper's arms and buried my face in his neck.

"Thank you," I mumbled.

"Of course," Jasper said. "You don't need to thank me. I'm always going to help you when you need it."

"I'm sorry," I said, peering at Harry and George. "Sometimes it's hard to push the memory away."

"It's okay, Alice. We understand."

"I've never fully gotten over the war," I said, looking down at the bed, picking at the comforter that Jasper and I were sitting on. "I had to adjust to a new life and a new world, and people. I've had help doing that, but it's difficult." I paused. "How did you do it, Harry?"

"Our world felt normal to me," Harry said sitting down on the bed next to Jasper and I. "It was hard at first, but once I learned everything I needed to know, it was easy."

I sighed and looked down disappointedly.

Being with Jasper felt normal, and so did being with the Cullens, but I did not feel normal in the Muggle world. Even inside the family, I felt very out of place.

"Could you tell us more about the Volturi?" George asked quickly.

"Sure," I said automatically. I was glad to change the subject. "Aro wants me to ensure that nobody outside our direct family knows. Unfortunately, that means Draco, the people at Hogwarts. They know that George and his family were the closest thing I had to a family, so I think I can get by with telling them."

"What about Angelina?" George asked.

"I don't really know her all that well," I said quietly. "When I was in England, she didn't really want a whole lot to do with me."

George looked down at his lap.

"I won't tell her," he said.

"I probably won't say anything to Fleur either," I murmured. "I'm sorry, George. I don't like that you have to keep secrets from your wife because of me."

George shook his head.

"Angelina understands. She told me that you were my sister long before she was my wife. My girlfriend even."  
"When did you guys talk about that?"

"Before you left. She noticed that you were very hesitant about talking to her. "

"Will you be going to England with us tomorrow?" Harry asked.

I nodded.

"I think it'd be easier for me to explain it to them."

"Are you coming too?" George asked, turning to look at Jasper.

"Of course," he said with a small smile. "I'd like to see James and Albus."

"You're more than welcome to use our room for tonight," I said gesturing to the bed. "However, I don't suppose you'd be to keen on sharing a bed. The couches are rather comfortable, but I'm sure someone wouldn't mind giving up their rooms for the night."

Before any of us got the chance to answer, Carlisle was at the door.

"Alice, we have a problem. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

I nodded and slipped off of Jasper's lap and headed into the hallway with Carlisle.

"What's wrong?" I asked. "You're worried. I can see it in your eyes."

"Sam Uley is here," he told me in a hushed voice. "The leader of the Quileute wolf pack. He wants to speak with you."

"With me?"

Carlisle nodded.

"Why?"

"I don't know. He said that it was urgent and that it couldn't wait. He wants you out there and he's not leaving until he meets with you."

"Jasper isn't going to let me go alone," I said, glancing at the bedroom door. "I don't think Harry and George will either for that matter."

"We'll be out there too."

"Keep them behind you. Jasper too. I can't see what the wolves are planning to do. If I can't keep them safe then you have too."

Carlisle nodded and I opened the bedroom door.

Jasper, Harry, and George were watching it. They each shared the same frown.

"What's the matter?" Jasper asked, jumping to his feet to meet me halfway to the door.

"Sam Uley is here. The leader of the wolves. He wants to speak to me."

"About what?"

"I'm not sure, but Carlisle says he's not leaving until I see him"

"I'm going with you," Jasper said watching me closely.

"I figured as much," I murmured as he wrapped an arm tightly around me, "but Jazz?"

"Yes?"

"I'm sure it's nothing to worry about, but you have to stay behind Carlisle," I said too quietly for Harry and George.

"Why would I do that?"

"Because I'm asking you to," I said. "Stay with Harry and George. Keep them from safe."

"Why would they need to be kept safe if it's nothing to worry about? Which is it, Alice?"

"I need you to stay with them in case there is a reason to keep them safe."

"And you? Who will keep you safe?"

"I will."

Jasper watched me for a moment before sighing.

"Okay. I'll stay behind Carlisle."

"Thank you, Jazz," I said. I pressed a hand against his cheek. "Everything is going to be okay."

Harry and George jumped to their feet and followed me, Jasper, and Carlisle out the door.

Esme, Emmett, Edward, Helen, Tobias, and Rosalie were already outside. Each of them stood with even spaces between them. When the four of us joined, Carlisle fell into place between Esme and Emmett. As soon as I stepped through, Emmett, Tobias, and Carlisle moved closer together to keep Jasper, Harry, and George back.

There were three boys standing a small distance away. I recognized Embry and Jared from a few days prior. It was then that I began to understand what this was about. With everything that had happened in the last few days, I had forgotten about the two werewolves seeing me on the day that I saw Edward leaving.

"Are you Alice Cullen?" the third boy asked. This one had to be Sam.

"Yes, I am. What can I do for you?"

"The day that you and Bella left for Italy, Embry, and Jared here, noticed something rather odd from you. They tell me that you changed from a dog to a human form."

I looked between the two boys and back at Sam.

"They're not mistaken," I said. "They saw correctly. Typically, I wouldn't have been so careless, however, as you can understand, that day I happened to be in a bit of a rush."

I had hoped to keep my secret from the wolf pack, however, I didn't see a way around this. Carlisle wants to keep the treaty peaceful, and by keeping my secret, I could be seen as a threat.

"Jacob says that you are a witch," Sam continued.

"Jacob is also not mistaken," I said slowly. "As for these two seeing me turn into a dog, in my world, we have certain witches and wizards who can turn into an animal at will. It isn't limited to just dogs, however, my father and I both ended up as dogs once the spell was complete."

"Jacob has shown me the things that you showed him," Sam said as he moved towards me slightly. "I was sent here to make sure that you are not a danger to my tribe or to the town of Forks."

"I am not a danger to anyone," I said frowning.

"We can't be sure of that," Jared whispered to Sam. "Vampires are dangerous enough, but if this one loses her temper, we have no clue what she could do."

Nearby, hidden by the trees, I could hear the quiet footsteps of another wolf, who sounded like he was edging closer to me. My head snapped towards the woods and back again.

"I've lived in Forks for some time now, and I haven't harmed anyone, nor have I broken the treaty."

"You have two humans with you," Embry said in a softer tone than the other two. "Who are they?"

"They're my brothers," I said, turning to glance back at Harry and George. "My brother and my best friend from my human life. I'm not as old as you may think."

"So you are a young vampire as well as a witch?" Sam asked as his eyes narrowed.

"No," I said. "I am older than I _should_ be, however, I am still young."

"I'm sorry, Carlisle," Sam said, turning away from me. "Jared is right. We have no clue what she is capable of. Because of that, we can not guarantee that she will not be a danger to us."

"Sam," Carlisle said stepping forward. "Let's talk about this for a moment."

"I'm sorry," Sam said shaking his head. "We have to take care of this now. Before the problem grows."

I heard the growls of the wolf from the forest as it pounced at me. The large grey wolf was quick. As there were yells of protest from behind me, I quickly shot my hand out between us.  
I jerked my hand up, lifting the wolf into the air before pushing him away from me with the other hand.

Behind me, Jasper was snarling.

"She's fine," Helen was whispering to him. "She's okay. She can take care of herself."

"Take Harry and George inside," Carlisle whispered to Esme. "Please. Alice won't be happy if either get hurt."

I turned to see Esme ushering Harry and George inside. Tobias and Emmett were restraining Jasper, who was still quietly growling, while Helen stood in front of him.

"What are you doing to him?" Sam demanded, recalling my attention.

"I am not a danger," I repeated. "Not unless I am threatened. In that instance, you will be dead before you have the chance to kill me. I'm not harming him, and I won't unless you harm me or threaten me again."

"How can we be sure that you are not a danger?" Jared asked.

"Because I've been living here for a few years and I haven't harmed anyone. I've lived with the Cullens for over fifty years. In that time, the only people I killed was when I was a young vampire. I'm not a danger to anyone."

"Okay," Embry said, stepping forward with his hands raised. "Put him down, and we can talk about this."

"How do I know that I can trust you? How do I know that you won't attack me the second that I put him down?"

"Once you put him down, we'll send Paul home," Sam said.

I focused on the inside of Sam's mind.

 _I don't know how much of a threat she is,_ Sam was thinking. _She makes a fair point, she hasn't harmed anyone in the time that she's lived in Forks, and if I have the math right, then the last person she killed was in the early fifties. The most I can do is hear her out._

"You said Jacob showed you what I can do," I said, eyeing Sam suspiciously. "How do I know you're not lying with your thoughts?"

"We don't have a reason to lie."

I watched Sam for another moment before lowering Paul to the ground.

"Go home, Paul," Sam said, jerking his head back to the forest.

The giant grey wolf looked at me before turning and running back through the woods.

"You're really going to hear me out?" I asked.

Sam nodded.

"I will hear what you have to say. I'm actually quite interested."

I nodded and stayed quiet for a moment trying to gather my thoughts.

"I think it's safe to say that I am not an average vampire. In a letter the Volturi wrote to my brother, they state that I am the only one of my kind like this."

"How old are you exactly?"

"I think it depends on how you look at it. If you go from the time I was born to now, I'll be thirty in June."

"What other way can you look at it? Age goes from birth to now."

"I've traveled back in time," I said, turning to look at Helen. "One of my creators has the ability. In 1998, I traveled back in time to 1948, I met my husband and lived life from then to now. In that sense, I'll be turning eighty in June."

"Which do you consider yourself to be?"

"I kept track of my age from 1948 until 1976. I counted the years I had been a vampire. One through twenty-eight, and then from the year I was born, I began counting in literal years. One through thirty. I consider myself to be thirty…well twenty-nine."

"Why were you created? Or was there no specific reason?"

"The vampire James, the one who came after Bella last March, came after me too. He caught my scent, but he noticed that it simply disappeared in the same spot it was found. He was going to use my family to lure me out, and we had just gotten out of a war. I couldn't put them at danger. Even if we hadn't just come out of a war, I wouldn't have put them in danger. So I allowed myself to be turned into a vampire and travel back in time."

"There was no war in 1998," Sam said.

"In my world, there was," I said. "Do you remember in 1996 when the Brockdale Bridge in England collapsed?"

"It was all over the news, even here in America. It killed over a dozen people."

"That was the work of a dark wizard's followers. His name was Voldemort. His followers were the Death Eaters. He attacked the bridge because of the United Kingdom's Minister of Magic. He refused to step down as Minister, which would give Voldemort control, so Voldemort went after Muggles. He ordered his Death Eaters to take down the bridge, and they did."

"So it was a war in the Wizarding worlds for England and in America?"

I shook my head.

"No. I'm from England. The war was only in the United Kingdom. But if the war hadn't ended when it did, he would have tried to take power in America and the rest of the world."

"What was this Voldemort fighting for?"

"Power," I said. I turned and looked back at Harry who was watching me through the window. "A seer gave a prophecy in 1980. It said that a boy would be born at the end of July, and that boy would hold the power to destroy Voldemort. He tried to kill this boy when he was one, but the spell rebounded, and it killed Voldemort instead. Voldemort divided his soul though, and he was able to survive. He came after that boy again and again from the time the boy was eleven until the time he was seventeen."

"And the boy? Where is he now?"

"Standing in the window, " I said, pointing at Harry. "That's my godbrother. Harry Potter. The Boy Who Lived. He's famous in my world."

"So I'm guessing the war ended with Voldemort's death," Sam said.

I nodded.

"Yes."

"So how did James find you?"

"I was in Muggle London. I worked undercover as a Death Eater for the Order of the Phoenix, aka Harry's side. Albus Dumbledore, the leader and founder of the Order, sent me undercover after the death of my father, and I continued to work undercover until the end of the war." I rolled up my sleeve and moved my wand holster. "I played my role well. So well I worked my way into Voldemort's inner circle, but Voldemort feared that I remained loyal to Harry. He wasn't wrong, but before Dumbledore died he told me to do everything necessary to make sure that Voldemort thought I was loyal to him. Voldemort took me to Muggle London to prove my loyalty to him. He made me kill a family. A man, a woman, and their son. James picked up my scent there, and he noticed that it disappeared, and that drove him insane. So he hunted me. My other creator can manipulate memories, change them, delete them, or add them. He erased my family from James and Victoria's minds, created new memories with me involved, and then he and his wife took me back in time to fit the timeline of the new memories."

Sam looked at me for a moment.

"So you've never harmed a human since you were a human?"

"I mean I have, but not intentionally. When I was a young vampire, I slipped up on the diet a few times. I couldn't understand what I was doing in the frenzy, but once I came to, and I realized what I had done, I hated myself for killing more innocent people."

"How long has it been since you've slipped up?"

I paused and thought about it.

"Fifty-five years. The last one was a year after my wedding."

The three wolves watched me for a moment.

"I know that you have no reason to trust that I'm not a danger," I continued. "I don't mean this in a threatening way, however, if you kill me, you will have my family, human and vampire to respond to. The news that I was alive spread like wildfire throughout my world. Picture the news of my death. That will spread quicker, and it will be on your hands, and if my family does come for you, the magic will always find you, and it will always be quicker than you can run."

Sam watched me for another minute before turning to look at Carlisle.

"We'll take her word for it," he said. "If she hasn't harmed a human in over fifty years, then I don't think the town is in danger, nor our tribe. If she does not harm us, we have no reason to harm her."

"I have no reason to harm anybody," I said, frowning. "Not unless I or my family has been threatened."

"Then we've come to an agreement."

"I do ask that you do not let anyone outside of your pack know."

"The elders will have to know. They know about your being vampires."

"So your pack and the elders, but that's all. If I break any of the Wizarding laws that MACUSA has established, they'll send me back to England, and I'm already on thin ice with them."

Embry watched me for a moment.

"You said that you turned into a dog because of a spell?"

I nodded.

"I'm an Animgaus. That's the name for it in my world."

"You don't have to be angry to change?"

I shook my head.

"You know, your pack is rather interesting to me. You're not like any other werewolves I've ever met."

"You've met other werewolves?" Jared asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I even dated one when I was human."

"What happened to him?"

"He died. In the war."

"I'm sorry. I wouldn't imagine losing someone I loved to a war."

I shook my head.

"Don't be sorry. Remus and I had been broken up for a while before he died."

"Why?"

"Because we weren't meant to be."

"We'll be back to check on you, Alice Cullen," Sam said before Embry or Jared could ask me any more questions. "You never know when things might change."

I nodded.

"I'll be here."

Sam began to shake violently before a giant black dog appeared before me. He barked once, and Embry and Jared joined him before the three wolves took off through the forest.

I remained still for a moment before I turned back to the others. Tobias and Emmett were still holding Jasper with Helen standing in front of Jasper. Harry and George were inside watching through a window while Esme stood at the door, blocking them inside.

I quickly made my way to Emmett, Tobias, and Jasper.

"You can let him go now," I said.

Tobias and Emmett looked at each other before releasing Jasper, who threw himself at me.

"It's okay," I soothed. "I'm safe. Everything is okay."

"No, it's not okay," he growled. "They tried to kill you."

"Can you blame them?" I asked, pressing a hand against his cheek. "They didn't know that witches and wizards existed. You take something unknown and mix it with your greatest enemy, and I think that you too would be frightened."

"They attacked you," Jasper growled. "On _our_ land."

"And I stopped them."

I turned to Carlisle.

"Don't hold it against them," I said as Jasper buried his face in my neck. "They were afraid. If they had known me, they wouldn't have attacked me."

Jasper growled against my shoulder.

"No," I said hugging him tightly. "Don't be angry. Everything is okay."

"Come on," Jasper said, pulling me by the waist. "Let's get you inside."

Once inside the house, George and Harry both rushed forward to hug me.

"Are you okay?" George gasped.

"I'm fine," I smiled. "He didn't even touch me."

When Harry pulled away from me, tears were quickly rolling down his face.

"Har, what's the matter?" I asked, pulling him back into a hug.

"I thought I was going to lose you again," he whispered. "I thought I was going to have to watch you die."

"Nobody is going to lose me," I soothed. "I promise. I want you three to listen to me. I'm not going anywhere. Nobody is taking me away."

It took a little while before Jasper, Harry, and George were all calmed back down. It took me reassuring them multiple times that Paul hadn't actually touched me and that nobody would take me away.

"It's strange though isn't it?" Harry asked once the three of them had calmed down. "A werewolf changing in the middle of the day."

"I've questioned it too," I murmured as I paced through the room. "It doesn't make sense to me, yet somehow they are."

"They don't really look like werewolves," George pipped in. "They look more like you and Sirius in your Animagus forms."

"It's strange," I agreed. "But maybe it's a geographical thing."

"Maybe."

"That's not what werewolves typically look like?" Jasper asked, raising an eyebrow at the three of us.

I shook my head and moved to the bookshelf.

"Werewolves only walk on two legs," I said, pulling my crystal ball off the shelf. "I'll show you."

"But you can't see their futures," Harry said.

"I've changed this up some," I murmured as I sat down across from Jasper and Harry on the bed. "If I focus hard enough, I can show my thoughts."

I focused on the night that Dad returned after he broke out of Azkaban. The night that Pettigrew escaped. I thought of Remus, and when he had transformed.

"There," I said as the fuzzy picture in the ball began to clear. "Can you see that?"

"Who is that?" Jasper asked leaning forward.

"It's Remus. It's from a memory. From the night that Pettigrew escaped."

"He doesn't look like himself," Jasper murmured.

"That's because he wasn't himself," I said, taking the picture away before returning the ball to its shelf. "Without the potion, he lost his mind, and in turn, he lost himself."

"And you don't think that the Quileute are werewolves?"

"They surely have the temper of one," I said as Jacob crept into my mind. "As I said, it could just be a geographical thing and we're overthinking it."

Jasper shrugged.

"I wouldn't know. I've never seen a werewolf."

I chuckled.

"That's not entirely true. You met Fenrir Greyback when I took you and Edward to Azkaban."

"But he wasn't in his wolf form then," Jasper pointed out as he reached his arms out to me.

"I disagree," I said, as I moved to sit in Jasper's lap. "He's kind of always in wolf form. Pointed teeth, his nails are more clawlike."

Jasper shuddered.

"I don't like you being around him," Jasper murmured against my shoulder.

"I don't think that's so much of an issue now," I said as I twisted his wedding band around his finger. "I don't think he's ever going to get out of Azkaban. Not alive at least. When we went there, he looked like he was wasting away. And even if he does, the Aurors are going to be waiting for them. Aren't they, Harry?"

"Of course. Don't worry, Jasper, Fenrir Greyback or any other Death Eaters in Azkaban, won't come within a twenty-mile radius of her."  
"Good," Jasper said. "I can't live without her."

I smiled and turned to face Jasper.

"Don't worry," I murmured, pressing my hand against his cheek. "Everything is going to work itself out. You're not going to lose me. You're going to be stuck with me for a long, long time."

Jasper smiled before leaning down and pressing his lips against mine.

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 **Hey guys! I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. It took me what felt like an eternity to get this chapter to sound the way I wanted it to, and even now, I don't know if it completely sounds the way I wanted it to.**

 **I don't think that it will actually be shown but Alice is actually going to talk to the others about the Volturi _after_ Bella's vote rather than before. I don't know if I'm going to write it in or not because I want the next chapter to be focused more so on the vote. Harry and George are staying the night so they will appear throughout the next chapter but don't get your hopes up of Bella meeting them. It's not the right time for that.**

 **So with all of that being said, I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will enjoy the chapters to come!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	89. The Vote and the Unbreakable Vow

**A/N: Hey guys! I just wanted to say two things before the chapter starts. I know that the name listed on Fanfiction is different than the name listed on the document itself. I didn't have enough room for the full title, and this was the third edit to the title, so I just had it set up two different ways. Secondly, I know this chapter took a while to get up. I had been preoccupied with other things, and I had been writing in between those things. I also had a lot of ideas for this chapter and I wanted to make sure that it sounded the way that I want it to. I wrote this chapter when it was sitting at 42 pages, and I still have a major scene left to write. So, I'll get back to writing, and I'll let you get to reading. I hope you enjoy this very long chapter. Enjoy!**

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 _"Voting is the right upon all which all other rights depend." ~Thomas Paine_

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Chapter 89- The Vote, the Apparition, and the Unbreakable Vow

Carlisle and Esme, as well as Edward, offered their bedrooms to Harry and George for the night. Both Harry and George decided that they were going to bed early considering neither of them had slept since they arrived in Ithaca yesterday evening.

"I don't have a bed," Edward told Harry quietly as he led him into his room. "But the couch is pretty big, and I think that it's comfortable."

"I'm sure that it'll be fine, Edward," Harry reassured. "It's only for the night. I'll be fine."

Edward nodded and turned to look at me in the doorway.

"I'll leave you two to talk," he said. "Charlie should be asleep soon."

"Good night," I said, quietly.

"Good night," he said. "Oh, Alice?"

"Hmmm?"

"Thank you for coming after me."

"Of course," I nodded. "But let's not make it something I have to do again."

He nodded and headed out the window.

"It's nice of him to offer me his bedroom," Harry said as he laid down on the couch.

"He doesn't really use it anymore," I said, looking around. "Since he met Bella, he's never really home."

"Does that upset you?" Harry asked moving his feet as I sat at the foot of the couch.

"I don't like who he's become," I said. "Everyone has changed since Edward met Bella, but he's changed the most. Rosalie was always hateful but Edward wasn't. At least not to me. Before he met Bella, he wasn't as hateful towards me. He was more upset, but he wasn't as angry with me. Since he's met Bella, he's more angry about the things that I can't control. More specifically, my being unable to control what future I see."

"Meaning?"

"When Edward first met Bella, I saw her becoming like us. Edward resents me for seeing that. He resents me even more now for showing that vision to Aro, but I had to do it, Har. It was the only way that Bella was going to make it out of Volterra alive."

"You don't have to explain yourself to me, Al," he said. "I understand why you did it."

I sighed.

"It feels like everything I do here isn't enough."

"What you're doing is more than enough. You didn't have to go after him, but you did."

"I know."

Harry was quiet for a moment.

"I was terrified when I didn't hear from you," he whispered. "I was afraid of what had happened to you. I was afraid that you were gone."

"I'm sorry, Harry. There was so much happening that I didn't even think about calling."

"You have to be careful, Alice. I don't know if we could handle losing you again."

I looked at the ground and let out a deep sigh.

"Do you wish I hadn't come back?"

Harry glared at me.

"Why would you ask a question that you already know that answer to?"

"Because I want to make sure that you think that this was a good idea."

"Do you regret coming back?"

"No, no, no. Not at all. I just want to make sure that I did the right thing by you guys."

"You did, Alice. I promise you that you did."

I smiled and patted his leg.

"I'll let you sleep. Good night, Harry."

I jumped to my feet and danced out of the room, pulling the door shut behind me.

I made my way down the hall to Carlisle and Esme's room. The door was open, and George and Jasper were sitting across from each other on the bed.

"What would you have done?" George asked Jasper in a quiet voice. "If she had died in Volterra?"

"She made me promise that if she died I would come to England. She wanted me to tell you guys what had happened to her. Most importantly, she said she wanted for me to be happy."

"Do you think you could have gone through with it?"

"I would have come back to England because she asked me to, but I don't know if I can ever be happy without her."

George watched Jasper's face.

"I'm glad that she found you. I've never seen somebody love another person the way that you two love each other."

"Is that a good thing?" Jasper asked with a small smile.

"It's a very good thing," George said.

I knocked on the wall just inside the doorway. Jasper and George both looked up at me with wide eyes.

"Ali," Jasper said, jumping to his feet and rushing over to me. "I didn't hear you leave Edward's room."

"That's okay," I smiled. "It sounded like you and George were having a serious conversation."

"You heard that?" George asked sheepishly.

"I did," I said leaning on the doorway.

"I'm sorry, Ali. I just wanted to know what he would have done."

"It's okay. You were curious. Everyone gets curious."

"I'm going to let you two talk alone," Jasper said before kissing my cheek.

"You don't have to go," George said.

Jasper shook his head.

"I want to give you two a little bit of time alone."

I smiled and squeezed his hand.

"I'll be in there in a little bit."

"Goodnight, George," Jasper smiled before heading out the door.

I moved closer to the bed, sitting at George's feet much like I had with Harry.

"So what would you have done?" I asked. "If I had died in Volterra, what would you have done?"

George sighed.

"I don't know if there was much that I could have done. I don't know if we could have gone up against the Volturi and win."

I shook my head.

"I wouldn't have wanted you to do that."

"What would you have wanted me to do?"

"The same thing I wanted you to do the first time I died. The same thing I want Jasper to do. I want you and him to live your lives. Make sure that he stays alive and that he doesn't try to avenge me."

"You say that like it's easy."

"I know it wouldn't be. I don't want you to spend your night worrying about things that aren't going to happen and things that didn't happen. Things could have gone very differently in Volterra, but they didn't. We all came home alive and safe."

"I know that. I just can't shake the question of what if." George looked at his hands before turning back to me. "I can't shake the what if because your life was put at risk two times in four days by two different forces."

"And I survived both times. There's nothing to worry about, George. I'm okay."

"I know," he smiled. He looked around the room. "Carlisle and Esme's room is beautiful."

"It is, isn't it?"

"When you guys move do you always leave the beds?"

I nodded.

"We never sell the houses so it makes it easier if we decide to move back to any of the places that we've been."

"Have you ever moved back?"

I shook my head.

"I think we leave too much of an impression to come back to any particular city. They've gone back to certain states multiple times but I don't know if they've ever gone to the same city. Other than Denali."

"Where have they lived multiple times?"

"New York and Washington, and then they've lived in Denali with Tanya and her coven on multiple occasions."

"Why did Helen and Tobias join Tanya's coven?"

"I know that Tanya offered them places in her coven to help them work on changing their diet. They moved there after mine and Jasper's wedding, and then they never left."

"You have theories about that," George smirked. "I know you do."

"You're right. I do. But none of them are going to be shared considering that they are downstairs and can no doubt hear us."

"Is it that bad?"

"It's nothing bad. However, I don't want to make assumptions and then be wrong."

"You're afraid of offending them."

I nodded.

"That's what I always admired about you. You've never cared what people think, and at times you can be extremely blunt, but you've always been careful to make sure that the others around you are happy."

"Everything that everyone says matters. Even if it seems insignificant to that person, it matters. I couldn't stand to lose a friend because of something that I could have prevented."

George smiled but then after a moment, it faltered.

"Alice, can I ask you a question?"

"You know you can."

"Was there ever a moment when you couldn't produce a Patronus?"

I thought about it for a moment.

"When I first met Jasper, that was one of the first pieces of magic that I showed him. I thought about earlier times. Before the war, and I thought about meeting him and the love I felt for him. It was kind of shaky at first, but there was never really a moment where I actually couldn't do it. Why do you ask?"

"Because I haven't been able to make one since you and Fred died. I tried thinking of happier times, but every time I tried, a little voice in the back of my head reminded me that you two were gone. That we'd never have another memory like that."

"Do you think that maybe now that you know that I am alive and we have the chance to make those memories again you could make one?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "I haven't tried since you came back."

"Maybe we should try. In the morning before we go home? We can go outside in the backyard and we can try."

George nodded.

"I want to try."

"I'll leave you to get to sleep," I smiled.

"Thanks, Ali."

I smiled and nodded.

"Sleep well," I smiled.

"Have a good night."

"Thank you."

I made my way out the door and back down to mine and Jasper's room.

Jasper was laying on the bed with one of his arms draped over his eyes.

I tiptoed across the room before crawling onto the bed and curling up next to him.

"Hi," he smiled, wrapping the arm that was over his eyes around me.

"Hello."

"How're you feeling?"

"My energy is starting to go up."

"Are you not going to be starting school with Edward next week?"

"I'm going to go until my energy crashes. If I'm lucky it'll happen over the weekend."

"Do you think it will?"

"I'm hoping that it slows down. If it doesn't then it's going to end up happening in the middle of next week."

"We can always say that Carlisle took you to Seattle to go have a checkup after yours and Bella's trip to Italy."

"He'd have to forge a doctor's note."

"You say that like it's a difficult thing."

"I wouldn't think that it's difficult."

Jasper paused and looked at me sadly for a moment.

"You have to talk to Helen and Tobias. Edward told me what happened and we thought it might be best for you to tell them. You saw what happened through Bella's memories."

I nodded.

"When are they leaving?"

"They want to come with us to England. Harry and George had talked about them coming the next time we go."

"Should I talk to them tonight?"

Jasper nodded.

"We can go for a walk."

"You'll be there?"

Jasper smiled.

"Of course I'll be there. Why wouldn't I be there?"

"I didn't know if it was something you'd want me to do alone or not."

Jasper shook his head before leaning down to kiss my forehead.

"I'll be right there with you."

"Let's go then," I said, sitting up to slide off the bed.

Jasper caught my arm.

"Wait," he murmured. "We haven't been alone since you've been back and I haven't seen you for five days before that."

I smiled and laid back down next to him.

"False," I said, resting my chin on his chest. "You saw me yesterday. On the plane when I called you on the mirror."

"I saw you, but I couldn't reach out and touch you," he said as his fingers grazed across my face.

"I wasn't going to be gone forever."

"I didn't know that," he whispered.

"But you do now."

"I do now," he agreed.

Jasper and I laid together for an hour before we decided to go find Helen and Tobias. They were in the living room playing chess like they had been when we first got back from the airport. Both were very focused, and I began to catch flashes of the moves that they were planning.

I sat down next to Helen while Jasper sat next to Tobias.

"After you finish this match, what do you say about taking a walk with me?" I asked, nudging Helen with my shoulder. "I need to talk to you about something. Something important."

"Is everything okay?" Tobias asked as he studied the board.

"Not really," I said, looking at the ground.

Helen's head snapped up and turned to look at me.

"You're not leaving are you?"

I shook my head.

"No, it's nothing like that."

"Are you okay?"

I nodded.

"I am, but I don't know how some of the others will be."

"Let's go walk," Tobias said as he began to clear the chess board. "You're making me nervous."

"You didn't have to stop your game," I murmured, turning away from them.

"Come on," Jasper murmured pulling me to my feet. "Let's take a second to calm down and then we'll go walk."

"We'll wait outside," Helen murmured eying me.

Jasper pulled me to the other side of the room before hugging me tightly to him.

"Don't be afraid," he murmured "It's just Helen and Tobias. You can tell them."

"I didn't like him but poor Irina…" I trailed off before shaking my head.

"I'm going to be right there. I promise."

"Stay next to me," I murmured taking his hand.

"Of course."

He guided me through the house and out the back door. Helen and Tobias were waiting at the bottom of the stairs.

"So what's up?" Helen asked when I reached the bottom.

"Not here," I said, shaking my head.

I broke out into a run, heading straight for the river. When I approached, I didn't slow down. I simply launched myself over. I continued running and trusted that the other three were still behind me.

I stopped when I came across a large rock, and I quickly scrambled to the top, waiting for the others. As soon as I settled myself at the top of the rock, the other three appeared from the thick trees.

"What's the matter, Alice?" Helen asked, looking up at where I sat on the rock.

"It's not an easy subject," I said, looking straight past them. "I need you to listen and I want you to listen to me."

"We can do that," Tobias said, tilting his head to the side. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"I found Laurent," I said quietly. "Well…I didn't _find_ him per se, but I do know what happened to him, and why he hasn't come home."

"What happened, Alice?" Helen frowned.

"When Laurent left Denali, he came here. To Forks. He was on a mission from an old friend. He came on a favor for Victoria. He had told her that we left Forks, and she asked him to make sure that we had left Bella completely unprotected. To make sure that there was nobody else who would interfere with Victoria's plans. Bella told me about it, and I briefly saw it in her memories."

"Tell us, Alice. We can handle it."

"When Laurent came here, he found Bella in a meadow where she and Edward used to go. Bella asked him if he had heard from Victoria. He told her that he had and that's why he was here. He came here with the intent of killing Bella. Right as he went to do so, the Quileute wolves showed up. In a later memory, I saw Jacob telling her that they killed Laurent. I'm sorry. He's not coming home."

"How long have you known?"

"Since the day I got to Forks. I didn't want to tell you over the phone. It seemed like something that I should do in person, and then I had to go to Italy."

Helen and Tobias looked at each other and then back to me.

"What are we going to tell Irina?" Helen whispered.

"I can write a letter," I offered. "It may not be the best way to go about things, but I don't think she's going to want to see me after she hears the news."

"We may not be able to stay as long as we planned," Tobias said more to Helen than to me. "Irina isn't going to be happy if we wait to tell her."

"So you're not coming to England?" I asked.

Helen shook her head.

"We're sorry, Alice. We'll have to do it another time."

I shook my head.

"It's okay. I understand. This is more important."

"It's not that it's more important," Helen said. "Your family is important too, and we're dying to meet them, but Irina is going to want to know this. Sooner rather than later."

"You don't have to explain yourself," I said with a weak smile. "I understand. I'd want to know if it was Jasper."

"We'll go say goodbye while you write your letter to Irina, and then I'm afraid that we'll have to head back to Denali."

I nodded and launched myself from the rock, landing beside Helen.

"Can I ask you a question?" Tobias asked as we began to walk back to the house.

"Go ahead."

"You can't see werewolves, right? The ones in La Push and otherwise?"

I shook my head.

"No. I can't."

"And you can't see anything other than vampires, witches, wizards, and Muggles, right?"

"Unless they are mixed with something that I am not, then that is correct."

"So how could you see Hagrid all those years ago? You had said once he was half-giant, and before we went to Hogwarts, you said Hagrid would go straight to Minerva. How'd you know if you can't see him?"

"I followed the blind spots," I said, watching Helen and Jasper who walked ahead of us, talking in low voices. "You're not wrong, I can't see Hagrid, and he is half-giant, but I can see the dark spots. If I had made the decision to go to Minerva at the same time that Hagrid would be there, then I couldn't see my future because it was intertwined with Hagrid's."

"Could you hypothetically do the same with the wolves in La Push?"

"Hypothetically, yes. If you're getting at what I think you are, I couldn't see Laurent when I searched for him in Denali because he was already dead when I looked. If Irina wants to see what happened, I can get the memory from Bella or convince Sam to let me take the memory from him, and send that and a Pensive back to Denali with you. You'd have to wait until tomorrow when I could have access to make a copy of one though."

Tobias shook his head.

"She shouldn't have to see that."

"That's smart," I agreed. "It's better that she remembers him how he was."

"Do you think that'd help you?" Tobias asked, looking down at me. "If you hadn't seen them die?"

"I think it'd make all the difference in the world. Even just seeing the body takes a toll. Now when I try to picture them in my memory, even though I can still see them, whether by Resurrection Stone or by the Netherworld, I keep seeing them dying or I see their bodies. Sometimes it's hard to think of the good memories."

"I can take them all away if you want. Your story could come to a reality. You wouldn't remember your human life. I could create memories of you finding out you're a witch in this life and change the circumstances that we meet."

I shook my head.

"I don't want that. I need to remember them. I need to remember all of them. And it's not fair to forget the ones who are alive to forget the ones who are dead."

"I thought I'd offer."

"I appreciate it, but I can't accept that offer. When they're all gone, I need the memories. I know the good memories are still there. If I think about them hard enough, maybe I can get them to come back to me."

"I've always liked the way you think," Tobias smiled. "Even when we first met, it was one of the things I admired."

"Do you ever wonder who met who first?" I asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "I met you in 1998, but if I hadn't met you then, I wouldn't have found you in 1949."

Tobias's laugh echoed through the forest.

"I try not to think about it," he answered before taking off into a run. Helen, Jasper, and I took off in pursuit.

When we got back to the house, Esme eyed the four of us carefully.

"Is everything okay?" she asked as we all moved into the living room.

"Not really," I said grabbing my notebook from the inside of my bag.

"Is it something you saw?" Carlisle asked jumping up from the couch as I sat against the wall next to the dining room doorway.

I shook my head.

"It's not what I saw. It's what I didn't see. Or rather, what I _couldn't_ see."

"The wolves?"

I nodded.

"They killed Laurent. Earlier this month."

"Why?" Esme gasped.

"He tried to kill Bella as a favor to Victoria."

"Does Irina know?"

"Tobias and I are going to leave as soon as Alice writes a letter to Irina."

"I didn't think it was something she should hear over the phone and I can't get to Denali and back before Harry and George wake up."

"So why can't you guys tell her?" Rosalie asked Helen and Tobias.

"Because Alice knows more about it," Tobias said. "She's the only one who saw it. She saw it through Bella's memories."

"You can read Bella's mind?" Emmett asked.

I nodded.

"Yes, but that's beside the point. I told Irina I'd find Laurent," I said. "She should hear it from me."

"So go to Denali with them," Rosalie said. "It isn't any better to hear it from a letter."

"I can't," I snapped. "The Volturi wants my family to know about them sooner rather than later and I have to explain it to them to make sure it stays contained. If anyone outside of my family hears about them, the Volturi would kill me and anyone else who found out about them before I have the chance to Obliviate anybody."

"How would the Volturi even know? It's not like they monitor your world."

"Maybe not. But if word gets out to somebody, say like Rita Skeeter, the Volturi will find out and they will come for me."

"What happens if Rita does find out?" Jasper asked.

"She'll run with the story," I said. "Chances are she'll go try to find them."

"You're being overdramatic," Rosalie said. "It can't possibly be that bad."

"This is my world, Rosalie, not yours," I snapped again. "You don't know these people like I do. You don't know the lengths that Rita will go to if she finds out about the opportunity for a story."

I darted to mine and Jasper's room and scanned the shelf. I pulled the books about Dumbledore and I off before returning to the living room.

"Read these," I said, dropping the books on the table in front of Rosalie. "Read these and tell me it's not serious."

"Can you be sure to extend our condolences to Irina?" Esme asked.

Helen nodded.

"Of course. And Alice, tell Harry and George that we're sorry we couldn't come with you guys."  
I nodded as I continued writing.

"I will. Some other time, right?"

Helen nodded.

"I promise."

Everyone talked in hushed voices as I finished the letter to Irina. Rosalie and Carlisle read Rita Skeeter's books about me and Dumbledore. Carlisle frowned worriedly as he flipped through the one about me.

"None of this is true is it?" Carlisle asked as I sealed the letter inside of the envelope.

"Some is, but not much," I said. "I most definitely didn't join the Death Eaters because I was tired of living in Harry's shadows. "

"I wouldn't think so," Carlisle murmured. "But what she says about you…"

"Rita has a flair for the dramatics. She loves starting drama. Nobody believes her at this point. Everyone reads it to see how ridiculous she sounds. She does have a few loyal readers, but not many."

I handed the letter to Helen and Tobias.

"I'm sorry that we have to leave on such an awful note," Helen said pulling me into a tight hug. "I wish I could come with you and meet your family."  
"Another time," I said quietly.

"Definitely."

I hugged Tobias, and walked out with them, watching as they disappeared into the night.

"Don't be upset," Jasper murmured, wrapping an arm around my waist.

"I'm not," I said, shaking my head. "I get it. Irina is their coven mate. They owe it to her."

"They owe you too," Jasper said.  
"They owe me nothing," I said. "They saved my family. They didn't have to do that."

I slipped out of Jasper's arm and headed back in the doors and back up to our bedroom.

When I got to the bedroom, I began writing down points that I had to talk to my family about in regards to the Volturi. I wanted to be absolutely sure that it was completely clear.

I felt bad that I was asking George to keep this from Angelina, and that I would be asking Bill to do the same thing with Fleur, but I had to keep it from them to keep it from going to their families.

"I should have made Aro make an Unbreakable Vow," I murmured to myself.

"What's an Unbreakable Vow?" Jasper asked from the doorway.

I looked up at him before turning back to the desk.

"It's a binding contract," I murmured. "It would have been hard to do without a second wizard there though. I'm still tempted to go back to Volterra and make him make one."

"Alice—"

"Don't," I said, shaking my head. "It's one way to ensure their safety. They're human. If I screw up, he could go after them to hurt me."

"Who would you take?"

"Kingsley," I said. "I'll ask him about it tomorrow and see if he'll come with me."

"Could I come too?"

I nodded.

"If you wish."

"What happens if Aro breaks it?"

"Then he'll die."

"Even if he's already dead?"

"It'll find some way to destroy him."

"And the rest of the Volturi?"

"Chances are after witnessing Aro's death, they wouldn't dare go near my family. And if they do, I'll be waiting."

"How would you know he broke it?"

"Word travels quickly through the Wizarding World."

"So you're going to make him make an Unbreakable Vow?"

I nodded.

"I have to make sure that they are safe if I'm not there to protect them."

"Will it do anything to you?"

"Aro and I will both have rings around our arms. Like scars. But it won't hurt me."

"Good," he murmured resting his chin on my shoulder. "Do you think Kingsley would do it?"

"Probably," I said. I turned and looked at Jasper before pressing my hand against his cheek. "Don't worry, Jazz. I'm going to be alright. I can't die by making this vow. Aro can, but I won't."

After I finished scribbling down the things I wanted to talk to my family about, Jasper and I both started reading. After a little bit longer, Rosalie and Emmett stepped through the doorway knocking on the wall.

"Alice?" Rosalie asked. "Can we talk?"

"What about?" I asked, not looking up from my book.  
"I want to apologize," Rosalie said. "I was rude earlier."

"Yes," I said, closing my book. "You were. I don't understand why though. All I'm trying to do is keep my family safe. That's why I'm risking my life to go make an Unbreakable Vow with Aro."

"I'm sorry," Rosalie said quietly.

"Alice, she really does feel horrible," Emmett said.

"That always seems to be the case, yet somehow between her and Edward everything is coming down to being my fault and I'm tired of it."

"I shouldn't have blamed you for Edward running to Italy," Rosalie said. "And I shouldn't be upset that you aren't going to tell Irina what happened to Laurent. You're doing what you have to do, and I should be more understanding of that."

I nodded.  
"I accept your apology," I said. "But next time, I may not be as forgiving. Now excuse me. I need to go talk to Carlisle."  
Rosalie nodded and stepped to the side.

"He and Esme are in Carlisle's study."

I nodded and jumped to my feet, moving around Emmett and Rosalie.

I made my way quickly through the halls to Carlisle's study. As I got to the door, Esme opened it.

"We heard you coming," she smiled, stepping to the side to let me in before closing the door behind me.  
"Alice," Carlisle smiled. "Is everything okay?"

"I want to talk to you," I said.

"Should I go?" Esme asked.

I shook my head.

"You can stay."

"You don't sound very happy," Carlisle said.

"That's because I'm not," I said.

"Is there something we can do to help?"

"It's not what you can do. Only Edward and Rosalie can fix this now."

"Alice," Esme said sitting on the arm of the chair I was in and wrapping an arm around my shoulders. "What is it?"

"I'm getting to be sick and tired of being blamed for everything that goes wrong in this family," I said, looking straight ahead. "Between Rosalie and Edward, I have been blamed for so much since Bella moved here. I've been blamed for my visions, and for what happened in Port Angeles. I've been criticized for how long I stayed in England, and for not calling or writing enough, and I was criticized for coming back here to Forks and for Edward running to Volterra, and I've been criticized because I have business to take care of in England and because of that business I'm not going to tell Irina about Laurent." I stopped and sucked in a deep breath. "I've been blamed for things I haven't done, for the things that I needed to do, and for the things that I can't control, and I am sick and tired of it. They apologize over and over but then they repeat the thing that they've apologized for."

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm going to wait it out," I said. "But I am going to warn you. George wasn't wrong when he told Edward that even I have my limits—"

"We know that sweetheart," Esme said. "Everyone has their limits."

"Let me finish. I have a limit, and each day I am being pushed closer and closer to that limit. Once I reach that limit, I'm done. If I reach that limit, I'm leaving, and I'm going home to England."

Carlisle and Esme didn't answer. They watched each other with sad eyes.

"Alice, we're so sorry that it's gotten this bad," Carlisle said sadly after what felt like an eternity. "We don't want you to leave, but if you feel like you need to, we would understand."

"I'm not leaving yet," I said. "I'm only saying that they don't have many more chances before I do."

"We understand," Esme said. "And I will be sure to talk to them both after you leave in the morning."

"Thank you," I said.

It was quiet for another minute.

"I'm sorry to put this on you so quickly," I murmured.

"Don't be sorry," Carlisle said. "We're glad you came to us. While I have you here, I was wondering if I could talk to you."

I nodded.

"It's nothing serious," he said quickly. "I just want to go over some things regarding you returning to school and stuff like that."

I nodded and relaxed in my chair.

Carlisle, Esme, and I talked for several hours. We came to the conclusion that I would wait until I fully recovered from the energy burst to return to school. Edward would get my school work and notes, and then when I did return, Carlisle would forge a doctor's note detailing my visit after returning from Italy.

"And then, of course, you'll be on the oxygen tank until well after the end of the school year," Carlisle said, standing up and moving to the closet where the rest of the oxygen tanks were. "This should last you through that time and then some."

"And we'll be doing this when we leave Forks?"  
Carlisle nodded.

"It's a good ruse."

I nodded.

"Sounds like we have a plan in order."

"Sounds like it."

Carlisle grinned at me.

Before either one of us had the chance to respond, the door opened from downstairs.

"Carlisle? Esme? Rosalie? Emmett? Jasper? Alice?" Edward said.

I frowned.  
"I didn't see him coming. I've been blocking my visions."

I flipped through both Edward and Bella's decisions for a moment as Carlisle and Esme left the office.  
Once I found what I was looking for, I grinned widely.

"Darlin'?" Jasper asked hesitantly from the doorway. "Are you coming?"

I nodded.

"I just had to catch up on what I had missed."

Jasper extended his hand out to me, and we both darted downstairs, following the others into the dining room.

I grinned at Bella as I took a seat next to Jasper.

"The floor is yours," Carlisle said, nodding to Bella.  
"Well, I'm hoping Alice has already told you everything that happened in Volterra?"

"Everything," I assured. "What I didn't tell them, they probably heard me tell Harry and George."

"They're here?"

I nodded.

"Upstairs. Sleeping in Edward's and Rosalie and Emmett's rooms."

Bella made a small 'o' shape with her mouth.

"Do you think I could meet them before I leave?"

"We'll see," I said. "We have a busy day tomorrow. They should sleep."

Bella nodded before continuing.  
"Did you tell them about what happened on the way too?"

I nodded.

"That as well."

"Good," Bella sighed. "Then we're all on the same page."

Bella paused again, collecting her thoughts.

"So, I have a problem," Bella finally said. "Alice promised the Volturi that I would become one of you. They're going to send someone to check, and I'm sure that's a bad thing. Something that we all want to avoid. And so, now, this involves you all. I'm sorry about that, but if you don't want me, then I'm not going to force myself on you, whether Alice is willing or not."

Esme turned to Bella, open-mouthed in an attempt to speak before Bella stopped her.

"Please let me finish," she said, holding up a finger. "You all know what I want. And I'm sure you know what Edward thinks, too. I've come to the conclusion that the only fair way to decide is for everyone to have a vote. If you decide you don't want me, then… I guess I'll go back to Italy alone. I can't have them coming here, and I wouldn't want them to go and take their anger out on Alice's family."

Edward growled quietly, and I looked down to the table.

"Taking into account, then, that I won't put any of you in danger either way," Bella continued ignoring Edward, "I want you to vote yes or no on the issue of me becoming a vampire."

She gestured towards Carlisle for him to start, but before he got to chance Edward stopped him.

"Just a minute. I have something to add before we continue."

Bella and I both sighed.

"About the danger that Bella's referring to," he continued. "I don't think we need to be overly anxious. You see, there was more than one reason why I didn't want to shake Aro's hand there at the end. There's something they didn't think of, and I didn't want to clue them in."

"Which was what exactly?" I asked, raising an eyebrow and I leaned back against my chair.

"The Volturi are overconfident, and with good reason. When they decide to find someone, it's not really a problem. Do you remember Demetri? The one who was fond of Alice?"

When Bella shuddered, he continued.

"He finds people—that's his talent, why they keep him. Now, the whole time we were with any of them, I was picking their brains for anything that might save us, getting as much information as possible. So I saw how Demetri's talent works. He's a tracker—a tracker a thousand times more gifted than James was. His ability is loosely related to what I do, or what Aro does. He catches their flavor, I guess you could say? I don't know how to describe it… the tenor… of someone's mind, and then he follows that. It works over immense distances. But after Aro's little experiments, well…" Edward shrugged and trailed off.

"You think he won't be able to find me," Bella finished in a flat voice.

"I'm sure of it," Edward said, smugly. "He relies totally on that other sense. When it doesn't work with you, they'll all be blind."

"And how does that solve anything?"

"Quite obviously, Alice will be able to tell when they're planning a visit, and I'll hide you. They'll be helpless. It will be like looking for a piece of straw in a haystack!"

"But they can find you," Bella pointed out.

"And I can defend myself," he said. "Even if I couldn't, they can't find Alice if she doesn't want to be found, and she's more powerful than the rest of us. She could hide with you."

"Excellent plan, my brother," Emmett laughed as he reached across the table, extending his fist to Edward.

"No," Rosalie hissed.

"Absolutely not," Bella agreed at the same time.

"Nice," Jasper mused, squeezing my hand.

"You're all idiots," I muttered, shaking my head.

Jasper chuckled and quickly pulled my hand to his mouth and kissed the back of it before laying both our hands in his lap.

"All right, then. Edward has offered an alternative for you to consider," Bella said in an almost cold voice. "Let's vote."

She turned to Edward.

"Do you want me to join your family?"

"Not that way. You're staying human."

Bella nodded once and turned to me with a slight smile.

"Alice?"

"Yes," I said, smiling back at her.

"Jasper?"

"Yes," he said automatically.

Bella and I both turned to Jasper in surprise.

"It would make you happy," he murmured to me. "And it would be nice to not want to kill her all the time."

I laughed quietly as Bella continued.

"Rosalie?"

"No," Rosalie said quietly.

Bella nodded and turned to move on.

"Let me explain," Rosalie said quickly. "I don't mean that I have an aversion to you as a sister. It's just that…this is not the life I would have chosen for myself. I wish there had been someone there to vote no for me."

Bella nodded again and turned to Emmett.

"Hell, yes!" He grinned. "We can find some other way to pick a fight with this Demetri."

Bella turned to Esme.

"Yes, of course, Bella. I already think of you as part of my family."

"Thank you, Esme."

Only Carlisle was left. We all turned to face him, but he wasn't looking at Bella. Instead, he was watching Edward carefully.

"Edward," he said.

"No," Edward growled.

"It's the only way that makes sense. You've chosen not to live without her, and that doesn't leave me a choice."

Edward shoved himself away from the table, snarling under his breath as he stalked into the living room.

"I guess you have my vote," Carlisle murmured.

"Thanks," Bella muttered in an equally quiet voice.

I saw Edward deciding to break the television in the living room seconds before the booming crash echoed from the living room. I heard a large thump from upstairs followed by a loud squeak from George.

"Damn it," I growled. Looking at the ceiling. "He woke up Harry and George!"

The two would be downstairs soon. Thankfully, they would first talk to each other, which would hopefully give me time to get up there.

"Well, Alice," Bella said calling my attention to her. "Where do you want to do this?"

I looked at her, wide-eyed in terror.

"No! No! No!" Edward roared marching back to the living room. "Are you insane?" he shouted in her face. "Have you utterly lost your mind?"

"Um, Bella," I interrupted calling her attention away from Edward. "I don't think I'm ready for that. I'll need to prepare…"

"You promised me," she reminded.

"I know, but… Seriously, Bella! I don't have any idea how to not kill you. And Harry and George are upstairs, and if I go into a frenzy, then Harry and George will be in danger too, and I couldn't live with myself if I hurt them."

"You can do it," she encouraged. "I trust you. I'm sure Jasper will make sure that nothing will happen to Harry and George."

"No, no, no," I began repeating as I pushed myself away from the table, darting from the room with Jasper following behind me.

"Alice," he said, catching me at the top of the stairs. "It's okay. Calm down, everything is okay."

As Jasper hugged me to him, I heard a door open from behind me.  
"Alice?" Harry asked. "What was that noise?"

"Edward broke the t.v," Jasper explained. "Bella put up a vote on her becoming a vampire and Edward wasn't happy with the outcome."

"What's the matter with her?" George asked stepped closer and putting a hand on my shoulder.

I flinched away from him and buried my face in Jasper's chest.

"Bella scared her," he said, hugging me tightly as he pushed waves of calm to me. "Alice promised Bella that she would change her, and Bella wanted her to do it now. She's afraid of killing Bella and hurting the two of you."

"Bella is here?" Harry asked.  
I nodded and peeked at the two of them.

"She's downstairs still."

"Do you think we could meet her?"

I shook my head quickly.

"No. Now isn't a good idea. I swear, I will introduce you, but not now. Not tonight."

"Edward is about to take her home," Jasper murmured as he rubbed wide circles into my back. "Now come on. The two of you should go back to bed. We have a busy day tomorrow. And as for you, Darlin', we need to get you calmed back down."

"I'm fine," I muttered as Harry and George turned back to the rooms.

"No you're not," he murmured pulling me to our bedroom. "I know you better than that."

I let him pull me back to the bedroom and pull me onto the bed.

"What's bothering you?"

"She is so ready to rush into this. She doesn't have the same circumstances that I do. She can never see her family again."

"You couldn't see them for a while," Jasper reminded.

"But now I can. And for them, it was only seven years. Bella will never be able to see them again. She's so ready to do this that she could have put herself and Harry and George at risk if I had lost control."

"You haven't lost control in years. I'd be more likely to lose control than you are."

"Maybe so. But what happened if you smelled Bella's blood when I bit her, and you went after Harry or George?"

"I would never do that. I couldn't hurt you like that."

"Would you really have a choice?"

"You have nothing to worry about, Alice," Jasper said, pulling me tightly to him. "Your family's blood doesn't appeal to me."

"Not even a little bit?"

"Not even a little bit," he promised. "They don't smell like they are humans. And it's not to say that they smell bad, they just don't smell appealing."

I sighed and rested my forehead against his chest.

"I'm sorry," I whispered.

"What for?"

"Suggesting that you would hurt our family."

"It's okay," he murmured before kissing the top of my head. "I understand. I don't exactly have the best track record with humans."

"It's not just you," I said. "I'm afraid of anybody hurting them. They've been through enough."

"I know that," Jasper said with a small smile. "You and your family have been through enough to last for more than this lifetime."

I closed my eyes and laid my hand on top of Jasper's, which was laying on my hip.

"It's all going to be okay," he murmured. "Rest now."

Despite my energy starting to rise, I laid with Jasper until the sun came up. From somewhere downstairs, I heard what sounded like a frying pan.

"Are they watching a cooking show?" I asked Jasper as I opened my eyes.

"I'm not sure," Jasper frowned. "I think Esme may be cooking."

As Jasper spoke, the smell of cinnamon began to drift through the house.

"Come on," I said, rolling off the bed and pulling Jasper's hand. "Let's go see."

"How about we change first," Jasper murmured sitting up on the bed. "I'm sure you don't want to go home in the clothes you wore on the plane."

I looked down at my clothes and smile.

"I suppose you're right."

I quickly put on a knee-length grey dress with grey leggings and a white scarf as well as a pair of black boots.

"Are we going to Italy today?"

I nodded.

"If I can get Kingsley to come with me."

"And if you can't?"

"Then I'll go see if somebody at Hogwarts will go. I need to make this vow."

"I know," Jasper soothed and we began to walk downstairs. "But why do you need another person?"

"Because it requires another wizard to make the bond. I may be able to do it alone, but it would be easier with a second witch or wizard there."

Jasper nodded slowly as he pondered what I had said to him.

Esme was in the kitchen standing over the stove. I made my way over to the stove and peered over her shoulder.

"Making breakfast?" I asked quietly inspecting the scrambled eggs in the pan.

Esme nodded and turned to me.

"I don't know what they like, so I made a few different things."

She pulled open the oven door to reveal three large cinnamon rolls.

"There's an uneven number," I frowned.

"The other one is for James. I hear about him so often from Jasper, and I thought that since he should be old enough to eat solid foods, I'd make him one."

"I think Harry will appreciate the offer," I smiled.

"I've also made the scrambled eggs, bacon, I made bread right after Bella left so they could have jam and toast and—"

My tinkling laugh cut Esme off.  
"Esme, I don't think they're going to finish all of this," I said looking at all the food that Esme had laid out for Harry and George.

"So I'll send it home with them. I have Tupperware bowls around here somewhere."

"I think Molly will appreciate it," I said. "She shouldn't have to cook lunch today."

Jasper laughed.

"Alice, be nice," he chided.

"I am being nice!" I said. "I'm just saying, it's a little much."

"I tried to tell her," Carlisle laughed from the barstool. "She insisted."

"Where did you even get all of this?" I asked.

"We went to the store before you came home."

"I thought you had only gotten stuff for their dinner."

"I'm not going to have human guests in my house and not feed them breakfast in the morning," Esme said as she began plating the various amounts of food.

"I'll go get Harry and George," Jasper said slipping out of the room.

"Thank you," I said smiling at Esme. "It's very kind of you to cook for them."

Esme smiled.  
"Don't thank me. I would have done it anyway."

I helped Esme carry the plates to the dining room as Jasper led Harry and George to the table.

"Where are Helen and Tobias?" Harry asked looking around.

"They left late last night," I said sitting down across from Harry. "They have a slight emergency that they needed to take care of in their coven."

"Are they okay?" George asked in a concerned voice.

"They're fine," I smiled. "Don't worry about it. Just eat."

"Did you do this?" George asked.

I shook my head.

"Esme did. She would feel bad if she didn't make breakfast for you guys. She's sending leftovers home with you."

"Thank you," Harry smiled.

"Of course, dear," Esme smiled.

"Thank you," George said.

Esme smiled proudly before leaving the room.

"George, I want to apologize again," I murmured as he and Harry began to eat. "I'm sorry that I'm asking you to keep secrets from your wife."

George shook his head.

"Don't apologize. She'll understand. She understands that there are certain things that you're just not comfortable telling her."

"Do you think Fleur will be as understanding?"

"I don't know," George said. "But it's a good idea not to tell her. She's not very good at keeping secrets. She'll tell her mother and father and sister and they'll tell their friends and so on and so forth. We'd rather that you weren't in any kind of trouble."

We talked about the kids. James was starting to speak more, and his latest word has been 'Jazzy'.

"He misses you," Harry told Jasper. "He'll be there today I'm sure, and he'll be glad to see you."

"I miss him too," Jasper smiled. "It's been a long time since I've been around actual children."

"What does he mean by 'actual children'?" George asked, frowning at me.

"Take his age into consideration," I said. "He's 162. To him, teenagers are still children."

"Times were different in my time," Jasper shrugged.

George laughed for a minute.

"I forget sometimes that you and Alice are nowhere near the same age."

"I forget about it too," I agreed. I smiled at Jasper and tapped the tip of his nose. "He ages well, doesn't he?"

Jasper smiled and leaned over to kiss me. The second his lips touched mine, I felt a sharp kick hit my foot.

"No," George said pointing his fork at Jasper and I. "None of that at the table. Harry and I are trying to eat and how can I enjoy this amazing breakfast if you two are snogging across from me?"

My laugh echoed through the room. It was the most that George had sounded like himself in a while. After I moment, I scooted my chair over slightly.

"Is that better?" I smirked.

"Much," George grinned as he stuck his fork back into the cinnamon roll.

I leaned over to Jasper and kissed his cheek.

"Worry not," I said loud enough for George to hear. "Once the humans are gone, we are free to snog at the table all we want."

George pretended to gag before the two of us began laughing again.

"Did they used to be like this?" Jasper asked Harry quietly.  
Harry nodded.

"I remember the first time I actually saw Alice was the day after we arrived at Hogwarts, and she, and Fred, and George looked like they were having the time of their lives."

"That's because we were," George said. "Aside from my wedding and Fred being born, all of my best memories were with Alice and Freddie."

I smiled and patted George's hand across the table.

"While I have you guys here, there is something I want to talk about."

"It's something bad, isn't it?" George asked looking between Jasper.

"You're going to see it as bad," I said.

"What did you do?"

"It's not what I've done. It's what I'm going to do. I have to go back to Italy today."

"No!" George exclaimed. "Absolutely not!"

"George, I have to!" I said. "It's the only way I can keep you guys safe!"

"By putting yourself at risk again?" Harry snapped.

I turned to Jasper.

"Help me," I whispered to low for Harry and George

Calm flooded throughout the room.

"Listen to me," I said as Harry and George relaxed in their seats. "I had an idea. I'm going to make Aro make an Unbreakable Vow. I had come up with the idea last night, but when Edward and Bella came here this morning, I realized even more that I have to do this. Edward wants to pick a fight with the Volturi. If he does that, then things are going to turn ugly fast. I don't want them to come and take their anger out on you guys, so I'm making Aro make an Unbreakable Vow with me. If he breaks the vow and makes the attempt to come after any of you, then the spell will destroy him. As soon as the spell destroys Aro, then the Volturi won't come after you or us."

"They won't try to avenge Aro?"

"Not if he willingly makes the deal and has a full understanding of what will happen to him."

George looked between Jasper and me.

"You're not letting her go alone are you?"

"I will be right there with her, George."

"Who will be your binder?"

"I'm going to ask Kingsley."

"And if he says no?"

"Then I'm going to ask Flitwick or Minerva or whoever I can get."

Harry and George were quiet for a moment.

"You better come back home," Harry said. "Both of you better come back home or so help me, God, I'll kill you both and take the Volturi down with me."

I chuckled and smiled weakly.

"We're coming home, Harry. I promise. I'll stop by after we finish in Italy."

"Alice, are we still going to work on my Patronus?"

I pulled Jasper's wrist over to see his watch.

"We still have about an hour and a half before we are supposed to be at the Burrow. You guys woke up earlier than you needed to."

"We smelled the food," George shrugged. "And by that point, Jasper was coming to get us anyways."

"I have an idea on how to spark your Patronus," I said. "I can't guarantee that it'll be a corporeal Patronus, but it could be just enough to spark it."

"What is it?" he asked.

"A surprise," I smiled. "I'll be back in a moment. I have to run and grab something out of mine and Jasper's room."

I left the three of them sitting at the table and took off through the house.

When I got to the bedroom, I took the key that sat in the bedroom drawer where I used to keep it before we left Forks. In Ithaca, the key stayed around my neck.

I pulled the small box from the front part of the top shelf, relocked the cabinet, and put the key around my neck.

"It's a good thing that you put everything back to how it was," I murmured as I sat the ring box on the table.

"What's in there?" George asked raising an eyebrow.

"A surprise," I answered.

"It's can't be anything major," Harry said. "It's inside of a ring box."

"That's because this is the only thing small enough I have to hold it."

George eyed the box.

"When are we going to start?"

"As soon as you finish eating."

"I'm stuffed," Harry said.

"So am I. We just have to clean up real quick."

"No need," Esme smiled flashing between the two and scooping up their plates. "I'll put the rest of this stuff into bowls for you guys to take with you. I even made an extra cinnamon roll for James," Esme said, pointing to the cinnamon roll that sat on the pan.

"You didn't have to do that," Harry said turning away from the pan.

"I know I didn't, but I didn't get to cook for my baby, and none of my current kids eat, so I figured I would cook for you guys and for your baby."

"You had a baby?" George asked. "Alice never told us that."

Esme smiled and nodded.

"He died though. Two days after he was born. That's why I jumped off the cliff."

George and Harry both looked at her wide-eyed.

"We didn't—"

"Alice didn't tell you that part either?"

I shook my head.

"I didn't know how much to tell them."

Esme smiled at me and then sat down next to me.

"That's very kind, Alice, but I don't mind them knowing," she paused and turned back to Harry and George. "How much did she tell you?"

"Only that Carlisle found you in a morgue and changed you. The only thing that she told us about any of you is that you were all dying when Carlisle changed you and that Carlisle was also from England."

I shook my head.

"They're not my stories to tell, so I only told them the basics."

"My story is very simple," Esme told Harry and George with a sad smile. "I had an abusive husband, and I was terrified when I found out I was pregnant, so I ran. I couldn't wait to be a mother, but when my baby died of lung fever. I couldn't live with the grief, so I jumped off the cliff. My heart was faint, but Carlisle could hear it."

"Why did he change you?"

"Carlisle had treated me for a broken leg when I was sixteen. When he saw me in the morgue, he recognized me, and he changed me."

"Did you two fall in love immediately like Alice did with Jasper?"

"I had been in love with him since I was sixteen, but he had left so quickly."

"Why couldn't he have changed you when you had first met?" Harry asked.

"Because I didn't want to curse her with that life," Carlisle said, sitting on Esme's other side, at the head of the table. "I didn't know that she loved me back, and I didn't want to change her if she didn't want to be changed."

"Is that why everyone who you changed was dying?"

Carlisle nodded.

"Edward's mother asked me to change him. Rosalie, I saw how young she was, and I thought she should have another chance."

"And Emmett?"

"I asked him to change Emmett," Rosalie said as she and Emmett joined us.

"I wouldn't change it for anything," Emmett smiled.

"So when vampires find their mate, are they always instantly attracted to them?" Harry asked Carlisle frowning.

Carlisle thought about it for a moment.

"I think that in some cases, it can take a person a while to comprehend their feelings for their mate."

"I think it took Jasper a few weeks to admit to himself that he was in love with me," I teased, nudging Jasper's shoulder.

"False," he murmured pulling me off of my chair and into his lap. "You told me that you loved me, and I told you that I felt something between us, I just wanted to get to know you first."

"I know," I said, smiling back up at him. "I remember. I remember everything about that day and every day after that."

Harry grinned as Jasper leaned down to kiss me again while Emmett and George immediately covered their eyes.

"Disgusting," George teased shaking his head.

"You said we couldn't do that while you were eating," I said as I leaned away from Jasper and closer to George. "Last time I checked you told Esme you were done eating. Therefore, we are free to do as we please."

"Nope," George said smugly. "You wanna know why?"

"Why?"

"Because you promised me you'd help me with my Patronus, and I intend to make you keep your promise."

"I'm going to keep my promise because I always do, but if I decided not to help you, how would you move me? You can't pick me up anymore, Georgie. That tables have turned!"

"I may not be able to pick you up, however, we are currently surrounded by five who can, and I do still have a wand."

As George spoke, Emmett had quietly snuck behind Jasper and I. I hadn't noticed until George looked straight behind me and grinned.

Emmett lifted me with ease, throwing me over his shoulder and running to the backyard.

"I could have walked you know," I said as Emmett sat me down on the ground.

"I know," he grinned. "But this way was more fun."

I pulled the box out of my pocket as the others made their way outside. Emmett went to join them while George joined me in the yard.

"I can't guarantee that this will work," I told him. "But we're going to try."

George nodded and pulled out his wand.

"I want you to close your eyes," I said, moving to stand behind him. "Think back to before the war. What memory comes to your head?"

"You, Fred, and I. The day we met you."

"Keep picturing that," I said, pulling the stone out of the box. "Think of every memory that you can of the three of us."

I quickly flipped the stone three times in my hand before moving out in front of George.

"Remember what you told me about how the little voice in the back of your head told you that the three of us would never make another memory again?"

"Yes," George said quietly.

"Well how about we make one more. Open your eyes."

I reached out beside me and took Fred's hand as George opened his eyes.

"Surprise," I smiled as George stepped back with wide eyes.

"What did she do?" Emmett asked. His face resembled George's.

"She used the Resurrection Stone," Harry said. "She had to find a way to bring George's greatest wish to life. She's only half of the equation."

"His greatest wish is for the three of them to be together again," Rosalie whispered.

"This is as good as I can get it," I said to George. "You know as well as I do that magic cannot bring back the dead. Not for good anyways, there is only between places. Like this. The most I could do is bring him back to a more physical state."

"You did this for me?" George asked.  
"She wants you to have one last good memory of the three of us," Fred said. "Harry's right. Alice is only half of the equation of your greatest desire. She wants the last memory of the three of us together as a team to be a good memory."

George rushed forward and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Thank you, Alice."

"This is your powerful memory," I said quietly. "This is our shot."

George nodded and pulled away from me and his eyes didn't leave mine and Fred's.

"You got this George," Fred grinned.

George took a deep breath and nodded.

"Expecto Patronum!" he cried.

From the tip of George's wand, a small white light flickered.

"You're almost there George. Remember your earlier memory. Remember us meeting, and all the happy memories between then and now. Think of me coming home, and then try again."

George closed his eyes and I could see flickers from his head as he tried with all his might to think of the memories. After a moment, he opened his eyes again and pointed his wand back towards the forest.

"Expecto Patronum!"

The white light at the end of his wand was stronger now. Whisps shot out the end, and then it dimmed back down.

"I can't do it," George said.

"Yes you can," I said. "Remember, George, you have to want it. Make sure your heart is in the right place, think of the memories, and then try again."

George watched me for a second and then nodded. He began to pace back and forth across the same three-foot line over and over.  
Fred, George, and I worked for close to forty-five minutes. The others watched us just as entertained as before.

"Alice, I can't do it!" he exclaimed again. "I know you want it to work, but I don't know if it will."

"You can do it, George," Fred said. "Listen to Alice."

"Okay, George," I said, pulling him to the side. "We'll stop. Just give it one more try. One more try and then we'll stop."

George sighed.

"One more try?"

"Please. Do it for me?"

George watched my face before nodding.

"If it makes you happy, Ali."

"It will."

"Think of every happy moment in your life," I called as I backed closer to the others. "Think of us meeting, and the three of us growing up. Think of your wedding, and your son being born, and me coming home. Think of all of it. See it in your mind's eye, and then try again. One last time, George. That's all we need!"

George closed his eyes again. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Edward step through the back door.

"You're just in time," I said, not taking my eyes off George.

"What are you doing?" he asked. "Is that Fred?"

"George hasn't been able to produce a Patronus since the war," Harry said. "Alice is teaching him how to do it again, and yes. She used the Resurrection Stone to get Fred's help."

"What's he thinking of?" I asked Edward.

"He's remembering you coming home."

"He's getting closer."

"Did you see something?" Fred asked me quietly.

I shook my head.

"No, but this is it. I know it."  
"Don't get your hopes up to high, Al," Harry said. "Nobody has been able to get his Patronus to come back."

"Today is going to be different."

I leaned forward as George pointed his wand out in front of him.

"Expecto Patronum!"

The white light shined brightly through the yard. From the tip of George's wand, a silver hyena jumped out. It raised it's head to look up at George.

"Yes!" I exclaimed, darting towards George, pulling him into a tight hug. "I told you that you could do it!"  
George smiled and looked at the hyena.

"Freddie, look. It's you."

Fred's grin was just as wide as George's. It reminded me of when they had come up with an idea for scheming.

"I've missed this," I smiled. "I get one or the other but never both."

"One day," Fred said.

"Just not today," George finished.

I smiled.

"Not today," I agreed.

Fred wrapped an arm around my shoulders and smiled.

"It's okay, Ali. Don't be sad. I'm going to come to see you when your energy crashes."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

"So I'll be seeing you next week too?"

He nodded.

"I'll be in the Netherworld waiting. We had already planned for me to come."

"When will I see you again?" George asked quietly.

"I don't know," Fred said as he used his free arm to hug George. "I'll send messages through Alice when I see her in the Netherworld. You can always talk to me, it'll just take me a little bit to respond."

George, Fred, and I all smiled at each other and for a moment, it felt like we were all teenagers again.

"So does this mean you're leaving?" George asked Fred quietly.

Fred nodded.

"As soon as you guys leave to go back to England."

"Wait!" I exclaimed. "Before you go, I want you to meet the others! You can see Harry too! Come on, come on, come on!"

I tugged on Fred's hand and dragged him back to where the others were sitting. As we approached them, they stood up and watched Fred, George, and I in wonder.

"You remember Jasper don't you?" I asked when we came to a stop in front of Jasper.

Fred nodded and smiled.

"Your angel. I remember him perfectly. Hiya, Jasper."

"Hi Fred," Jasper said with a grin as wide as Fred's as he stepped forward with an extended hand. "It's nice to see you again."

"It's nice to see you too. Alice talks about you so often, I was excited to be able to see you again today."

"She gets so excited when you come to see her," Jasper smiled. "It's nice to see her so happy."

Fred smiled down at me.

"It is nice to see her happy. She's happiest when she's talking about you."

I smiled and took Jasper's hand that was closest to me.

Fred's smile widened as Harry stepped down in front of us.

"Harry!" Fred exclaimed as the two hugged. "You look exactly the same as I remember."

"So do you. It's been a long time."

"When was the last time I saw you?"

"The same as the last time you saw George," Harry said with a sad smile. "The day you told us we had to stop looking for Alice."

"You guys do understand why I had to do that, right?"

Harry nodded.

"In order to keep us safe, you had to make sure that Alice was safe wherever she was."

Fred grinned.

"That's a good way of looking at things." He paused and looked up at the house before turning back to me. "Lead the introductions."

I grinned and nodded.

"This is Rosalie and Emmett," I said, pointing the pair out. "Emmett and I have been making the most of the Snackboxes."

Fred grinned.

"I know. I've watched. It's nice to meet you, Emmett and Rosalie."  
"Hello, Fred," Rosalie smiled. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"You too," Fred smiled before walking down the line with me and Jasper.

"And this is Edward," I said. "He's my other brother."

Fred watched Edward closely. His smile faded quickly, which caused Edward to shy away from Fred.

"Does everyone know about what I've done?"

"Alice didn't tell me if that's what you're thinking. Those of us who are dead see more than you might think we do. As for those who are alive, Alice didn't plan on saying anything until you came and insulted her at our house."

Edward looked at his feet.

"I've apologized, and I don't know what else to do."  
Fred stepped forward and put a hand on Edward's shoulder.

"Change. Be good to her. She's given up so much for you and your family."

Edward nodded.

"I'm going to."

The charm that kept him in a physical form looked like it was beginning to wear off. He didn't have much longer left here.

"Come on," I smiled, pulling Fred to the end of the line. "I have two more people for you to meet."

"Carlisle and Esme," he said as we stood in front of them.

"Carlisle and Esme," I confirmed.

"You know who we are?" Esme asked in surprise.

"I know who all of you are. Like with Edward. Alice talks about you all, and I watch Alice when I'm not in the Netherworld with her. I watch all my family."

"So there's a Heaven?" Carlisle asked.

"There's an afterlife," Fred said. "I don't know that it's heaven, but it could be different for Muggles. We've never really believed in God. What I do know is that everybody is together. Johanna, Sirius, James, Lily, me, Remus. All of us. We're all there."

"Wait, if you guys don't believe in God, why did you mistake Tobias for God and Jasper for an angel?" Rosalie asked me.

"Because I knew of the concept," I shrugged. "I didn't believe in God but I believed in an afterlife, and at that moment, I thought that maybe there was something more. I wanted so badly to believe there was something more that would bring me to my family in the afterlife."

"Do vampires go to this afterlife?"Carlisle asked

Fred shrugged.

"I haven't seen anything but witches and wizard. ."

"How did you guys find each other?" I asked.

Fred smiled and squeezed the hand he still held.

"Do you remember Harry telling you about how when Voldemort killed him, he saw Dumbledore at Kings Cross Station?"

I turned to look back at Harry.

"Yes," I said in a quiet voice.

"If Harry had gotten on the train, he would have come to the afterlife. He would have been guided right to us. For Harry, limbo took shape as Kings Cross. "

"Was it Kings Cross Station for you too?"

Fred shook his head.

"I crossed on a boat like the ones that took us to Hogwarts. When Alice first began contemplating suicide, I was ready to go and guide her to the afterlife. She never came. She went on to do greater things."

Fred was losing his physical form by the second.

"Thanks for coming to help," I said, as his hand became less solid.

"You're welcome. I have something for you to try too," Fred said.

"What's that?"

"Apparition."

"I can't Apparate anymore Fred. You know that."

"You couldn't then. Then was then, and this is now. Now might be different."

"Now who's being cryptic," I glared.

"Think about it, Alice," Fred said with a wide grin. "Maybe you couldn't Apparate from 1948 to 1976 because it was before you existed, and then during 1976 through 1998 you couldn't Apparate because you existed in two different places. Now, there is only one of you, and it's at a time where you have been born."

My eyes widened.

"Freddie, you're a genius!"

"Maybe since you helped me to cast a Patronus, I can teach you how to Apparate," George offered.

"That'd be great," I grinned.

"I expect progress details when your energy crashes," Fred grinned.

"You got it, Freddie."

Fred, George, and I took a moment to say goodbye, and then Fred disappeared.

"Good job, George," I said, nudging his shoulder as we walked back to the others.

"Now it's your turn."

"How about we get through with talking to the family first, and me going back to Volterra, and then we'll talk."

"You're going back to Volterra?" Edward asked in surprise.

I nodded.

"It's more urgent that I do this now before you spark a fight with the Volturi."

"Do what?"

"I'm going to make Aro make an Unbreakable Vow. That he can never harm my family."

"And if he does?"

"Then the magic will destroy him," I said.

"Aro isn't going to go for that."

Carlisle shook his head.

"I wouldn't be so sure. If he's taken a liking to Kingsley and Kingsley is there with her, chances are he'd do it to please Kingsley."

"That's why I'm going to Kingsley."

"Come home safe," Esme smiled. "I think we've had enough rescue missions."

I smiled and nodded.

"We'll be home tonight. I'm going to stay at the Burrow for a little while before going to Italy. I figure I could get a head start on relearning Apparition."

"Will we be seeing more of you around here?" Carlisle asked Harry and George.

"We'll have to work out details with Alice. We don't want to turn up uninvited."

"You're always invited!" Esme exclaimed. "Oh, and maybe you could bring some of the others with you."

Harry nodded.

"I'll talk to Ginny about her and James coming with me next time I'm here."

"I don't know about Angelina, but I'll try to bring Fred with me next time."

"Why not Angelina?" Emmett asked.

"She doesn't like intruding on mine and Alice's time together. Between I think she's slightly jealous."

"Of me?" I asked in surprise. "Why would she be jealous of me?"

"Because I see you as a sister, so in some ways that make us closer. And until you came back, I didn't get over your death. Yours or Fred's for that matter."

"She shouldn't be jealous of me."

"You guys should get going," Esme said as Carlisle darted inside of the house. "I don't want you to be late."

"Alice!" Carlisle called bounding down the stairs. "Before you go, you might want to take this with you." He showed me the necklace from Marcus before leaning forward to fasten it around my neck. "Wearing it shows them that you appreciate their gift, and Aro will be more willing to do what you want him to do."

"Thanks, Carlisle," I smiled.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Edward asked, stepping next to Carlisle.

I shook my head and stepped back next to George.

"Stay here with Bella."

"I want to help. If I hadn't gone to Volterra, they wouldn't have found out about you."

I shook my head.

"Yes, they would have. Kingsley could have told them."

"But he didn't."

"But he could have. Even if Kingsley didn't tell them, there are about a hundred possibilities that could have to lead them to find out about me."  
Edward sighed.

"How do I make things up to you, Alice?"

"You have to figure that out for yourself. In your room, there is a gift that I bought for you in London. Perhaps that will help you think."

"Thank you, Alice."

I nodded.

"Of course."

"Ali," George said, "we have to get going. They're expecting us back any minute."

I nodded and took George's hand while Jasper sat a hand on Harry's shoulder. I waved once, and then we were gone.

It took close to an hour and a half to tell my family about the Volturi. Everyone was there, including Percy and Charlie. Ginny sent them letters after Harry came to America. Despite me writing out the points I had to cover, I couldn't find out to say it.

"The Volturi knowing about us won't put us in danger, will it?" Charlie asked.

"No," I said shaking my head. "When I leave here, I'm going back to Volterra, and I'm going to have Aro make an Unbreakable Vow. Edward wants to pick a fight with them to leave Bella human, and I want to make sure they're not going to try to come after you guys."

"Does Edward not realize that by fighting them he could put all of us in danger?" Ginny asked frowning.

"I don't think he cares," Jasper said. "As long as he gets his way and Bella stays human, he doesn't seem to care who gets hurt."

Jasper wasn't entirely wrong. Edward didn't seem to care who got hurt in his plan, just as long as Bella remained human. Would spend eternity with her be so bad? It wasn't selfish. Not when she made the decision.

"Are you okay?" Jasper murmured.

"I'm okay. Just thinking."

"About?"

"Edward."

"Don't worry about him, Darlin'."

"You did a brave thing going after Edward like that, Alice," Molly said. "I'm very proud of you, but why didn't you tell us where you were going?"

"I didn't have time," I whispered. "When I realized there was a possibility that I wouldn't come home, I thought maybe it'd be easier if I didn't say goodbye to any of you. Even Jasper."

I looked at Jasper out of the corner of my eye before looking to the ground.

"So you were just going to go away as simple as that?" Hermione demanded. "Do you not realize what Harry and George went through the last time you left?"

"I did it to protect you all," I growled through clench teeth. "What I was going to do in Volterra was to save all of you. Jasper included. Do you know what he would have done if I said goodbye? He would have come after me and he would have died too."

"Hermione, that's enough," Harry snapped. "She came home. That's all we need to worry about."

"I shouldn't have come," I whispered to Jasper.

"Alice, don't say that," he murmured catching my hand.

I shook him off as I raised to my feet.

"I'm making it worse for them."

"Alice, I'm sorry," Hermione said. "Please don't leave."

"I"m going to step outside for a moment to clear my head. I'll be back."

Jasper stood up to follow me but I shook my head.

"Stay here. I'll be okay. I think you'd do a better job answering their questions about the Volturi."

Jasper nodded and sat back down, watching me carefully.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah," I smiled.

I pulled my bag off the ground, threw it over my shoulder, and headed out the front door.

I headed down the hill and sat down close to the bottom. I still had the charms put up from when I had come in September, so despite the dull light from the sunset shining down on me, the humans in the village wouldn't see my skin.

It was quiet, and I was finally able to process my thoughts. I closed my eyes, and I began to think.

Why was it that all of a sudden Hermione was angry about a decision that I had made almost eight years ago? Was it because she now had a baby to protect? Did she feel that the decision I had made all those years ago would threaten her child now?

I decided that there was an error with that thought. If I had let James hunt me, then there was the possibility that there would be no child for her to protect. She would have never gotten married. None of them would. The generation that we now had would have never existed because James might have killed them all. Or maybe he wouldn't.

Maybe he would have just killed me. I could have lived with that. But where would that have left Jasper? Would he still be wandering around America alone? Unhappy and still hunting humans? Or would he have found the Cullens without me and changed his diet to fit theirs? Maybe he would have gone to go to rejoin Maria. If he too had died in that army, would I meet him in the afterlife that Fred spoke of? Or maybe, if none of the earlier possibilities had happened, would he have found somebody else who would love him a thousand more times than I?

It seemed that no matter what solution I had tried to come up with, there was always the possibility of an unhappy ending. James would have killed my family, but there was the chance that he wouldn't have. Jasper could be still wandering alone around America, looking for his place in the world, or he would have found the Cullens without me. Even if that weren't true, he could have rejoined Maria's army or found a new mate all together, because if I had chosen to die, were we really destined after all?

"You look like your deep in thought," George murmured.

My eyes snapped open, and I shot up.

George was sitting next to me with his knees pressed against his chest.

"What are you doing out here?"

"Jasper was worried about how far you'd gone. We all were."

"I'm fine," I said as I laid back down in the grass. "You didn't have to come after me."

"I know," he said, "but I'm here now. Want to tell me what you were thinking about?"

"Not particularly," I said closing my eyes again.

"Why not? You used to tell me everything."

"Because if I tell you this, then you'll tell Jasper. If Jasper finds out, then we'll argue, and I don't feel like arguing. Not today."

"You're not going to the Volturi alone are you?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "Nothing like that."

"So tell me. I won't tell Jasper."

"Jasper can probably hear us."

"So I'll put a sound barrier."

I opened my eyes and turned to face him.

"Why is it so important that you know?"

George shrugged.

"Why is it so important that you don't tell me?"

"Why do you always do that?" I groaned. "You've done that since we were children."

"Done what?" George smiled.  
I sighed and sat up.

"Do you really want to know?"

"Sorta. I'm curious about what you're thinking about that is so bad you don't want to tell your husband or your best friend."

"I was thinking about what Hermione said—"

"Oh, Alice, don't worry about what Hermione said."

"I'm not worried about what she said," I said shaking my head. "I was thinking about why she said it. I'd come to the conclusion that it was she feels that by being changed by James and then going to save Edward in Volterra, I've put her baby in danger. But then, I started thinking about the possibility that if I had chosen to die instead of being changed in 1998. Maybe James would have come for you guys. Or maybe he would have killed just me. But if he _had_ killed me, where would that leave Jasper? Would he still be alone, or would he have found the Cullens without me, or would he have rejoined Maria, or would he have found somebody else?"

"I don't think he would have found somebody else. You're his soul mate."

"But if I had chosen to die would I have really been his soul mate? Would we really have been destined to be together?"

"I still think you would have been," George said, shaking his head.

"Jasper has loved somebody else before," I murmured. "He could do it again if I wasn't around."

"Not now," George said, shaking his head. "Now that he's met you, if you died, he would never love somebody else."

I sighed and hugged my knees to my chest while George extended his legs out and leaned back on his hands.

"You shouldn't worry about things that are never going to happen," he murmured.

"I know they're never going to happen, but don't you ever wonder what would happen if I did choose to die?"

George shook his head.

"No. In my eyes, you already died. I have you back, but you're not fully you."

"What do you mean by that?" I frowned.

"Nothing bad," he assured. "You're still you, but you're happier, and you're married now."

"I sense a but."

"But, at the same time, you have this world that we're not a part of. That's different for me."

"Don't you see?" I asked. "By us telling you about the Volturi, you're a part of that world."

"You have two families now," George said. "One of those families don't know us well enough to see us as their family."

"No. I have one family. One big family and they all love me very much."

"Jasper says you gave Carlisle an ultimatum this morning."

"It wasn't an ultimatum," I said shaking my head. "I just told him that if Rosalie and Edward didn't stop acting the way that they do, I was leaving and I wouldn't come back this time. He isn't choosing anything. Rosalie and Edward are. Their decisions seal my fate with the Cullen clan."

"Aren't you guys a family?"

"It doesn't feel like we are a family," I said. "It feels separate. It feels like there are Jasper and me, and then there's the rest of them."

"So when you say you have one family—" he stopped and turned to look at me.

"That's not quite what I mean, but that's the general idea of it."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean until Rosalie and Edward prove that they see me as their sister, I don't plan on thinking of myself as being in a family. In a family, somebody is wanted by everybody. Not by just some."

"Is that why you called Tanya's family a coven?"

I shook my head.

"That kind of just popped out."

"Does Carlisle and Esme know that's how you feel?"

I shook my head.  
"I can't tell them that. They've been so good to me over the years. I'd still like to think of them as my family and Emmett too, but Rosalie and Edward are important pieces. Edward was Carlisle and Esme's first son. Rosalie is Emmett's wife. Do you see how it's hard to fit into that?"

George nodded.

"I get it."

I turned to look behind me.

"We never put up the barrier," I said.

"Does it bother you?"

I shook my head.

"No. I would have told Jasper anyways. I can't keep things from him. He always knows when something's wrong."

George smiled.

"That's good because if he didn't, you'd never open up to anybody about anything."

"Yeah, that's kind of the point," I grinned. "I don't like to tell people my problems because they shouldn't have to carry that weight on their shoulders."

"But we're your family, Alice," George sighed. "We want to know what's wrong with you. We worry about you."

"Don't," I said, shaking my head. "I'm okay. Really."

"We'll always worry. You're living in Muggle America with people we don't know that well."

"I thought you liked the Cullens," I frowned.

"I do, but I still barely know them. I know Jasper because he came here with you, and I know Edward because he stayed with you for a few weeks, but the rest, I only met when they got to Ithaca."

I sighed.

"I wanted to wait for you to meet them," I said. "I was going to have a party or something and bring all of you to America, even the people from Hogwarts and Andromeda and Teddy, and I was going to have all of them meet you."

"You could still do that. For the others."

I shrugged.

"I haven't figured out what I'm going to do. Besides, I don't think Edward is going to let me throw any more parties. And I think I should give it a little while, and see whether or not we're going to be staying there long enough for them to meet the others."

"Good plan," George said, "but, Alice, don't have your heart set on leaving."

"I won't," I smiled, leaning on his shoulder.

After a little while longer, George and I got up and headed back to the house. Harry said he'd take me to the Ministry to find Kingsley after George and I started working on me relearning how to Apparate.

When I stepped back inside, James had attached himself to Jasper's hip.

"Angelina is going to bring Fred to see you," George said as I watched Jasper and James play.

"Good," I smiled. "I miss seeing him every day."

"When are you going back to school?"

"After my energy recovers."

"What are you telling the school?"

"Well, Edward told Jasper that Bella told Charlie we went to LA, so we're going to say that the stress of me running from LA to Forks and back to LA and back again took a toll and I have to go to a doctor to get cleared to go back to school."

"So I could come over after I close up the store, and I can bring Fred with me."

"How does Angelina feel about that?"

"I'll talk to her when she comes," he said. "I'm sure she won't mind. It gives her time to go see her father."

"George, don't take this the wrong way, but I don't want you to keep brushing your wife off for me."

George glared at me.

"I'm not brushing her off for you," George said coldly. "She understands. I told you that."

Jasper turned over to me and frowned.

I shook my head and he nodded and turned back to James.

"What was that about?" George asked in a kinder tone than before.

"He sensed your mood change and he heard the anger in your voice. He's never seen us argue."

"That's because we don't argue," George said. "We've never argued and we're not arguing now."

I frowned and tried to think of a time we argued. I remembered small disagreements, but they were over stupid things. Quidditch teams and whether tea or coffee was better, but nothing severe.

"See, you can't think of anything can you?" he smirked.

"No," I murmured. "I can't."

"I told you. We don't argue."

"That doesn't' make sense," I frowned. "Everyone argues."

"Not us," he said. "You, Freddie, and I never argued."

"But Jasper and I argue—"

"Over your safety mostly," Jasper chimed in. "Valid thing to argue when you have no regards for keeping yourself safe."

"Butt out why don't you," I glared. "I didn't ask for your opinion."

"Maybe not," Jasper smiled standing up and making his way to me. He squatted down next to my chair. "You may not have wanted to hear what I had to say but you heard it anyways."

He kissed my cheek and smiled.

"Do we really argue about my safety that much?" I asked as he sat on the ground next to me, with James in his lap and one of his hands tightly holding mine.

"We should get started while we wait for Angelina," George said. "You have a busy day."

"We have all day," I shrugged. "The Volturi doesn't sleep."

"But Kingsley does," Jasper reminded me.

"So how about we leave at eight? We woke up early, and I think we even got here a little early all things considering."

"Eight is fine," I said.

"I'll owl Kingsley so we don't surprise him."

"Good idea," I murmured before I turned back to Jasper. "Do you wanna come to watch us practice?"

"Sure," he smiled. "How long do you think it'll take you to learn how to Apparate?"

"A few weeks since I'm relearning. I just have to make sure that I'm practicing every day."

"Is there a chance that you won't be able to?"

I nodded.

"Of course there's a chance. But Freddie did have a good point, and it's definitely worth it to try."

"You saw Fred?" Molly asked surprise.

"I used the Resurrection Stone to see if he could help me help George to cast a Patronus."

"And?" Ginny urged. "Did it work?"

"Yes," George smiled. "I forgot how good of a teacher Alice is."

"How about we go see if you're any better," I grinned.

George jumped to his feet and ran outside with me following behind. Everyone else filed out behind us. Jasper carried James while Ginny carried Albus. Jasper sat closest to us with James sitting content in his lap. Harry sat next to Jasper and James while the others sat on the stairs.

"Okay Al," George said stepping in front of me. "Are you ready?"

"Do you remember the three 'D's?"

"Destination, determination, and, deliberation," I said as I thought back to the Apparition class that I took during my sixth year.

"Do you think she can get splinched?" George asked Arthur.

"I don't know," Arthur responded. "The only way to know is to try. Start with low determination."

"Wait," Jasper said quickly. The panic growing in his voice"Ali, what's is splinching?"

I crouched down in front of him and pressed a hand against his cheek.

"Don't worry, love. It's nothing serious."

"What is it?" he asked, holding my hand to his face.  
"Splinching is when somebody Apparating or Disapparating leaves a piece of them behind," Hermione chimed in.

Jasper's eyes widened in horror as I turned to glare at Hermione.  
"Next time, leave it to me to explain these things," I snapped. I turned back to Jasper who was tightly holding onto my hand.  
"Ali, you can't," Jasper whispered in a panicked voice. "Please, don't."

"Jazz, honey, it's okay. I promise. Nothing is going to happen to me. I used to Apparate all the time. I never splinched myself. I threw up once, but I never got hurt."

"This time could be different," he whispered.

I shook my head.

"No, love," I smiled. "I'm going to be okay. I promise."

"Jasper, there's a chance Alice _can't_ get splinched," Arthur said. "We've had Kingsley contact every magical government since Alice's return, and nobody like Alice exists. She's the only one of our kind and your kind like her."

"She's one of a kind," Jasper murmured, squeezing the hand that he still held against his face. "I've always known that."

"So let me try this, Jazz," I murmured. "Maybe I can find a piece of me."

"You know, you should add that to your Unbreakable Vow with Aro," Jasper said. "He can never change a witch or wizard for his guard."

I nodded.  
"I'll be sure to do that. So the Apparating. Are you okay with it?"

Jasper nodded.

"I'm okay with it. If you need to do this to find a piece of yourself, then I want you to do this. Find that piece of yourself so my Alice can be whole again."

I grinned and leaned forward to kiss his cheek.

"Thanks, Jaz," I mumbled against his cheek.

Jasper nodded.

"Go on, Darlin'," he said, jerking his head to George. "Go and practice. I'll be here watching."

I kissed his cheek one more time before darting back to George's side.

"I think we should see if you can get splinched before we get too far into this," George said. "Just so you know your limits."

"How do you intentionally splinch yourself?" Ron mumbled.

"Low determination," Hermione answered. "Remember Susan Bones? She was afraid to Apparate, and that lowered her determination, and she got splinched."

"That's it!" George boomed. "Fear!"

"Brilliant!" I grinned.

"I don't follow," Jasper frowned.

"George thinks by me being afraid, my determination will lower and we can see if I can get splinched."

"So how do we do that?" Bill asked.

A wicked grin spread across George's face, and suddenly in the pit of my stomach, I began to feel uneasy.

"We'll find something that will make her scared to Apparate."

"I don't like that face," I grumbled.

"Why not?" George asked as he began to close the wide gap between us.

"Because that face has always led to trouble."

"No, it hasn't."

"Yes, it has," I argued. "It has since we were kids. You and Fred used to make that face when you had a prank idea."

"I don't know what you're talking about, Al."

Each step that George took towards me, I took a step back. I couldn't see what plan he had hidden up his sleeve. He changed his mind too quickly for me to catch a decision.

George jumped forward making the attempt to grab ahold of me. As he stretched out his hand, I dove out of the way, only to be met by somebody else, who Apparated the second they had a hold of me.

Whoever grabbed me let me go Mid-Apparation, a sure way to cause me to splinch myself.

I waited for the pain of one of my limbs being torn away from my body, but it never came. I quickly pictured where I had been standing in front of George. With a small pop, I was standing where I had been unharmed.

We tested every possible way we could think of to cause me to splinch myself, but it never happened. Angelina came about twenty minutes to eleven and pitched in some ideas, but those didn't work either.

"I don't think that she can be splinched," Arthur said when George and I finally stopped at eleven. "We've tried everything that has caused a person to be splinched in the past that we know of and nothing has worked."

"Well not everything," I said, frowning.

"What haven't we tried?" George asked.

"Me Apparating across the country or to a new country."

"Where would you go?"

"I can go to the Cullens' house in Forks," I said. "You guys would see if anything has been left behind, and then I can come back."

"George and I made it from Forks and back uninjured," Harry frowned.

"Maybe because you had Alice and Jasper with you," Hermione suggested.

"But I'm not powerful," Jasper frowned.

"No, but you've been around Alice long enough that the protection could wear off onto you."

"Okay," Arthur said. "Let's try it. If this doesn't work, then I think we can assume that Alice can travel without being splinched."

I nodded and stepped forward.

I began to picture the house in the woods very clearly in my mind. I pictured Carlisle's office where I could double check that nothing was missing quickly because no doubt Carlisle would be in there.

I felt myself being pushed through the tube, and after a moment, I was standing in the middle of Carlisle's study.

Carlisle was sitting behind his desk with Esme beside him. Edward, Emmett, and Rosalie were sitting in the chairs in front of the table. All five of them turned to look at me in surprise.

"Alice?" Esme asked. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"I can Apparate again!" I exclaimed. "Freddie was right!"

"Why did you come here?" Carlisle asked. "You're not finished in Italy are you?"

I shook my head.

"We haven't been yet. George and I have been checking to see if I could get splinched. Speaking of which, is anything missing? An arm? A leg? An eyebrow maybe?"

"No," Emmett said, frowning at me. "Everything looks like it's where it should be."

"Good. I'll explain later. I didn't interrupt anything important did I?"

"I was just telling Edward and Rosalie about our conversation earlier, however, we can talk about this when you get back from England tonight."

I nodded.

"I have to get back. They're expecting me. We have to get to the Ministry soon."

"Good luck, Alice."

I nodded.

"Thanks."

I refocused on the yard of the Burrow, and after another squeeze through a tight tube, I was back.

Not long after I got back to the Burrow, Harry, Jasper, and I left for the Ministry. Harry took Jasper while I Apparated alone for practice.

"I'll see you Friday," George said as he pulled me into a hug.

He would come to the house Friday evening with Fred after he closed the store for the night. The two of them would be staying with us while Angelina went to go stay with her father for the weekend. While he was staying with us, we would be working on various things regarding Apparition, and at night, I would take care of the baby so that George could sleep.

It didn't take much to convince Kingsley to come to Italy with us. He did think about it, but his biggest concern was why we were going there.

"I'd like to finally meet Aro, Marcus, and Caius," he said, "but are you sure that you want to make an Unbreakable Vow?"

I nodded.

"I have to do this," I said for what felt like the thousandth time. "It's the only way to keep you all safe. I only need you to act as the bonder."

"If you're sure that this is what you want to do then I'll help you. I just want to be sure that you're absolutely sure."

"I am."

"Okay. Then let me finish up these documents and then we'll go. I was almost finished for the night."

"Thanks, Kingsley," I smiled as I began to drift through his office. "I owe you one."

"You owe me nothing," Kingsley said. "You've done enough for us all."

"Sorry to have come so late. I know that you've been working all day and you're ready to go home but Harry and George hadn't slept and I forgot about how big the time difference was between Forks and England."

"I thought you were living in Ithaca," Kingsley frowned as he signed a document.

"We were. We moved back to Forks."

"When?"

"Technically, yesterday."

"Why?"

As Kingsley finished his paperwork I told him the story of Bella jumping off the cliff and Edward going to the Volturi. I explained that I hadn't thought about making an Unbreakable Vow until I got home, but that I would need a second witch or wizard to come with me to act as the bonder. I also told him about George and his Patronus and me being able to Apparate.

As soon as Kingsley finished, he cleared his desk and made his way between Jasper and me.

"Are you going to Apparate alone?" Kingsley asked me.

I nodded.  
"I could use the practice," I said.

Kingsley nodded.

"Try to land in the waiting area where their secretary is."

I nodded and tried to picture the waiting room that I had been trying to push from my mind.

Kingsley and Jasper disappeared before I did. I followed behind a second later hoping I would make it to the location I needed to be in.

I landed in between the two couches towards the back of the reception area. Jasper and Kingsley were waiting next to Gianna's desk, who watched me wide-eyed.

"Back so soon?" she asked in surprise.

I nodded.  
"I need to speak to Aro," I said. "Tell him that Alice and Jasper Cullen are here as well as Kingsley Shacklebolt."

Gianna nodded and scurried away scribbling down the name as she went.

"I thought Jasper went by Hale," Kingsley said.  
"I'm not sure whether Carlisle mentioned him as Jasper Hale, Jasper Whitlock, or Jasper Cullen. I figured Cullen would have been a definite way of being sure who he is."

After a moment Alec appeared from behind the wooden doors next to Gianna. He grinned widely at me.

"Ms. Alice!" he exclaimed. "Back so soon?"

"I need to speak with Aro," I said. "It's more of a business thing opposed to a social call."

"Understood," Alec nodded. "Follow me and I'll take you to them."

Alec led us down the hall past the door I had gone through days before. This time, he was heading for the golden door. Past the door was a spiral stone staircase.

"They're in the throne room," Alec muttered to me. "Aro is very excited that you're back in Volterra."

"Was the throne room not the room we were in before?"

Alec shook his head. "That was the feeding room."

Suddenly, the reason behind Edward's anger made sense.

 _I suspected as much when we were brought to this room._

"Don't worry, Al," Jasper smiled. "Everything is okay. It's all going to be alright."

I quickly grabbed his hand and pulled him closer to me.

"Just to be sure," I said.

Jasper chuckled and squeezed my hand before turning back to look behind him.

"Where's Kingsley?"

"Hey, Kingsley!" I called. "You doing all right?"

"Yeah," Kingsley called back as he rounded the curve. "I was admiring the art."

Alec laughed.

"It's nice isn't it?"

"Very," Kingsley said, offering a kind smile.

Alec pushed the door open and stepped to the side to let us through.

The throne room was similar to the feeding room. The three chairs were more extravagant than in the other room. There was a table and three bookshelves pushed against the east wall. All three shelves were full of thick ancient books. I wondered what the books were about.

"Alice!" Aro exclaimed calling my attention to him. "You're back, and you brought friends!"

I smiled at Aro as he stepped off the marble steps.

"Aro, I'd like you to meet my husband, Jasper."

"Oh, how wonderful it is to meet you," Aro gleamed as he held out his hand for Jasper to shake. "Alice has told me… well, she showed me everything about you."

Jasper watched Aro's extended hand for a moment and instead of reaching for it, he wrapped his arm around my waist.

"And this," I continued before Aro had the chance to say anything, "is Kingsley Shacklebolt."

"It's nice to finally meet you," Kingsley said.

Aro turned his outstretched hand to Kingsley. Kingsley gave a smile and shook Aro's hand.

Aro turned back to face me and studied my face.

"I'm guessing you're not here for a social visit. I don't think you would have brought Kingsley if you were."

"You're right," I said. "We're not here for a social visit."

"What troubles you, young one?" Marcus asked as he joined Aro in front of me.

"I have to keep my family safe," I said. "They do not deserve to be punished for Edward's mistake."

"They won't be," Marcus assured. "As I said, that was Edward's mistake. Not yours and not theirs."

"I have to be sure," I said.

"What can we do to ease your worries?"

I took a deep breath.

"Aro, I want you to make an Unbreakable Vow."

Aro watched me for a moment and then turned to Kingsley.

"That's why you're here, isn't it?"

"Alice asked me to be the binder."

"You trust us that little?" Caius asked from his throne.

"It's not about trust. It's about me doing the right thing by them."

"What about doing the right thing by us?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I did the right thing. I'm doing the right thing."

"You allowed Edward to tell our secret."

"Caius," Aro warned. "Stop it. That wasn't her fault."

"Aro, please," I begged. "I need to do this for them. I have to be sure that they won't pay for Edward's mistake."

"And our word isn't enough?" Caius asked.

I shook my head.

"No."

Aro thought it over.

"If it will give you peace of mind, I'll do it. What do I need to do?"

Kingsley explained to the three ancient vampires what an Unbreakable Vow was and how the binding would happen.

"You two," Kingsley said pointing to Marcus and Caius, "are not bound by this agreement. You each will have to make a separate vow."

"Separate vow for what?" Aro asked, tilting his head to the side.

"If you break your vow, you will die," I said. "If you die, I can almost guarantee that they will come for me if that happens. This vow is to ensure that I will not be harmed if you don't uphold your vow and that these to will take over your vow if you die."

Caius turned to look at me.

"What this your idea?"

"Yes."

"Very smart," Caius mused. "I admire that. I will agree to do this simply because I admire the amount of thought you put into this."

"How will I die?" Aro asked. "Aren't we already technically dead?"

"Yes, but the charm will know how to destroy you. If you don't break the vow, you have nothing to worry about."

Aro nodded.

"So how do we do this?"

"Hold out your right hand," Kingsley said as I extended mine.

As Aro held out his right hand, I closed the space in between us. Kingsley pulled out his wand and rested it against mine and Aro's enclosed hands.

"Alice?"

"Do you, Aro, swear that you will stay away from my family unless I have given you my permission?"

"I will," Aro said.

As the first ring shot out of Kingsley's wand, I winced slightly. The ring was like a hot wire coiling around my wrist.

"And will you swear that you will never cause them any harm?"

"I will."

"And do you swear that you will never change any witch or wizard for the use of your guard?"

Aro looked at me in surprise.

"I will."

"And do you swear that you will not send any members of your guard to my family in an attempt to find a loophole in your vow?"

"I will."

I let go of Aro's hand. Astonished, he rolled up the sleeve of his robe to find four burns on his arm.

"Will these go away?" he asked me.

"No," I said, shaking my head. "They remain there to remind you of the vows you made."

I turned to Marcus and extended my hand.

Kingsley rested his wand on our hands and nodded for me to continue.

"Do you, Marcus, swear that in the event that Aro breaks his vow that you will take on the vows that he swore to?"

"I will," Marcus said, looking to Aro.

"And do you swear that in the event of Aro's death, you will not send any members of your guard, nor will you yourself come to avenge Aro's death?"

"I will."

I nodded and let go of his hand.

"Thank you, Marcus."

He nodded as I moved on to Caius. Caius stared down at my hand before looking up to me.

"I now understand why Aro and Marcus admire your bravery, Alice Cullen."

He took my hand, and he too vowed to the same things that the others had vowed to before him.

"Thank you," I said, as I stepped back into place beside Jasper.

"You are very brave, Alice," Marcus said again. "I don't know if I would have had the courage to do what you've done here today."

I smiled weakly and fell back into place next to Jasper.

"I hope that next time we meet under better circumstances," Aro said.

"As do I," I said. A small part of me had actually hoped that I wouldn't meet the Volturi again, whether the circumstances were good or bad.

"Send my greetings to your family and to Carlisle," Aro smiled.

I nodded.

"Can do."

"Where to now, Alice?" Kingsley asked as he took placed a hand on Jasper's shoulder.

"Back home. To Forks."

Aro, Marcus, and Caius watched as Kinglsey and Jasper disappeared.

"Goodbye," I said, offering a wave before I too disappeared.

When I got there, Kingsley was already gone, and Jasper was waiting behind the couch for me.  
"Kingsley said he had to get back," Jasper murmured as I made my way to the couch.

"That's okay," I whispered as I sank into the couch.

"Alice?" Esme asked, appearing from the stairs. How is it? How did it go?"

"They're safe," I grinned. "I did it."

Esme grinned and rushed to the couch, pulling me into a hug.  
"We're so proud of you, dear. Now it's time to rest."

I smiled and curled up at Jasper's side. For the first time in days, I was finally able to relax.

* * *

 **And there it is! I am so sorry this chapter took so long to get done. I wanted to make sure that everything sounded the exact way that I wanted to and then in the middle of the chapter, I got sidetracked with a paper about Dissociative Identity Disorder that I had to finish. I hope that those who celebrate it had or have an awesome Easter, and I hope that for those who don't celebrate it had an all-around good day.**  
 **Thank you all for your support, and I'll see you in the next one! Bye!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	90. A Day of Flying

_"The reason birds can fly and we can't is simply because they have perfect faith. For to have faith is to have wings." ~Peter Pan_

* * *

Chapter 90- A Day of Flying

In the days after making the Unbreakable Vow, I was more relaxed than I had been since James, Victoria, and Laurent made their first visit to Forks last year. Bella told Charlie that we had gone to L.A to clear things up with Edward, and Carlisle told the people of Forks that I had to stay there a little bit longer to get cleared for travel after my running with Bella. He told them that Jasper was staying with me and he would bring me back when I was cleared.

George came as scheduled Friday evening. He brought Fred and a bag filled with all the things that they would both need for the weekend.

"Hi, baby boy," I grinned as George passed Fred to me.

Fred gave me a wide toothless grin and reached his hands to my face.

"He knows who you are," Esme smiled as she watched us.

"He saw her every day for months," George said, smiling. "He was upset when Angelina and I would go to the Burrow and Alice wasn't there."

"I miss not being there with him every day. James and Albus too."

"All of the kids miss you and Jasper. Victoire was asking Bill when you'd be coming back to stay."

"What'd he tell her?"

"He's going to send you a letter and see about bringing them here to see you."

"You all trust us with your children?" Rosalie asked as her eyes flickered between George and the baby.

"We trust Alice and Jasper, and they trust you. Alice doesn't trust just anyone, so we have no reason to not trust you guys around them."

"They were very understanding about the accident at Bella's party."

"That's because we know you didn't mean it."

"How?" Carlisle asked raising an eyebrow.

"Alice," George said. "Think about it, Carlisle, do you think Alice would bring Jasper around us if she thought that he was a danger to us?"

"Yes," Rosalie said automatically. "I'm not saying that Jasper is dangerous because he isn't, but I do think that she would bring him around you guys even if he was dangerous."

I frowned.

"Why would you think I'd do a thing like that?"

"Because you love him," Rosalie said. "He's the thing you love most in the world and you'd do anything to make him happy."

"That's not true," Jasper said. "Alice does love me, but she's worked so hard to keep her family safe that she's not going to let anything ruin that. Not even me."

"I agree with Jasper," George said.

"But say that James was dead, the Volturi wasn't a threat, but Jasper was. Do you truly think that she wouldn't be so excited to introduce you guys to him that she wouldn't stop to consider Jasper being a threat?"

"I gave up my humanity to keep them safe," I said through clenched teeth. "I missed seven years of their lives to keep them safe. I convinced them that I was dead! I would make sure that Jasper wasn't a danger and if I thought that there was the slightest possibility that Jasper would hurt them, then I wouldn't have gone home. I would have waited until Jasper was better because you're right. I love Jasper, and I want him to be happy, but I want to keep my family safe at the same time."

Rosalie looked to the floor.

"It was a hypothetical scenario," she said quietly.

"I'm sure," I frowned as I turned back to the baby. "Are we going to work on Apparition tonight?" I asked, changing the subject, "or do you want to start tomorrow?"

"We can start tonight," George said. "I'm sure Jasper wouldn't mind holding Fred for a while."

"I don't mind," Jasper smiled holding his arms out to take Fred.

"Maybe I could hold him," Rosalie said quietly as she stepped towards me.

I turned to George.

"Georgie?"

George studied Rosalie for a moment.

"Rosalie can take him until we finish practicing," George said. "After that, I want him to come back to me, Alice, or Jasper. I'm sorry, but I don't know any of you well enough."

"We understand," Esme smiled. "We don't expect you to feel comfortable leaving your baby with somebody that you just met a few days ago."

I shifted the baby to Rosalie.

"Make sure to keep the blanket between you," I told her folding the blanket over Fred's feet. "The cold usually doesn't bother him, but George told me the other day that he had a cold before I took off for Italy, and I don't want him to get sick."

"She's got this, Alice," Jasper smiled. "Don't worry. I'll be with her to help her out."

I nodded and darted to George's side.

"I'm sorry," I told him quietly. "I know he's not my kid, but I—"

"Don't worry about it, Ali," George grinned. "I understand. You know, in another life, you would have been an amazing mother."

"You think so?"

George nodded.

"Is there nothing you can do?" he asked. "Is there a potion you could take?"

I shook my head, understanding what he was asking.

"It's not possible. Jasper and I can't have kids."

"What about changing a kid?"

"No, no, no," I said quickly. "No. We can't. The Volturi would come for us. It's one of the rules."

"I'm sorry," George said. "I didn't know."

"I know. It's okay. Let's just start practicing."

George smiled and nodded.

George and I practiced until close to eight that evening. Edward came towards the end and watched with everyone else.

"I talked to Kingsley," George told me as Rosalie was giving Fred back to me. "He said he's talked to the Department of Magical Transportation in Britain and with MACUSA. They're going to revalidate your license so you won't have to take the test. The Ministry sent MACUSA the report from your test and your Animagus file."

"Thanks, George," I said as we sat down in the dining room for George to eat dinner.

Edward sat down next to us.

"Bella says hello," he told me with a smile. "She misses you."

"I'll be back in school before she knows it," I said.

"She said she would come here, but she's grounded."

"She's eighteen," I frowned. "The last time I was grounded was when I was fifteen. It was for something stupid, but I got grounded nonetheless."

"She doesn't want to fight with Charlie."

"Why is she grounded?" George asked as he took a bite of mashed potatoes.

"For running to Italy."

"Well, Charlie thinks she went to L.A," I pointed out. "But her running away is the basics of it."

"So where does everyone think you are? You said you haven't left the house since you got home."

"They think I'm in L.A getting cleared by a doctor."

"Cleared for?" he pressed.

"Travel. We're saying that the stress of running from L.A to Forks and back put too much stress on my body and I got sick again."

"Very smart."

I nodded.

"I thought so," I grinned.

Throughout the rest of the day, and into the night, Fred stayed with me while Rosalie watched us from the far side of the room. She was slightly upset at the fact that George asked that Fred stays with me or Jasper.

George told me that I could feel free to take Fred out of the house because he knew I was starting to get restless staying inside, but I didn't know how far I could take him, so I walked back and forth in the living room.

"Maybe we could go see Bella," I murmured quietly. "You said you wanted to talk to her and I don't think she can come here."

"What about Fred?"

"George said I could take him out of the house. I'm sure he wouldn't mind."

"He's still awake if you want to be sure," Carlisle said as he made his way to the couch where Esme sat reading a book.

"How do you know?"

"His breathing hasn't changed since he went upstairs."

George had decided to go lay down twenty minutes prior. He used to fall asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow, but I expect that that's changed since Fred was born.

"I'll go ask to be safe," I murmured. "Esme, can you hold the baby?"

Esme grinned and laid her book on Carlisle's lap.

"Is George going to be okay with this?"

I nodded.

"He likes you."

I jerked my head towards the stairs at Jasper and held out my hand.

"Come on."

Jasper took my hand and followed me upstairs and up to Edward's room where George was staying.

I knocked quietly on the door and waited for George to answer.

"Come in."

I stepped inside and smiled.

"Hey, Georgie."

"Where's Fred?" George asked, looking at my hands that were dropped at my side.

"He's downstairs with Esme," I said, tapping the floorboard with the tip of my show. "I came to ask you a question, and he was asleep so I didn't want to carry him up the stairs."

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong. Jazz and I were thinking about going to see Bella and I wanted to bring Freddie with us."

"Alice, I told you that you could take him out of the house."

"But you never gave me a distance limit—"

"Because I trust that you'll keep him safe no matter where you take him."

"We—Carlisle and I—thought that it might be a good idea to be sure considering your opinion of Edward," Jasper said.

"You'll both be there?"

I nodded.

"Then I'm okay with you taking him. As long as one of you are there at all times. Just don't leave Freddie alone with Edward, Al."

I nodded.

"Understood."

"Go and have fun. I'll see you in the morning."

I smiled and nodded.

As I went to turn to head out the door, George began to drift off to sleep.  
"Night Georgie," I smiled, pulling the door shut.

Jasper and I made our way out the door and back down the stairs.

"I think we're going to try Apparating there," I murmured as I took Fred back. "That's probably going to be easier on the baby."

"How is that easier on the baby then running?" Rosalie asked in disbelief.

"Rosalie, I think Alice knows what's best for him," Carlisle said.

"No she doesn't," Rosalie said. "There is no way that's safe for a baby."

"If it wasn't safe, do you think George would ever Apparate with Fred? Do you think anybody in our world would Apparate if it was dangerous?"

"But splinching—"

"Is a risk. All means of travel, Muggle or otherwise, has its risk. It's no different from getting into a car. George trusts me, Rosalie. Therefore, I don't need your opinion on how to take care of Fred. He's not your baby."

"He's not yours either," she snapped back.

"Maybe not," George said from the stairs, "but he is her godson and in a sense, he's her nephew."

"I'm sorry, George, I didn't mean to wake you," I said quickly running to him.

George shook his head.

"You didn't. I just came down for a drink of water and I overheard your argument."

I watched as Rosalie turned away from us with disbelief and glared at the floor.

"Feel free to Apparate with Fred," George continued. "You can't practice how to safely Apparate with a baby if you don't have a baby."

I smiled and gave George a one-armed hug.  
"Thanks, George. I'll see you in the morning."

"Tell Bella I said hello," he said before he accepted the glass of ice water that Esme held out to him. "Thank you."

I held my hand out to Jasper.

"Ready to go?"

Jasper nodded and took my hand.

I didn't say anything else before the two of us disappeared.

I landed outside of the woods at Bella's house. I immediately stopped to check Jasper and Fred to make sure that they were both alright.

"Ali, we're fine," Jasper said as I studied his face making sure that nothing was missing.

"I'm just making sure," I smiled, standing on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

Jasper smiled.

"You did wonderfully."

I grinned again and led him to the window.

Inside, I could hear Edward and Bella talking quietly inside.

"Alice is outside," Edward murmured. "Can she come up?"

"Of course!" Bella exclaimed.

I smiled and jumped up sitting on the window pane and slipped inside. I held Fred tightly the entire time, before moving out of the way of the window so Jasper could come up.

"Hi, Bella," I grinned as I moved to sit in the rocking chair in the corner.

"Who is that?" Bella asked, raising an eyebrow.

"This is Fred. George's son. George is in town for the weekend, and I'm watching Fred while he's sleeping. George says hello."

"I wish I could meet him," Bella said.

"You will one day. Charlie isn't going to ground you forever."

"Are you sure?"

I nodded as I looked down to Fred. He was starting to wake up.

"Hiya, Freddie," I grinned.

Fred gave me a toothless grin.

"How old is he?" Bella asked.

"Almost seven months," I smiled. "He wasn't long being born when I went home. He's going to start teething soon. Georgie and Angelina are going to have their hands full."

I laughed quietly as Fred cooed.

"I haven't seen you this happy before," Bella said.

I grinned up at her.

"I'm happier now that I have them back in my life."

"Edward says your thinking about leaving," Bella whispered.

Edward looked at Bella wide-eyed.

"Why would you say that," he hissed.

"I'm not thinking about it," I said. "I only said that if Rosalie and Edward push me to my limit then I will go. Otherwise, I have no intention of leaving."

Bella edged closer to me and Fred.

"He's a spitting image of George," I told her. "He's going to look exactly like Freddie when he's grown up."

"Why did you come here?" Edward asked.

"Jasper wants to talk to Bella," I said, "and I haven't seen her since her vote."

"I'm sorry for that," Bella said. "I didn't realize the stress it would put you through."

"No worries," I smiled. "I'm alright now."

"So what are you guys doing here?"

"I wanted to talk to you," Jasper said.

"About?"

"What happened at your birthday."

"Jasper, you don't need to do that," Bella frowned.

"Yes I do," he said. "Alice keeps telling me that it's okay, but I have to apologize to you."

"It is okay," Bella said. "Trust Alice. She's usually right,"

"I know she is," Jasper smiled. "It goes further than her visions."

"Intuition," I said, smiling up at Jasper.

Jasper sat on the floor next to the rocking chair and turned back to Bella.

"Alice saw you the day Edward left. She heard Edward say that what happened on your birthday was an accident waiting to happen."

"Jasper, you know I—"

Jasper held up a hand to Edward and cut him off.

"He's right. It was bound to happen one day. It's taken me longer to adapt to the diet than it did for Alice. I'd spent so long drinking human blood that it's hard to switch, even after fifty years."

"I know that," Bella said. "I don't blame you for what happened. I know that if you had the choice, you wouldn't have attacked me."

"No. I wouldn't have. If I had the choice, I wouldn't attack any humans."

"Why is it easier for you to be around Alice's family?" Bella asked. "You spent months right after the attack with them and didn't hurt or attempt to hurt any of them."

"For one, they don't smell the same as a regular human. James was right, it was a smell very different from that of a regular human, such as yourself, but I didn't find it appealing the same way he did."

"There's something else, isn't there?" I asked, looking at him.

Jasper nodded.

"On the way there, I kept telling myself, 'They're Alice's family. It'll kill her if you hurt them, and she'll hate you forever'." He paused and looked over at Fred. "Then we got there, and they accepted me into their family so quickly, and I realized that I would have never been able to hurt them."

Fred grinned his toothless smile at Jasper and reached out.

"I think he wants his Uncle Jasper," I smiled.

Jasper grinned back and took the baby.

"Does he ever cry?" Bella asked watching the two of us.

"Barely," I said. "Usually I was able to catch what he wanted quick enough before he started to cry."

"Can you read his mind?" Bella asked Edward.

Edward nodded.

"There isn't much as far as words, but he gets happy when he hears Alice talk."

I turned to Bella.  
"Are you sure you want to give up this life?" I asked her. "You could have this one day."

"Have you changed your mind?"

"No," I said, "but I don't want you to feel like you have to do this either. You have a choice."

"You had a choice too," she reminded.

I shook my head.

"I never had a choice. If I chose not to do this, everyone I loved would have died."

"The Volturi—"

I held up a hand.

"If you didn't want this life, I would talk to Aro, and convince him to either let me Obliviate you or let Tobias erase your memories of us, of our world. Both would be effective, but Tobias could create new memories for you. "

"I don't _want_ new memories, Alice," Bella hissed. "I want this. I'm sure. I'm okay with not having kids."

"So was she," Edward said, "and then she met Jasper."

"I wouldn't change anything," I said. "Don't get that confused. But I wish Jasper and I could have our own baby. One that could grow up with Fred and James and Albus and all the other kids. A baby who would grow up and go to Hogwarts. But I won't get that."

"Stop trying to change my mind!" Bella half-shouted.

I shushed her with wide eyes.

The room went quiet as we listened to Charlie. His breathing changed.

"Dammit!" I said. Jasper and I darted straight for the closet while Edward slid under the bed.

"Freddie, it's time to be quiet," I whispered to him.

Fred looked up at me in wonder and Jasper turned to me.

"I didn't think to put up a silencing charm," I whispered to him. "Freddie almost never cries."

"It's okay. Bella will figure it out."

Charlie was at the room know.  
"Is everything okay?" he asked.

"Everything's fine, Dad," Bella said in a fake groggy tone. "Just a bad dream."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"No," Bella said. "I just want to go back to bed."

Charlie was quiet for a moment, then I heard the door shut and his footsteps disappeared. Jasper and I waited for a couple more minutes before he fell back asleep.

When I stepped out of the closet, I held my finger to my lips and walked towards the door, holding my hands out in front of me as I whispered incantations.

"What is she doing?" Bella whispered to Edward.

"Silencing charms so we won't wake up Charlie again," Jasper whispered back.

"You need to keep your voice down anyways," I hissed. "I don't know if the baby has sensitive hearing or not."

"Sorry," Bella said quietly.

"I think he's okay, Alice," Edward said.

"What's the baby feeling?" Bella asked Jasper.

Jasper studied Fred's face.

"It's harder to read babies," he said, "but Fred's emotions are clear as day. He's happy."

"Was there anything else you wanted to talk to Bella about?" Edward asked quietly. "I'm sure she's going to want to be getting to bed soon."

I studied Edward's face.

"Edward," Bella hissed, "don't be rude!"

"He's not being rude," I said, locking eyes with Edward. "He just wants you to himself."

"But I haven't seen you in days," she complained.

"I'll come to see you as soon as my energy is back. I'm going to go back a few days earlier than planned so I appear weak."

Jasper hated the plan and glared at me disapprovingly.

"She'll be okay," Edward said.

"What happens if she gets hurt?"

"Would it make you feel better if I walked her to class?" Edward asked.

"No," Jasper said in a low growl.

"Jazz," I said quietly. "Don't do this here. Not with the baby."

Jasper leaned over.

"Can we go home?" he whispered.

I nodded.

"Yeah. Hold the baby. I'll Apparate us back."

Jasper moved away from the window and stood at the foot of Bella's bed.

"Bye, Bella," I smiled. "I'll see you soon."  
"I'm glad we got to talk," Jasper said.

"Alice wait—"

We were gone before Edward had the chance to say anything else.

My energy reached its highest point on Saturday evening. It became a quicker incline than I had expected it to me. Carlisle was monitoring it more closely. George and I continued practicing through it.

"I think you've pretty much got it, Ali," George told me.

"I guess it's like learning to ride a bike," I smiled.

"Has she learned everything she needs?"

George nodded.

"Alice always learned quickly. It shouldn't surprise me that she relearns things even quicker."

"Are you still staying until Monday?"

George nodded.

"Definitely. Angelina isn't going to be back until Tuesday, and Ron said he would make sure everything went okay at the store."

"So what are we going to do?" Jasper asked.

I grinned.

"I wanna fly."

"Fly," George repeated. "Like with a broom or—"

I cut George off.  
"Yes," I said quickly. "With a broom."

"Are there other ways of flying?" Carlisle asked looking between George and me.

I glared at George.

"Yes," I said after a moment. "Flying come can be achieved by means of a broom or by bewitching an object to fly. Carpets, cars, things like that. Voldemort figured out a way to fly without a broom, or without any type of support. He didn't show it publically until the Battle of the Seven Potters, but in the time before and after that battle, he taught Severus and me how to fly."

"Can you still do it?"

"I haven't tried since I was changed, although seeing as I can Apparate now, I don't see why I wouldn't be able to."

"Could I see?" Jasper asked.

I nodded and moved through the house to the backdoor.

Everyone followed me outside.  
"Alice, you don't have to do this," Jasper reminded me as I began to focus.

"I know," I said. "But I can't deny that I've been curious."

"This isn't dark magic, is it?" Esme asked.

I shook my head.

"I just don't like using anything that Voldemort taught me."

I focused on flying, think of the last time I flew.

After a moment, I began to feel myself being lifted in the air. I felt weightless as I began to rise towards the sky.

"Not too high, Alice!" Carlisle called. "I don't know if they could see you on the road."

I hovered just slightly below the trees and began flying above their heads. After a moment I dropped back down in front of them.

"Flying looks like fun," Emmett grinned.

"I find flying by broom or carpet better."

"There are actually flying carpets?" Rosalie asked.

I nodded.

"If they're bewitched."

"And Voldemort taught you how to do that?"

I nodded.

"He started teaching me the day after I was branded. He started teaching me his secrets as I worked my way through the ranks."

I shook my head quickly in attempts to keep the memories at bay.

"Enough about that," I said. "I'm going to go get my broom."

I jumped up into my open bedroom window, landing on the floor with a small thud.

In mine and Jasper's closet, against the back corner, stood my broom. I had barely used it since I bought it in Diagon Alley when I got it. I had used it while playing Quidditch, but I hadn't used it since I had gotten home. Carlisle wouldn't allow it because of how close we were to the city.

After grabbing my broom I darted back through the room and out of the window, landing in the spot where I had begun to fly.

"I'm going to put up some temporary charms in the sky around the house," I said. "If I fly over the trees, they wouldn't see me."

Carlisle nodded in approval as I mounted my broom and kicked off.

Being able to fly again was one of the most freeing things for me. I could remember being a teenager and flying to calm my nerves. When Remus and I argued, even about the small things, I would take my broom and fly. In Hogwarts, I used to go to the Quidditch Pitch and fly, and even after I stopped playing, I used to hover on my broom nearby.

When I lowered back down after a few minutes, I looked at Emmett.

"Hey Em, wanna fly?" I asked.

His grin stretched from ear to ear as he ran forward.

"Just climb on," I said. "Like a horse."

"It's not going to hurt him is it?"

I shook my head.

"If he falls it might be a little loud though."

I kicked off again as Emmett grabbed my waist.

"Woah," he exclaimed. "This is awesome, Al!"

"You think so?"

"I can't believe you can do this whenever you want."

"I love flying," I smiled. "I learned when I was five, and I've been flying ever since."

"You know, you shouldn't take anything Rose says to heart," he said a touch quieter. "We all really want you to stay."

"It's not just Rosalie," I sighed. "It's Edward too. Both of them keep saying that they'll change and then they don't. I can only put up with so much."

"Ali, I—"

I shook my head.

"Not now. Let's just have fun today."

Emmett agreed and I grinned.

"Hold on tight," I said before looping the broom.

Emmett's booming laugh echoed off the trees. The others craned their neck to watch us.

"It's easier to fly at night," George was telling Jasper when Emmett and I landed. "The charms on the broom can be passed off as a trick of the light, tiredness, things like that."

"So she'd be safe flying here?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded.

"Of course I'd be safe. And if it would make you feel better, I'll put up charms before I fly."

Carlisle nodded.

"I think that'd be the safest path to go. But you can't fly when your energy drops until it's back to normal."

"I think that that's a given," I frowned.

Carlisle eyed the broom.

"Could I ride?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Sure."

When Carlisle and I kicked off, he had about the same response as Emmett, watching the ground below him grow smaller and smaller.

"My father used to lead hunts for supernatural creatures; werewolves, vampires, witches. He used to tell me that a witch's powers were harnessed through her broomstick," Carlisle said.

"Not true," I said simply, glancing over my shoulder. "Our powers are harnessed through our wands. That's why we usually have them on hand. If they're unprotected then somebody could steal them, and we would be left defenseless unless, like me, you could produce magic without a wand."

"Why do you think your kind exist?" he asked.

"I've never really thought about it. Maybe there was a mutation somewhere and it became a dominant gene over the Muggle gene. Maybe like Muggles, maybe we evolved from something else."

"Why can't you guys walk amongst Muggles?"

"We attract too much attention. We used to live in peace alongside them, but then the Muggles became afraid and my kind decided that we would create a hidden world where we could live happily. My father's childhood home is hidden amongst the homes of Muggles. It has a Fidelius Charm on it, so the Muggles can't see it."

"How do they not notice it?"

"The numbering on the houses goes from eleven to thirteen. They think that the contractors made a mistake during construction and just never changed it."

"There's so much about your world that we still don't know," Carlisle frowned. "We've known you for nearly sixty years and there are still things we don't know."

"There are thousands of years of history," I said. "Dating back all the way to before the ancient Egyptians. It's a lot to learn in fifty years for people who do not come from the same world."

"But you've learned it all in a matter of twenty-one years."

"Because I grew up in the Wizarding World. I took six years worth of history classes and I was always reading. I didn't have televisions, and phones, and computers. So I read and I played chess and Gobstones."

"I didn't have Gobstones, but I did read and play chess. I didn't read for fun though. I was mostly researching the creatures that my father hunted."

"How'd he find out about us anyways?"

"He said that when he was a child, he saw a woman appear and disappear all in the same second."

"So he saw a witch Apparate?"

"I don't know what he saw," Carlisle frowned. "I think that my father was insane."

"That's also possible," I said. "But even if he was mad, he was right."

"Were you ever afraid? Growing up with all the monsters in your world?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I was never afraid of werewolves because of Remus. Vampires, I had only been around a few and I was a very well known person because of my father, but the other creatures, I knew that they would only hurt me if I provoked them."

"It's a good way of thinking. It's kind of like the animals here. You don't provoke a bear and it won't attack you."

"I don't know if that's entirely true. A bear attacked Emmett, didn't it?"

"Yeah, but we don't know the reason."

"Ask him."

"I did. He doesn't remember."

It wasn't entirely impossible. Emmett did seem like the type to provoke a bear.

"Well coming into my world seems scary, but it's not," I smiled. "It just takes some time to get used to it."

"Jasper adjusted quickly."

"Some people do adjust more quickly than others. I've watched many Muggleborns come in and out of Hogwarts. Some, it took a year or so. Others, it takes a few days."

"Does the same thing apply in reverse?" Carlisle asked.

"What do you mean?"

"You still aren't completely used to the Muggle world, and you've been in it for nearly sixty years."

"That's because Muggles have a lot of technology that we didn't have in my world. My world is more advanced in some aspects. Your world is more advanced in others."

Carlisle was quiet for a moment. The only sounds were the wind going past us. Somewhere in the distance, a small bird sang its song.

Carlisle didn't fly with me for much longer. When we landed, Rosalie stepped forward.

"Can I?"

I nodded.

"Go ahead."

Once Rosalie and I were in the sky, she too started up a conversation.

"You know, it's not my intention to drive you away."

I sighed.

"I'm sure it's not, but I'm not going to continue to let you and Edward make me feel worse about myself than I already do."

"Alice, we didn't know—"

"No," I agreed. "You didn't know. I don't think that I should have to tell you that you should change the way you act towards me because it makes me feel bad about myself. It should be a given to be a decent person.'

"So are you leaving?"

"I don't know. I told Carlisle I'd see if anything changed. If it doesn't, then I'm leaving. If it does, then I'll stay."

"How are you going to leave? The people of Forks would notice that you were gone."

"The same way that I would leave anywhere else. We'd say I died. That my heart just gave out."

"You have this all planned out, don't you?" Rosalie asked.

"There wasn't much to plan."

"Will Jasper be going with you?"

"That's up to him. I'm not going to make him move away, but if he wants to come with me he can."

"What will be his reasoning for leaving?"

'He's over eighteen. He didn't want to stay here without me so he went to go find my family to tell them what happened to me."

"Where would you go?"  
"Home. To England."

Rosalie sighed.

"How long have you been thinking about leaving?"

"Since we came back in January," I admitted keeping my eyes forward.

"What about Bella?"

"What about Bella?" I asked, stopping the broom in the sky before turning to face Rosalie.

"What would we tell her?"

"The truth. That I left and that she's more than welcome to come to England to visit me."

Rosalie frowned.

"What if—"

"Rosalie, stop it," I said. "If I want to leave, that's my choice. Not anybody else's."

"But—"

"No buts. If you wanted to leave, you would, but nothing has been determined. For right now, I'm staying here and giving you and Edward time to make things right."

Rosalie nodded and I turned back around and headed straight for the ground.

"Jasper? Esme?" Would either of you like to fly?" I asked.

Jasper opened his mouth to speak, but then somebody else started talking behind me.

"I would," Edward said.

I nodded and gestured to the back.

"Hop on."

As Edward and I started climbing, he began to talk quietly.

"Emmett was showing me you flying. Without the broom."  
"I try not to use that often," I said, "but even I can't deny that it's a helpful trick to have."

"I want to apologize," he said. "Bella is upset with me for the way I've treated you since her arrival."

"I don't want you to apologize because Bella asked you to," I said, frowning. "I want you to apologize because you mean it."

"I do mean it," he said. "It's only that Bella helped to me realize what I did wrong."

"Well, I'm glad that somebody got through to you. I just wish you could have figured out that bit on your own."

"I wish that I had too."

"You still need to show me that you're going to change," I said. "Actions are louder than words."

"I know I have no place asking you for favors, but can I ask for one?"

"What is it?" I sighed.

"I want to know if Bella would be better with Jacob."

I stopped the broom and turned to face him.

"You want to do what?"

"I love her. I really, really, do love her. And that's why I want what's best for her. I want to know whether she'd be happier without me."

"I can't see the wolves," I said.

"Please, Alice," he whispered. "Try. Don't do it for me. Do it for her."

I searched his face before sighing.

"Okay," I agreed. "As soon as we land, I'll try to break the barrier and see if I can see."

"Thank you, Alice."

I nodded and began to climb higher in the sky.

"I can see why you like to fly," Edward said.

"It's a great way to clear your mind," I remarked with a grin.

"Do you ever get tired of it?"

"No," I said shaking my head. "Never."

"Does it make things easier now that Bella knows?"

I nodded.

"I don't have to hide anymore. Do you want me to take you over there tonight? You'd probably get there faster by flying."

"Sure," Edward smiled. "I'd like that."

I nodded.

"Be ready by nine."

I looked down at the ground. I hadn't realized how high I had climbed.

"Hold on tight," I grinned again as I dived straight for the ground.

"Alice, watch out!" Edward yelled as the ground came closer and closer at a rapid speed.

I laughed and at the last second, I pulled the nose of the broom upward before we hit the ground.

"You're insane," Edward breathed as I doubled over in laughter.

"Not really," I said. "That's the fastest way to get down. I've been flying for years. The only way that you'd get hurt is if you fall off and considering that you're not completely human, you wouldn't get injured."

Jasper grinned as he approached.

"I wanna go," he said.

I smiled.

"Come on then."

Jasper waited patiently for Edward to step off the broom and stumble back towards the others before jumping into Edward's place.

"Ready?" I smiled looking over my shoulder.

Jasper wound his arms around my waist before nodding against my shoulder.

"Ready," he confirmed.

I kicked back off the ground and shot up in the sky.

"If somebody had told me sixty years ago that this is the life I would have, I wouldn't believe them," Jasper said.

"I think the same stands for me. I didn't think I was going to make it out of the war alive, so I definitely didn't plan on having a husband."

Jasper smiled against my shoulder.

"George is excited to be here, you know," he said quietly. "He's glad that he has you back."

"I know," I smiled. "I'm glad I get them back too. I'm proud of them. They did what I predicted. They did great things." I turned to look back at Jasper and my smile grew. "I think I did some pretty great things too."

"You did," Jasper smiled leaning forward to kiss my cheek.

I stopped just above the trees before I carefully turned myself to face Jasper.

"Hi," I smiled.

"Hello, Darlin'," Jasper grinned back.

"It's nice to have a second alone, isn't it?" I smiled. "I love George and Fred, don't get me wrong, but it seems like we haven't gotten a whole lot of alone time since I got back from Italy."

Jasper grinned.

"You're right. We haven't, but during the energy decay, we'll have plenty of time alone."

"Maybe so, but I'm going to be unconscious for half of the time. Then right after I go back to school."

"But we'll be together, won't we?"

"I guess we will be."

Jasper pressed a hand against my cheek and smiled.

"I've missed you," he smiled.

I frowned.

"But I've been right here."

"You have," he agreed, "but as you pointed out, it wasn't just us."

I smiled and laid a hand on top of his.

"So," he said, taking his hand off my face and pulling our hands into his lap. "What were you and Edward talking about up here?"

"He wants me to see if Bella would be better off with Jacob."

"But you can't see the wolves," he frowned.

"I have a couple of ideas that I told Edward I would try."

"Do you think you'll be able to see?"

"The chances are slim to none," I said pursing my lips.

"But it's possible?"

I nodded.

"I think that anything is possible."

Jasper smiled and leaned forward to kiss me again.

"Of course anything is possible," he smiled.

I watched Jasper's face for a moment. The joy he felt radiated off of him. After a moment I reached forward to brush his hair out of his eyes.

"Do you like flying more than Apparition, Portkeys, and the Floo Network?"

Jasper nodded.

"It's a lot smoother."

"Edward doesn't seem to like it very much," I grinned.

"I think that's because of how fast you headed towards the ground. The fear he felt was strong."

"It was a test," I said.

"A test?" Jasper frowned.

"To prove he had a soul."

"You didn't prove anything if you didn't tell him why you did it," Jasper murmured.

"I think he'll figure it out. But he thought that I could kill him and he was afraid. So deep down, he must know that he has a soul."

Jasper thought about my words for a moment.

"Smart," he remarked.

I smiled.

"Thanks."

I carefully turned myself around facing the right way.

"Alice, what happens if you fall?" Jasper asked leaning forward. I was almost certain that he was looking at the height.

"It wouldn't hurt me," I said, "but it would be loud, and I'd have to find a way to get my broom back down."

"Wouldn't it just fall?"

I shook my head.

"It would drift. I'd have to use a spell to get it back down."

Jasper frowned.

"But it wouldn't injure you?"

I shook my head.

"Besides, I'd probably catch myself before I hit the ground."

"Probably. And you can fly."

"You're right," I nodded. "I can fly."

I slowly began to drift slowly back to the ground.

"You aren't going as fast as you did with the others," Jasper mused.

"That's because I want you to like at least one form of transportation that my world has to offer."

"One day, after I get used to it, then we can try it faster."

I nodded.

"Deal."

As we sank back to the ground, Jasper loosened his grip around my waist and he began to relax.

"You did fantastically," I grinned as our feet hit the ground. "I was petrified when I first got on a broom."

"Were you really?" Esme asked.

I nodded.  
"I was five years old. Remus had to fly to Hogwarts to check-in with Dumbledore. I never wanted to fly again."

"But you did."

I nodded.

"I decided that I wanted to play Quidditch. I watched the Weasleys play and I didn't want to be left out, so I started to fly."

"She was good at it from the very beginning."

"Who taught you?" Carlisle asked.

"Remus and Bill," I smiled. "Bill taught me when Remus couldn't, but with their help, I learned quickly."

"I wish I could see you before I knew you," Jasper said with a small frown.

"One day, I'll talk to McGonagall about borrowing the school's pensive."

Jasper nodded.  
"There are some of the stories that you told me that I can't picture."

"In some cases, that might be a good thing. I don't want you to see me as a killer."

Jasper shook his head and pulled me into a tight hug.

"Never," he murmured and he pressed his lips against my forehead.

I peeked around at Esme.

"Do you want to fly?"

She smiled and shook her head.

"Another day. But Edward tells us that you promised to look into a few things for him."

I nodded.

"I suppose I should go ahead and get started on that," I murmured more to myself than to the others.

"Do you want us to sit with you?" Jasper asked, gesturing to George and himself.

I nodded.

"Come on," I said. "Edward, you can come too."

Edward nodded and followed Jasper, George and I up to mine and Jasper's room. After getting everything I needed, we all went into the dining room where the others we waiting.

"I think that maybe I can try a couple of different charms to work around the blockages," I said. "Magic might be able to help, but it's not a guaranteed solution."

"Does this break down your limitations to your visions?" Carlisle asked. "Can you see more than just decisions?"

"Some," I said. "Some paths are already certain, and those paths that are set in stone I can see. But future changes. Each decision makes a new outcome. Sometimes, if I focus hard enough, I can lay out each possible outcome."

I took one of the potion bottles off the table and pulled the dropper out of it.

"This may help to clear the blank spots," I said. "Voldemort wasn't happy that I couldn't see beyond certain barriers, so one day, he started experimenting potions. He tried making me drink them, pour them in my eyes, pour them on crystal balls."

"Did any of them work?" Esme asked.

"Barely. But sometimes, I could see it in a blurry picture. Like static, but it's clear enough for me to get an idea of what's happening."

Everyone watched as I hovered my hands on the sides of the ball.

"Aperiam oculos meos," I muttered quietly. "Dimitte me videre quod non ante."

"What does that mean?" Emmett asked leaning forward.

"Open my eyes. Let me see what I couldn't before," I said focusing on the crystal.

"Did you—"

"It was a spell Voldemort made," I said. "I need to focus."

Everyone watched quietly.

A small vague picture appeared in the crystal ball. I could make out Bella for certain. I understood that the figure towering over her was Jacob Black.

"I can see him," I murmured, "but it's not completely clear."

"Can you tell whether or not she'd be better with him?"

"No," I said. "You haven't decided to leave, so I can only see the current path because right now, that's a future that is set in stone."

"So how do I fix it?"

"I need you to make the decision to leave Bella."

Edward's eyes widened.

"Alice, I can't—"

"We're not actually going to leave again. We just need to trick the future long enough for me to try to get a clearer picture."

Edward took a deep breath before nodding. Suddenly, the future in the crystal ball became a swirling mist. It was replaced with Bella again, but Jacob wasn't there.

"Damn it," I growled.

"What is it?" Jasper asked as he laid a hand on the middle of my back.

"Jacob is gone," I huffed. "It'll take me a second to see if I can try to find him."

I began to focus more on the Orb.

Jacob slowly began to reappear in the picture, but just as quickly as he came, he faded back out.

After the second time that Jacob failed to stay in the picture, I hissed and a red light hit the picture across from me, knocking it off the wall and shattering the glass.

My head snapped up and I looked at the wall where the picture had been hanging just seconds before. My eyes finally refocused when I heard Fred's piercing cries.

"George, I'm so sorry," I exclaimed.

"I know," he smiled. "It's okay, Al. You just scared him a bit."

"I think she scared all of us a bit," Emmett grumbled.

George quickly hurried out of the room with Jasper on his heels apologizing for my outburst.

"I don't know what happened," I said looking at the glass. "I couldn't get Jacob to stay in the picture, and then suddenly, I felt the jet leave my hand."

"I'll go get the broom," Rosalie said quietly.

"No need," I said, waving my hand over the glass. It quickly reshaped itself before it followed my hand back to the spot where it had been hanging.

"So what does this mean?" Edward asked, still sitting in the chair he had been in.

"I'm sorry, Edward," I said, shaking my head. "I can't give you what you've asked for. I can't keep Jacob's picture long enough for me to give any valuable information, however, I can take a guess."

"And your guess is?"

"I looked into Bella's mind the first night I came back to Forks. Edward, she was completely broken. I don't think she'd live through you leaving a second time."

Edward nodded and stared at the crystal ball.

"So is there anything you can see for certain about Bella's future?"

I nodded.

"Bella has two possible outcomes. I see her becoming like us, but I can also see her dying."

"The Volturi?" Carlisle asked.

"I don't know. I do know that one of these futures will come true, and it will be soon."

Edward's eyes met mine as I called to mind the future I had seen in the crystal ball before we tried searching for Bella's life without Edward.

"These are the only two certain paths," I told Edward. "Make the right decision, or risk losing her forever."

I turned on my heel and disappeared through the back doors speeding for the woods.

* * *

 **Hey, guys! I am so sorry I waited so long to upload this chapter. It was reaching the end of the school year so everything was getting hectic, and I had to attend several graduations in the last couple of weeks. That is all over now, and I should be able to upload on a more regular and consistent schedule.**

 **I don't think that I have any pressing notes about this chapter, but if you do have any questions whatsoever, don't hesitate to ask through a PM or on a review. I will try to respond as quickly as I can.**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	91. The Lockdown, the Ball, and the Cure

**DISCLAIMER: In this chapter there is dialogue from the Harry Potter series. This dialogue belongs to J.K Rowling, and has been altered to fit the plot of the story.**

 **Enjoy.**

* * *

 _"When you meet the one who changes the way your heart beats, dance with them to that rhythm for as long as the song lasts," ~Kirk Diedrich_

* * *

Chapter 91-The Lockdown, the Ball, and the Cure

George left Monday evening. It didn't take much to get him packed and ready to go, so we spent our time in the living room with the others excluding Edward.

"I'm sure you'll be hearing from Bill soon," George said as we stood by the door. "He misses you. Everyone misses you."

I grinned.

"Send them my love," I smiled, pulling George into a hug. "Tell them that I miss them all too."

George smiled.

"I better get going. It's late. It's after one at home."

I nodded.

"Go ahead," I smiled. "Sleep well, and tell Angelina I said thank you for letting you guys come."  
George nodded.

"Bye, Al."

Then with a small crack, he was gone.

"It's strange seeing him go," I frowned as Jasper wrapped an arm around my waist. "When we were in England, and before I was changed, usually he'd leave and I'd see him the next day. But now...now it's different."

"It's okay, Darlin'," Jasper said, burying his face in my hair. "You can see him anytime you want now that you can Apparate again."

I shook my head and smiled weakly.

"No, I can't. He's got a life now," I said, leaning my head on Jasper's shoulder. "He's got a wife and a kid. Not to mention, I have a life now. I have a husband, who isn't going to be happy if I'm always going back home."

Jasper shook his head.

"You miss your family," he murmured. "You had a life before me. I want you to be happy."

I watched Jasper closely, before pulling him into a tight hug.

"I wish I could have both the Cullens and my family at the same time."

"I know," he said as he rubbed a hand up and down my back."Come on now, love. It's time for you to start resting."

My energy began to drop quickly after that. I was bed-bound, and the longer I was away from school, the more the stack of work on my bedside table grew.

"Everyone is asking about you," Edward said while I was awake the day after my energy had been at the lowest. "And Bella, she wants to come to see you, but—"

"She's grounded," I croaked. "Why don't you sneak her out?"

"She's afraid Charlie will wake up to check on her."

"There are ways to make sure he stays asleep," I said, laughing.  
"That could work," Edward mused.

"It was a joke," Jasper said quickly. "Alice was just joking. Right, Alice?"

I nodded.

"Tell Bella I'll come to see her tomorrow."

Jasper frowned.

"Are you ready for that?"

"I might as well start early. I'm going to have to look weak, and luckily this energy burst was bigger, so it will take me longer to recover from it."

"Alice, you don't have to jump back into it so quickly," Edward said.

I shook my head.

"I'll be fine. Just let me rest."

The sleeping potion seemed to take effect then. My eyes fluttered closed, and Jasper wrapped the blanket tighter around me.

Things were quiet. Peaceful. The black began to swirl, and I began to understand that I must be heading to the Netherworld.

 _The Cullen's living room began to become clear as the swirling background created an actual setting. Fred was already waiting on the couch grinning as he caught sight of me in the doorway._

 _"Good to see you again, Ali," he grinned as I slowly walked to his side. He watched my eyes and his smile fell. "What's the matter?"_

 _"I'm struggling, Freddie," I said, shaking my head. "I miss the others. Harry, George...but Jasper really likes it at the Cullens."_

 _"And you don't?"_

 _"It's not that," I said, shaking my head. "It's only that I feel out of place there. But when I'm home, I feel...well at home."_

 _Fred shook his head._

 _"I'm sorry, Alice. I don't know how to help you there."_

 _"I didn't think you would," I said, leaning back against the couch._

 _Fred frowned._

 _"Don't give me that face," he said._

 _I smiled weakly._

 _"I'm sorry, Fred. I just don't know what to do."_

 _"Talk about something else," he said. "Tell me about Apparition. How is that going?"_

 _"It's going well. It's like riding a bike. Once you've learned, even after a long time, you still remember how to do it."_

 _"So you've learned all there is?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"Everything is back in order."_

 _"Except?"_

 _"Except my life may be at risk again."_

 _"Because of the Volturi?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"Edward is dead set against changing her. But I have a bad feeling."_

 _"About Bella?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"I've been looking at Tarot cards for Bella. Death keeps appearing. I think it's because the path Edward is on will lead her to her death."_

 _"Do you think the Volturi will spare you?"_

 _"No. I think they'd kill me first to try and get Aro out of his Unbreakable Vow."_

 _"You didn't tell them that it lasts even after you've died?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"No. I figured I'd keep that part for myself."_

 _"You've always been too smart," Fred smiled. "It's going to make trouble for Jasper."_

 _I laughed._

 _"It already has."_

 _Fred and I talked for a couple more minutes, but the pull went away quicker than normal._

 _"I've got to get back," Fred said. "They're eager to hear about you starting to Apparate again. They think you're becoming more yourself. "_

 _"I think I am too."_

 _Fred smiled and waved, then suddenly I was gone. Back into the black._

As the day passed, Jasper made sure I wasn't moving any more than I had to. We even agreed that when I came home from school, I would sleep in the evenings and Jasper would do my school work. He started doing the work from the pile that Edward had been bringing home.

"I can do it," I frowned, sitting up.

Jasper shook his head.

"If you want to go to Bella's, you should rest. You can't do that if you're stressing about school work."

I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder.

"Are you sure you don't mind?"

"Of course I don't mind," he said leaning over to kiss my forehead. "I'm glad to be of help."  
I smiled and closed my eyes again.

I woke up around seven the next morning. There was a thick wall of clouds hiding the sun, letting no light escape through it. Jasper helped me up and to the closet.

I decided on an off the shoulder, long sleeved, burgundy shirt, with white jeans and one of Jasper's leather jackets. Jasper held out a pair of black flats.

"They go with the jacket," he smiled.

"Thanks," I smiled as I picked up my bag.

"Edward dropped by earlier while you were sleeping," Jasper murmured as he helped me down the stairs. "He told Bella, and she said that if you need to you can sleep while you're there. So I packed a potion just in case."

"Thanks, Jazz."

Edward stepped through the door and passed Jasper the keys to the Volvo.

"I'll run there after Charlie leaves."

"I'll tell Bella," I nodded.

Jasper grabbed the oxygen tank that was next to the door.

"You'll have to put it on before we get on the road," Jasper murmured as I put on my seat belt. "We're bound to run into people at the stop light."

I nodded and picked up the tubes before putting them in the right place.

"Better?" I asked.

Jasper grinned and nodded.

"You look great, Al."

I smiled and leaned my head against the window.

"Are you coming in with me?" I asked.

Jasper nodded.

"I'll come in for a minute so you don't have to carry the oxygen tank."

Charlie had been asking Edward about Jasper. Wondering how he was doing in college.

"Edward says he was disappointed that you dropped out. He really thought you were going to be something big."

Jasper laughed. "Not in this lifetime."

I shook my head.

"In this lifetime. Just not in this world. In my world, you already are something. You're the one who brought me home."

Jasper smiled and kissed the back of my hand.

Jasper was right. At the stoplight close to Bella's, I saw Mike Newton and Ben Cheney. Mike kept nudging Ben, who looked over and smiled at me before saying something to Mike that I couldn't quite make out.

Charlie's car was still in the driveway when Jasper and I pulled in. We parked on the road in front of the house. Jasper got out first and came to help me out.

"Have Edward called me as soon as you're ready to go home."

I nodded.  
"I will. Stop worrying."

"Never," he murmured, reaching forward to knock on the door.

"Just a minute!" Bella yelled from inside.

I could hear heavy footsteps coming from what I was sure was the kitchen.

The deadbolt unlatched and the lock on the door clicked.

Bella threw the door open and grinned.

"Alice! You're back!"

"Hey, Bella," I croaked as she pulled me into a tight hug.

"Alice!" Charlie exclaimed from behind Bella. "Come in!"

He hurried forward to help Jasper with the oxygen tank, careful to not pull it too far from me.

"I'm glad that you're doing better," he said as he and Jasper walked me to the couch. "Bella told me that Carlisle said that the stress from coming here and then back to LA without a lot of rest put too much stress on your body."

"She's got to wear the oxygen tank longer now," Jasper murmured as he helped me sit. "They're saying early September at the earliest."

"What about you, Jasper? Now that she's home are you going back to college?"

Jasper shook his head.

"Alice needs me now."

Charlie frowned.

"Carlisle and Esme will be there."

Jasper smiled at Charlie.

"I worry too much. Last time she went down I was away and I almost didn't make it in time. I don't want to be too late."

Charlie nodded.

"I understand that. But what about going to college closer to home?"

Jasper shook his head.

"Once Alice graduates I'm thinking of going back closer to home, but for now I want to be here for her."

Charlie nodded.

"That's very admirable."

Jasper smiled and nodded before turning back to me.

"You'll call when you're ready to go home?"

I nodded.

Jasper reached down and kissed the top of my head.

"Chief Swan," Jasper nodded before heading to the door.

"I hope you don't mind my being here," I said to Charlie. "Edward told me Bella was grounded, but I wanted to come and see her."

Charlie nodded.

"I understand. You're always welcome here, Alice. Just don't come if it's going to put too much strain on you."

"Carlisle said that this shouldn't hurt me. He just doesn't want me to drive until I'm better."

"When will that be?"

"A week. Two at most."

"When are you going back to school?"

"Monday morning. Jasper is going to drive me to school and Edward is going to drive me home and then drop off Bella."

"Bella can drive herself," Charlie frowned.

"I know that, but I want to catch up with her. A few days wasn't long enough to catch up on six months."

"Oh, of course," Charlie said quickly. "That's understandable."

I grinned and leaned forward.

"You're sure don't mind my being here, right, Charlie?"

"No, no, of course not! I already told you. You are always welcome here."

I smiled and leaned back and turned to Bella.

"What's on the agenda today?"

"Dad is going to see Billy down in La Push for the day, so you and I are going to hang out here. I have some homework I need to finish, and I have a few college applications to fill out."

"Are you looking into colleges, Alice?" Charlie asked.

I smiled weakly and shook my head.

"The doctors in LA said that I might not be able to attend college. They don't think my body will be able to handle the stress. I'm not getting much better."

"Did you finally get a diagnosis?"

I shook my head.

"They haven't been able to figure it out. But they were afraid that my body was going to start shutting down soon."

"How long?" Charlie asked with wide eyes.

"They say it'll probably start in the next couple years. Five years at the most."

"And the least?"

"The end of the year."

Charlie looked from Bella to me in surprise before grabbing his keys.

"I'm going to go ahead and leave you girls to catch up," he said quietly before quickly heading to the door.

"Why did you tell him that?" Bella asked after the door shut.

"Because when you are changed, we'll have to leave. We need to go ahead and start the story now."

"Does Carlisle know?"

I nodded.

"Carlisle was the one who came up with it actually. We talked about it the night before George and the baby went back home."

"What did George say?"

"Nothing much. He already knew that we had to lie. I keep telling them that if we go to my world we wouldn't have to relocate or lie so much, but they don't really want to move to my world."

"Why?"

"Because this is their world. Their home," I said. "It wouldn't be fair to force them to go out of it."

Edward came close to five minutes after Charlie left.

"Aren't you going to take off your mask?" Bella asked as she and Edward helped me to the kitchen.

"I have to leave it on," I said as I relaxed in my seat. "I can't see when Charlie is coming home."

"Couldn't you see when he's deciding to leave? Wouldn't that separate the block?" Bella asked.

"I can't see anything right now," I murmured. "My energy is still too low. It should come back by Tuesday."

"What about your magic?"

"That's slowly coming back. It doesn't permanently go away. It's just little bursts."

"And your visions?"

"I can't focus on them. I can't suppress them either. I can only see what comes."

"So you can still see?"

I nodded.

"But I'm not as accustomed to Charlie. So I wouldn't see him."

Bella frowned.

"Are you okay with keeping that on all day?"

"I'll be fine," I reassured with a slight yawn.

Bella looked at me carefully before turning back to Edward.

"Do we have to fill out college applications now? I want to hear about Alice's time in England."

"You can talk and fill out applications at the same time."

"He's not going to come off it," I smiled. "I'll help you guys."

"But I want to hear about you going home!"

"I can still tell you. I can even show you. Jasper packed all of my photo albums."

"All of them?"

"From my human life, from the early days of my new life, and of the ones from recent years."

"I've seen the ones from the early days of your vampire life."

"Yes," I agreed. "You have. But I think you will find them more interesting now that you know my secret."

I pulled my bag onto the table and pulled out all of my photo albums.

"Is that a new bag?" Bella asked, reaching out to touch it.

I nodded.

"I got it after we came back from Italy. I went to England to go see my family, and I got it in London. George bought it for me."

"It feels strange. Is it snakeskin?"

I shook my head.

"It's actually dragon hide. You know how people wear leather?"  
Bella nodded.

"Well in my world, dragon hide is like leather, but it feels more like snakeskin. We use it to make clothes. It's hard to destroy, it's waterproof, and has a lot of charms on it. Somewhere, I have an old jacket of Fred's that was dragon hide. I'll have to get Harry to run to my house and see if he can find it."

"Did you keep it when he died?"

I shook my head.

"He left it at my house so I could have a piece of him with me while I was running with the Death Eaters."

"Was it scary?"

"Any war is scary," I murmured. "It's even scarier when you are an undercover agent."

Bella opened one of the photo albums from my human life.

"Woah," she said as her eyes widened. "The pictures! They move!"

"It's a potion," I smiled.

"They didn't move when you showed them to me!"

"That's because I froze them."

 _Amazing,_ Bella thought.

"Thank you," I grinned.

"She didn't say anything," Edward frowned.

"No, but she thought it. I wasn't meaning to listen," I said turning to Bella, "sometimes it's just hard to turn it off. Especially if somebody is thinking as loudly as you are."

"I think loudly?"

I nodded.

"Sometimes it's easier to block out, but with my energy being low, it won't be so easy."

"It's okay," Bella said. "I don't mind."

"I mind," Edward frowned. "How come you get to hear her thoughts and I don't?"

"Because my magic is far more powerful than the gifts of a vampire," I grinned.

 _Don't worry,_ I thought to Edward. _Wait until my energy comes back, and I'll show you inside her mind one day._

Edward smiled at me and looked back down at the application.

"Who is that?" Bella asked, pointing to one of the pictures.

"That's Bill," I said. "He's George's oldest brother. He protected me in my first few years of Hogwarts."

I flipped through one of the albums and found a picture of Bill, Fleur, and I.

"Who's the woman?" Bella asked.

"That's Fleur. Bill's wife."

"She's very beautiful."

"That she is," I agreed. "In my world, there are creatures, semi-humans, called Veelas. Veelas are very beautiful. They can hypnotize and mesmerize most men. Fleur is a fourth-Veela."

"Did she mesmerize you?" Bella asked turning to Edward.

"Of course not," he scoffed. "I was barely around her. We stayed at Alice's most of the time."

"Did you buy a house while you were there?"

I shook my head.

"I got my parent's house transferred out of Harry's name into my name."

"Why was it in Harry's name?"

"Because I died," I chuckled.

"What about Jasper?" Bella asked. "Did he fall for her?"

"No," I smiled. "I asked him about it once. He said that she was beautiful, but that nothing compared to me." I grinned and looked down at my lap. "He wasn't even fazed by her. I don't think Fleur was actually trying to attract anyone. She's happily married."

As Bella flipped through the photo albums, both new and old, she pointed to a few of the pictures asking for their stories.

"In that one," I said as I started filling out an application for Dartmouth, "I was sixteen. It was during a full moon so I went to go stay with the Weasleys. Fred, George, and I wanted to play night Quidditch. So we played Ron and George versus Fred and I. The next night, the three of them went to Surrey while I was sleeping, and they went to rescue Harry. I woke up to Molly yelling at them when they got back the next morning."

I laughed at the memory.

"One day, I am going to talk to McGonagall, and see if I can borrow the Hogwarts Pensieve long enough to copy it. I'll show you some memories. I can show them better than I can tell them."

"Your world," Bella said, "is not how I pictured it to be."

"What'd you picture? Green skin and warts?"

Bella nodded sheepishly.  
"Sorta. And broomsticks and cauldrons."

"Well that part it real," I said. "But warts and green skin, well that was what we told the Muggles so that they wouldn't suspect us."

"Like the vampires did with the garlic, and stakes to the heart?"

"Exactly. But the vampires did that so that the humans would think that they had a fighting chance. Wizardkind did it so that we would have a fighting chance."

"What would the Muggles do if they knew about your kind?"

"They would kill us or imprison us."

"But you have magic," Bella frowned. "How can they kill you?"

"Muggles, they have weapons that we don't. Guns, explosives. We don't know enough about Muggle weapons to create anything to defend us against them."

"Where did you learn about Muggle weapons?"

"Jasper. He told me about the cannons and firearms. The closest weapon we have to Muggle weapons are swords made from Goblin-wrought silver."

"Goblin-wrought silver?"

"It's pure silver that's been enchanted with goblin magic. They've been making it for thousands of years. It absorbs things, which makes it more powerful. Harry killed a Basilisk with the Sword of Gryffindor, and it held the destructive properties of Basilisk venom. I have a goblet at my home in England that I'll show you once I'm better. One night, while your father is sleeping, I'll take you to my house and show you."

"How can we get to and from London before Charlie wakes up?"

"I can Apparate again," I smiled. "Fred, he had a brilliant idea. Maybe I couldn't Apparate in my early days as a vampire because it was before my time, and I couldn't Apparate from '76 to '98 because there were two of me, and I could risk running into myself, but now that there is only one of me again, I can Apparate again."

"Fred? But Fred is dead," Bella frowned.

"Bella," Edward hissed nudging her shoulder.

"No, it's alright," I smiled. "She's not wrong. I'll send Edward with the story tonight, but in my world, we have what's called the Deathly Hallows. One of the Hallows was the Resurrection Stone. It can't bring the dead back completely, but it can awaken them. I can talk to my family."

"You said that the armor made by goblins was more powerful than anything, right?" Edward asked.

"Yes."

"So why can't you guys wear goblin silver armor and go up against the Muggles?"

"Because we want to keep the peace. We really don't want another war. Between Grindelwald and Voldemort, we've had enough."

"But don't you want to be free?"

"We are free. We made the decision to conceal ourselves. We did it to protect ourselves, and to protect our magic."

Bella turned back to the photo album, and Edward and I turned back to the applications.

"You know, I have a better idea," I smiled. "Instead of me going to England, how about I bring England here?"

Bella frowned.

"What are you doing?"

"Kreacher!" I called, pulling the tubes out of my nose.

With a snap, Kreacher stood in front of me.

"Little Miss!" he exclaimed, hugging my leg.

"Hey, Kreacher," I said, kneeling down in front of him. "How are you?"

"Kreacher is happy to see his Little Miss! Where is Master Jasper?"

"He is at home. Kreacher, this is Bella and Edward. Edward is one of the vampires in mine and Jasper's coven. This is Bella. His girlfriend."

Kreacher eyed Bella carefully.

"She is human. And a Muggle at that. Mistress would not be pleased to see you with Muggles, Little Miss."

"Kreacher, be polite," I frowned. "Grandmother Black isn't here. Kreacher, Muggles aren't so bad. They can't help it."

"I'm sorry, Little Miss. What can Kreacher do for you?"

I need you to go to my house in England, and I need you to bring me two objects. Can you do this for me?"

Kreacher nodded.

"Of course, Little Miss."

"The first is a goblet that came from the Grimmauld Place house. It's the one that Mundungus Fletcher stole but you and Dobby got back. The second is in my closet. It is a dragon hide jacket that used to belong to Fred Weasley. Find those two items and bring them back here."

With another snap, Kreacher disappeared.

"And now we wait," I grinned.

"Was that a—"

"A house-elf," I smiled. "My family's house-elf, Kreacher. You'll have to forgive him. Grandmother Black taught him that Wizardkind is superior to Muggles. Even vampires."

"But he likes Jasper," Edward frowned.

"That's because he knows that Jasper is keeping me safe. Harry has been redirecting him, but my grandmother… it's the way she trained him. She wasn't a Death Eater, but she thought that Voldemort had the right idea. So she brought Dad and Regulus to believe the same things. Dad, of course, didn't, but Regulus fell for it."

"What happened to Regulus?" Bella asked. "Is he in England?"

I shook my head.

"Regulus died, three years after I was born. In 1979."

"What happened to him?"

"Regulus became a Death Eater when he was sixteen. He thought Voldemort had the right idea and was doing the right thing. One day, Voldemort asked Regulus to use Kreacher. He tested the defenses against one of his Horcruxes, the locket of Salazar Slytherin. He left Kreacher for dead. Kreacher barely got away, but when he did, he told Regulus about what Voldemort did to him. Regulus wanted to leave. You have to understand, you can't one day decide to leave the Death Eaters. Once you're in, there is no leaving. I'm sure I've explained that to you both. So, Regulus made a copy of the locket. He left a note inside, and he had Kreacher take him to the Horcrux. He was trying to get a drink of water and the Inferi dragged him under, and killed him."

"Inferi?"

"They're kind of like zombies, except they are made by spells. Necromancy. Voldemort made armies of them during both of the wars. He used the people he murdered, and he brought them back."

"I thought you said magic couldn't bring back the dead."

"It can't. Inferi aren't alive. If you bring something back from the dead, it's not going to bring back the person you want. It's going to bring something much much worse. These things, these creatures, they don't have a soul."

"Where did you learn that story?"

"Kreacher told it to me. Dad mentioned I had an uncle but never talked about him. So one day, I went into the kitchens of Grimmauld Place and I asked Kreacher what happened to Regulus."

"Do you have pictures?"

I shook my head.

"I never met him."

"And your grandmother?"

"I met her once or twice. She owled Remus and told him that she wanted to meet me. He thought it was a good idea for me to meet my family. To know where I came from."

"But?"

"It just didn't work out."

Before I could elaborate any further, another crack signaled Kreacher's return.

"Little Miss," Kreacher greeted. "I have found the items you seek."

"Thank you, Kreacher," I said taking the stuff he held out to me.

"Of course, Little Miss."

I reached into my bag and pulled out my coin purse. I examined it closely, before pulling out three Galleons and holding them out to Kreacher. He observed them for a moment before shaking his head, holding my hand, and pushing it away from him.  
"Kreacher lives to serve Little Miss, Master Harry, and Master Jasper. He can not take Little Miss's money."

I attempted to hand it back to him. This time he took the money, but he dropped it back into my change pouch.  
"You keep it, Little Miss."

I sighed.

"If you insist."

"Kreacher must return to Hogwarts, but should Little Miss need Kreacher, she need only call and Kreacher will appear."

"Thank you, Kreacher," I smiled.

With one final crack, Kreacher was gone.

I turned back and laid the goblet and jacket on the table before readjusting my tubes. After a moment, I pushed the goblet to Bella.

"This is Goblin-wrought silver. It looks like regular silver, but it's much stronger. A thief, Mundungus Fletcher stole them after my father died. Harry caught up to them, got them back for me. The Black family is dying out. When I'm gone, it will be gone too."

"But you won't die," Bella frowned.

"Alice," Edward warned. "Don't. Please."

I sighed and shook my head.

"She should know."

"Know what?" Bella asked.

"I took full responsibility for Edward's mistakes that day in Volterra. If you aren't changed, there will be a price for my head."

"And you were going to let her die?" Bella demanded, turning to face Edward. "All because you don't want me to be like you?"

"You'll be changed," Edward said. "After graduation. But, if you want me to change you instead of Carlisle, then my condition still stands."

"Wait, but in Volterra, they said that you wouldn't pay for Edward's mistakes."

"But I promised them that I would see to it that you were changed. Even if I had to do it myself. I told Edward that there are two certain paths for you. First, you become like us. The second, you die."

Edward glared at me.

 _Why would you tell her that?_ Edward hissed in his head.

"Because it was her right to know."

We stopped with the applications close to two o'clock that afternoon. I told Bella stories about home, and growing up.

"Did you ever want to go back to the Order? And fight for them full time?"

"Of course I did," I sighed. "Everyday. But I knew that Dumbledore put me with the Death Eaters for a reason. At the time, the reason wasn't very clear, but now it is. I had to be with the Death Eaters to keep Harry alive."

"But what if you died?"

"You know how you were willing to die because you thought James had your mother?" I waited for Bella to nod. "It's no different than that. I had to fight for Harry. Whether I lived or died wasn't the point. It was for him."

Close to three, we moved back to the living room, where I laid down on the couch, Edward sat at my feet, and Bella sat in the chair beside us.

"Are you going to go to sleep?" Bella asked. "Edward said that Jasper packed you a potion."

"It's rather rude, don't you think? For me to come here and sleep when I'm supposed to be visiting with you?"

"It's not a bad idea," Edward said. "I think Charlie would call Jasper to come to get you once he gets back, and you get to rest. "

"What would I tell Charlie about the blanket? Do you think it could fit in a normal bag like this?"

"If rolled right, that blanket could fit into the bag," Edward said. It's more of a messenger bag type than a purse."

"That's why I got it," I smiled.

"So go to sleep," Edward said pulling my bag to him and pulling out the blanket and the potion.

"Do you have the same setup of that bag that you had on the old one?" Bella asked. "The room in the bottom?"

"Not yet," I said. "But I'm thinking of having a switch to flip when there are Muggles are around."

"Where did you come up with that?"

"Newt Scamander," I smiled. "He's a magizoologist. I idolized him as a child. I still do. I would love to meet him."

"Could you meet him?" Bella asked as Edward handed me the potion.

"I don't think he knows who I am," I laughed.

"But aren't you famous in your world?"

I shrugged.

"I don't know if you'd consider me famous. But my actions were seen as heroic."

"Alice?"

"Hmmm?" I asked closing my eyes.

"What's the one thing you wish you could change about the war?"

"I wish I could save everyone," I said as a lump grew in my throat causing my voice to break. "I tried to save everyone but I couldn't."

I sucked in a deep breath but before I could say anything else Edward began shushing me.

"Shhh," Edward said, draping Jasper's jacket over me. "That's enough, Alice. Do you want me to call Jasper?"

"Jazz," I mumbled sleepily. "I think he's reading. Let him read."

I pulled the jacket closer to me before falling asleep.

Despite being asleep, I could still hear Bella and Edward talking quietly.

"I didn't mean to upset her," Bella said from next to my head.

"She knows that I'm sure. It's just that Alice holds a lot of guilt for what happened. Jasper, Carlisle, and her creators suspect that because she didn't have time to process anything before her transformation, and because she remembers things more clearly than the rest of us, it's gonna take a long time before she gets over it _if_ she gets over it."

"But she can still function," Bella said.

"Yeah, but there are triggers. They cause her memories to appear. People dying, her killing people, her being branded. I've watched them play through her head, and I honestly don't know how she lived through it."

"So does she just have to wait for the memories to play out?"

Edward was quiet for a moment. I assumed he was shaking his head.

"Jasper can snap her out of them most of the time. He's got to remind her that she's not there anymore. That the war is over."

"I didn't know…" Bella trailed off.

"She's still Alice," Edward said. "I want to make sure you know that. She's still the Alice you know, she's just free to be herself now. Give her time, and I'm sure she'll tell you about the war. Don't push her though. Jasper won't forgive you for that."

"He's her protector," Bella said.

"Yes. He has spent their lives together keeping her happy."

A few hours had passed, and I still didn't wake. I could hear Charlie's cruiser pulling up, and Edward sprinted for the stairs.

"Bells?" Charlie called. "Alice?"

"In here, Dad," Bella called rushing to the doorway. "Quiet. Alice is sleeping."

"How long has she been asleep for?"

"Only a few minutes," Bella said. "I was about to call Jasper."

Charlie's footsteps came closer.

"Was she feeling okay?"

"She was cold, so she took out the blanket Jasper packed, and then she fell asleep while we were watching T.V."

"You didn't do anything to wear her out too much, right?"

"No, Dad," Bella sighed. "She helped me fill out the applications and then we came in here and talked and watched T.V and had lunch."

"Okay," Charlie said satisfied with her answer. "Let's call Jasper then. He seemed anxious about leaving her earlier."

"Alice says that he's scared because the last time he left, he almost didn't get to say goodbye. He stayed in the hospital with her."

"He's a good kid," Charlie nodded.

Bella punched in Jasper's number on her phone and waited.

"Hey, Jasper, it's Bella. Alice fell asleep here."

Jasper said something on the other end.

"I'll see you then," Bella said before the call disconnected.

"What'd he say?"

"He'll be here in about fifteen minutes."

"Does he want us to wake her?"

"No. He'll carry her to the car. He said she's very adamant about going back to school Monday, so he's glad that she's getting some sleep."

"When she came back here she looked like she hadn't slept for days."

"Edward says that she's having a hard time sleeping these days."

Close to ten minutes passed when there was a knock on the door.

"That's probably Jasper," Bella said. "I'll go let him in."

Charlie gave a silent response.

Bella was followed back in by Jasper a few seconds later.

"Thanks for letting her come, Chief Swan," Jasper said. "She wanted to come, and I couldn't talk her out of it."

"That's alright. I like having her here. I think she's a good influence for Bella. She's welcome to come at any time. Oh, and please call me Charlie."

"I'll help you get her outside," Bella said.

"Grab her bag and her oxygen tank," Jasper said. "Just wait to get the oxygen tank until I pick her up.

Jasper's jacket and my blanket wrapped tighter around me as the couch below me disappeared.

"Do you have her?" Charlie asked.

Jasper nodded.

"She's pretty light."

Charlie laughed.

"I believe it."

As Jasper held me close to him, I clung tightly to his shirt.

"You take care, Jasper," Charlie said as the door opened.

"You too."

Bella walked close beside Jasper.

"I accidentally upset her earlier," Bella said.

"Edward told me," Jasper said.

"Can you apologize to her for me?"

"I will. She's excited now that you know her secret. Magic has always been a big part of her life. It's a part of who she is and now she doesn't have to hide it."

After a moment, Jasper set me down in what I assumed to be the backseat of the car. I began to wake up then.

Jasper and Bella said goodbye, then the car was moving.

"Jazz," I mumbled.

"I'm right here, Ali," Jasper said from the front seat.

"What time is it?"

"After seven. How long were you asleep for?"

"Fourish hours," I said, climbing into the front seat next to him.

"Did you have a good time?"

I nodded.

"I showed Bella my photo albums."

"Bella mentioned she accidentally upset you."

"She asked me what I wished I could change most about the war," I said, taking the hand he offered to me. I brought his hand to my face and laid my head against it. "Edward wanted to call you, but I didn't want to bother you."

Jasper frowned.

"You shouldn't have done that. If you needed me you could have called."

"I know," I sighed. "I just wanted you to have time to yourself."

"I will have plenty of time to myself after you go back to school."

I laughed and leaned my head against the window.

"Next time, I'll call."

Jasper nodded and squeezed my hand.

A few days passed and I was slowly starting to regain more of my energy. I wrote to Minerva and asked about borrowing the school Pensieve. She said that I could have one of the Pensieves in the Room of Requirement. She said I could come by the castle anytime. Harry and Jasper didn't think it was a good idea for me to Apparate until my energy was completely restored, so Harry said that Friday after school he would come to get Jasper and I and Apparate us to Hogwarts. Charlie would be gone all of Sunday, so Jasper, Edward and I would be hanging out at Bella's.

Harry was waiting with Jasper outside of the school. They were both leaned against Carlisle's Mercedes. The whispers surrounded me, questioning who the mysterious black haired boy with the lightning bolt scar was.

"Harry!" I exclaimed, rushing to him as quickly as I could manage with my oxygen tank.

"Hey, Al," he grinned pulling me into a tight hug. "So this is where you go to school?"  
I nodded.

"Despite being small, Forks High School is definitely one of the better schools I've been to."

Edward and Bella came up behind us.

"Hello, Harry," Edward said.

"Edward," Harry greeted, extending his hand.

Edward took it and smiled.

"Bella, this is my brother, Harry. Harry, this is Bella. Edward's girlfriend."

"Alice has told me a lot about you," Harry smiled turning his outstretched hand to Bella.

"I've heard a lot about you in the past couple of weeks. I've loved hearing about you from her. You're very brave. Just like Alice."

Harry shook his head.

"Alice is braver than me by far. She gave up everything for me. She put her life in danger every day for me."

I smiled at Harry and leaned against Jasper.

"How long has he been here?"

"Since about noon," Harry said. "I came early and helped Jasper pack."

"Pack?"

"Minerva has invited us to spend the night in the castle. We'll be back in plenty of time to get to Bella's Sunday, but Hagrid misses you and so does the others."

I smiled.

"I miss them too."

"We better get you home," Edward said to Bella. "We don't want Charlie being any angrier with me than he already is."

I hugged Bella.

"I'll see you Sunday. We'll come straight there as soon I'm sure Charlie is gone."

"No rush," Bella said. "Go home. Edward says you're happier after you've been with them."

I laughed and pulled back.

"See you, Bella."

Jasper led me around the car to the passenger door as Harry slipped into the backseat. The stares and the whispers of the mysterious man with the even more mysterious Cullen kids didn't stop until Jasper sped out of the parking lot.

"Does that happen a lot?" Harry asked jerking a thumb towards the school.

"If you hang out with the Cullen kids, except stares, Har," I said, turning around in my seat.

"Can you take that off now that school is over?"

I shook my head.

"No. We have to wait until we're back home. If we run into somebody at a stoplight and they see me without it, they'll get suspicious."

Harry nodded.

"I see. Hey, Al?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you happen to have any of your old dress robes? Or new ones even?"

"Why? What's the occasion?"

"McGonagall, she's having a ball of sorts tonight. For you. She'd like to think of it as a welcome back party of sorts."

"But I've been back for over six months now," I frowned.

"Come on, Al," Jasper grinned. "When are you ever the one to turn down a party?"

"When I have nothing to wear," I frowned.

"Worry not," Harry grinned. "I've come prepared. I have a few options for you to pick from. Sent by Fleur."

"Who's going to be there?"

"All of us, you and Jasper, and a few surprise guests."

"Where will the kids be?"

"At the Burrow. With Molly and Arthur. Molly wanted an excuse to have all of them in the same place at once."

"Any hint towards the surprise guests?"

"Minerva hasn't told me. She thinks I'll spoil the surprise. And she said to tell you that Professor Trewlany was helping her get past your visions."

I huffed.

"I'd like to know who is there so I don't overdress. Knowing Fleur, she sent fancy things."

"She says she's only sending the best of France for you."

I sighed.

"I get to pick my own shoes though."

"Deal."

When we made it to the house, Harry and Jasper led me to mine and Jasper's bedroom where they had four different dresses laid out on the bed.

My eyes were immediately drawn to the black tea length ball gown at the edge of the bed. There was a layer of golden lace on the bust leading into the skirt.

"I have just the shoes to go with this."

I bolted into the closet and pulled a shoe box off the shelf.

"Which shoes are they?" Jasper asked lifting the top of the box slightly.

"Badgley Mischka. The Vanity D'Orsay shoes."

"Go get dressed," Harry said. "The ball starts as soon as we get there."

"It's a little late isn't it?"

"We've all taken your schooling into consideration. McGonagall refused to let Jasper take you out early."

"Well, then we better get ready."

Once the three of us were all dressed, we met back up in the bedroom.

"What do I do with the rest of these?" I asked Harry, gesturing to the three remaining dresses.

"Fleur said to keep them. She had them fitted based on one of your old dresses, and she said she doesn't know anybody else that small."

I laughed.

"I'm sure I'll have an occasion soon to put them to use."

"Graduation party maybe?" Jasper suggested.

I shook my head.

"They're far to formal for the party, but graduation is a possibility."

"Graduation party?"

"I'm going to be throwing a graduation for Bella, Edward, and I. I was going to talk to you guys about it closer to the time of the party. We still have time left."

Harry smiled.

"Come on. We should go."

He held out his hands to Jasper and I, and then suddenly, our bedroom was gone.

Harry apparated us to the gates of Hogwarts.

"Just in time," Harry said, pointing ahead.

A carriage pulled by Thestrals made its way towards us.

"Alice, what are those things?" Jasper asked, frowning as the gates swung open.

"Thesterals. They're only visible to those who've seen death."

"When were you able to start seeing them?"

"I've always been able to see them," I said, stretching out my hand to stroke the Thestral's snout. "Beautiful creatures."

"Do you see them?" Jasper asked Harry.

Harry nodded.

"I've been able to see them since Cedric died."

"But you watched your mother die, didn't you?"

"He was too young."

"What about you?"

"I remember it clearly, so I could see them."

Jasper reached out to the Thesteral.

"Why do I see them?"

"The war. The newborn army. You've watched people die. You've killed people. You've seen death."

"You used to tell me about the dementors. You talked about the way that they affected Harry. How did they affect you?" Jasper asked as the three of us climbed into the carriage.

I sighed.

"I was pretty heavily affected by them, I suppose. Remus says it's because I saw my mother's death, and I saw Voldemort going into the Potters' house, even if I didn't understand what was happening. It'll always haunt me that I couldn't do anything more. Then during my time as a Death Eater, I killed people. Innocents."

I shook my head, and looked at the ground.

"Alice is the only person who the dementors affected as much as me during the train after Sirius escaped. Draco Malfoy was picking on me, and she stood up for me before I knew fully who she was."

I looked up at the sky as the carriage rolled towards the castle.

"Where is this ball?" I asked, turning back to Harry.

"Great Hall," he said. "Some of the seventh years will be there."

The carriage began to approach the castle where Hagrid stood waiting for us.

"Hey, Hagrid!" I greeted as he held out a hand to help me out of the carriage.

"Good evenin', Alice," Hagrid smiled. He also grinned widely as Jasper and Harry behind me. "Good to see yeh again, Jasper."

"Nice to see you too, Hagrid," Jasper smiled, as he took my hand.

"How are you Hagrid?" Harry asked as the four of us walked through the entrance of the castle.

"I'm great," Hagrid grinned.

"You look great," I smiled at him.

"Yeh look beautiful," Hagrid said. "Jasper an' Harry, yeh both look handsome."

"Thank you, Hagrid," Jasper and Harry said in unison.

I grinned, and followed Hagrid into the Great Hall. Jasper put his hands over my eyes as we stood outside the doors of the Great Hall.

"Harry says that it's a surprise," he murmured against my ear. "Don't spoil it for them by looking ahead."

I huffed and held onto his wrists as he guided me forward.

"Don't huff, sweetheart," he grinned as the doors ahead of us creaked open. "It's going to be great. I promise."

Hagrid and Harry walked ahead of us. I could hear their footprints continuing forward to the now-open doors of the Great Hall.

"Just a little further, Darlin'," Jasper reassured.

"Keep your eyes closed until we say," Harry said.

Jasper took his hands off of my eyes and wrapped them around my waist.

"Okay," Harry said. "Open your eyes."

When I opened my eyes, I found that everyone, excluding Jasper, was standing in front of me.

"Welcome home, Alice!" everyone said at the same time.

I grinned as I looked around the room. The room was brightened by fairies that flew towards the ceiling with the enchanted origami birds. The stars and the moon were also shining brightly through the enchanted ceiling.

"Oh, Minerva, it looks great," I exclaimed rushing forward to hug her.

"You like it?"

"I love it."

"George reminded me of how much you used to love birds."

I grinned at George who stood next to Minerva.

"You helped?"

"Of course I helped."

"I would also consider thanking your husband," Minerva smiled. "He helped plan the decorations. He approved on the flowers and he wanted to be sure that the moon and the stars would be visible through the ceiling."

I turned to Jasper and grinned.

"Thank you," I smiled and I ran back to him and pulled him close. "Thank you for everything."

"Don't mention it," he smiled, resting his cheek on the top of my head. "Anything to see that beautiful smile of yours."

"I think we should start this party," McGonagall smiled, waving her wand which caused instruments to start playing.

"Dance with me," Jasper murmured, holding out his hand.

"Gladly," I smiled back, letting him lead me to the center of the room.  
Everyone seemed to stop and watched Jasper and I for a moment.

"So you helped to do all of this?" I asked, smiling up at the origami birds.

Jasper nodded.

"I helped McGonagall with the guest list too. I think you will find some of the guests to your liking."

I frowned.

"There are so many people here. Who all did you invite?"

"Just some familiar faces. Old school friends, members of the Order, family. Draco says he'll be a little late, but he will be here. Oliver Wood is also here, and so is Andromeda and a few people that I'll leave a surprise."

"Jazz," I whined. "Tell me. Please."

He smiled and shook his head.

"It's not time yet," he smiled. "Minerva will introduce us to them soon enough."

I sighed.

"I can't even get a hint?"

Jasper thought about it for a moment.

"You'll be excited."

Jasper and I danced through the song before we came to a stop, and the room was filled with applause.

"Come on, Darlin'," Jasper said, pulling me with him. "We have people to greet."

I let Jasper pull me through the room. We started out with the people lingering towards the back of the room. Harry was also talking to these people, and when he spotted Jasper and I, he quickly waved us over.

"Alice, do you remember Viktor Krum?"

I hadn't noticed Viktor standing in front of Harry with a smile.

"Hello, Alice," he smiled before turning to Jasper. "I do not think ve have met. I am Viktor. Old friend of Alice."

"Viktor, this is Jasper Whitlock. Alice's husband."

"I haff read about you," Viktor said. "I did not match your name to your face. Apologies."

Jasper smiled.

"No worries. You were a Quidditch player, weren't you?"

"A damn good one," I grinned.

"I stopped playing Quidditch," Viktor announced. "In 2002."

"I think you will come out of retirement," I said. "Not yet. But in the years to come."

Viktor frowned at me.

"Haff you seen this? In your visions of the future?"

"No," I smiled. "But, I have a strong feeling. One day, you will accomplish your dream. You will lead Bulgaria to victory at one of the Quidditch World Cups. When you come out of your retirement, I'll be there to watch."

Viktor grinned at me.

"I vill send you tickets. One for you, and one for Jasper."

"I'll be waiting for them."

Viktor scanned the room.

"Are you waiting for someone?" I asked. "Did you bring a date?"

"I vas hoping to find Hermy-own-ninny."

"She's here with Ron somewhere," Harry said.

"She and Ron have vorked out then, yes?"

"Yes," Harry confirmed. "They are married and they have a baby."

"I thought you and Hermione kept in touch," I frowned.

"Ve do. But she never said she vas married. Or that she had a baby."

"If I see her, I'll send her your way," I smiled.

"You'll have to excuse us," Jasper said. "We have more people to greet."

"Of course," Viktor said. "I vill talk to you soon, Alice."

"Bye, Viktor," I smiled, reaching up to give him a quick hug.

Jasper and I began to move throughout the room again. We greeted old members of the Order, and old students of Hogwarts. When we came across Oliver Wood, Oliver's eyes filled with delight.

"Alice!" he exclaimed pulling me into a hug. "I'm so sorry! If I had kept in touch then maybe—"  
"Oliver, stop it," I said, shaking my head. "I know what you're going to stay. But even if you had stayed in touch, there was nothing you could have done."

"You wanted to kill yourself, Alice," Oliver said, shaking his head. "I didn't even know you were gone until Harry spoke to the Prophet. And then you came back, and I wanted to talk to you, but I didn't know how."

"That's okay," I smiled. "It's a lot to take in."

"I wish we hadn't drifted. I could have tried to help you."

"You were living your life."

"No, Alice," Oliver said. "We drifted before school was over. You and I both know that."

"Maybe so. But there is no reason things can't change."

Oliver smiled.

I turned to Jasper.

"Jasper, I'm sure you've guessed by now, but this is Oliver Wood. Oliver, this is Jasper. My husband."

"I've read about you," Oliver smiled. "You mean a lot to Alice. I can see that. She has a large heart."

"That she does," Jasper smiled, wrapping an arm around my waist. I smiled and leaned my head against Jasper's shoulder. "She's told me about you. She says you're a professional Quidditch player."

Oliver nodded.

"You'll have to come see me play. I'll send tickets for a match in July. Minerva said your attending Muggle school now."

I nodded.

"We have to keep pretenses."

"It's amazing. You were twenty-one during the Battle. Yet you've always looked younger. Now you look younger. Not a day over sixteen."

I grinned.

"Thank you, Oliver."

"You'll have to give me the address for the Cullens so I can owl you."

I nodded and waved my hand, making a square piece of parchment and a quill appear. I quickly scribbled down the address and handed it to Oliver.

"There. Now you can send me an owl anytime you need me."

Oliver was smiling.

"Thank you."

"Anytime."

"You have more people to greet," Oliver said. "I'll talk to you later."

I grinned, and Jasper and I moved away from him.

"I think Oliver likes you," Jasper murmured to me in a low voice.

"What makes you say that?"

"The way he looks at you."

"Are you jealous?" I asked, pulling him to a stop.

"No," he smiled. "I think that even if Oliver does like you, you'd still chose me."

"You're thoughts are right."

Jasper smiled.

"I didn't tell you that you look beautiful," he said, pressing a hand against my cheek.

"Thank you," I said, looking at the ground. "And you look very handsome."

Jasper lifted my chin with a finger and kissed me.

"My beautiful witch," he murmured.

"Alice!" Minerva called from behind Jasper.

Jasper sighed.

"I almost forgot we were at a party."

I laughed and turned to Minerva.

"Hey, Minerva. What's up?"

"I have people for you to meet," she said. "Come now. Jasper, you too."

Minerva led us through the crowd, stopping in front of the owl podium.

"Alice, Jasper, I want you to meet Mr. Newt Scamander and his wife, Tina."

My eyes widened in surprise.

"Mr. Scamander, it's an honor to meet you," I said, extending my hand quickly.

"The honor is mine, Mrs. Whitlock."

"You know me?" I asked bewildered.

"I've read about you," he said with a smile. "I admire your story and your bravery to spare yourself to keep your family safe. I see that it has given good results."

He nodded at Jasper and I grinned.

"Yes, sir. It has."

"Alice has been a fan of yours since she was a young girl," Minerva told Newt.

I looked to the ground.

"Don't be embarrassed," Jasper murmured.

"You have an interest in Magizoology?"

"Yes, sir," I nodded. "And I admired your work as an Auror."

"Did you pursue either career path before you went to work for Voldemort?" Tina asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was in training to become an Auror."

"Well I think you could still become one if you wanted to," Newt said. "You have potential. I can see that."

At that moment, I began to feel something tugging on my foot. Rather the heel of my shoe. I stepped back and looked down, and to my amazement, a Niffler stood at my feet.

"Oh," I said in surprise.

"I'm sorry about that," Tina said. "I didn't know that Newt brought him with us."

"No, no. It's okay. It's been a long time since I've seen a Niffler."

I smiled and kneeled down in front of it.

Reaching in my bag, I pulled out a Knut and held it to the Niffler.

"Will this satisfy you?"

The Niffler watched me for a moment before it extended it's hands for the coin. After I handed it over, it dropped the coin in its pouch.

"Where did you find him?" I asked Newt as I stood back up.

"That is one that my grandson's girlfriend found. Luna has a keen eye for magical creatures."

"Luna," I repeated. "You wouldn't happen to mean Luna Lovegood would you?"

"You know Luna?"

"Luna was extremely kind," I smiled. "She helped my brother in a time when he needed it most. I haven't seen Luna since I left."

"She's here with Rolf somewhere," Minerva said.

"I'll have to find her before the ball ends," I murmured. "I like Luna."

"Luna is a good person," Newt said smiling. "She makes Rolf very happy."

"Mr. Scamander, I was hoping to ask you a question while I have you here," I said. "It's unrelated to Luna, but I want to ask before I forget."

"What's that?"

"You had a briefcase," I said. "You had a way to change it if you were around Muggles and around Wizards. How did you do it?"

"Is there a bag in particular you are hoping to do?"

I nodded and lifted my bag slightly off of my hip.

"This one."

"Might I be able to see it for a moment?"

I nodded and handed the bag to Newt.

"I use a variation of a Concealment Charm," Newt said, pulling his wand from his robes. As for the switch, you can sit it on the direct inside of the bag. Under this flap perhaps. Would you like for me to set it up for you?"

"Yes, please," I smiled.

Newt placed the bag on the podium and immediately set to work.

"So, Alice," Tina asked, stepping closer to me. "What is it like in the Muggle world? We here you attend Muggle school."

I nodded.

"My coven lives among humans peacefully. In order to do that, we have to act like functioning members of society. So Jasper and I, and our brothers and sisters go to school. The humans however believe that I am sick, and that I don't have much longer to live."

"So how is that going to work exactly?" Minerva asked.

"When we move, we'll say that I died. I'll come hide out here for a few weeks while they relocate, and then Jasper and I will join them."

"Smart plan," Tina murmured.  
"Thank you."

"So what happens when you graduate from Muggle school?"

"Well they have college. Instead of taking all of their classes for their career in school, they go to school after they finish school."

"For how long?"

"Anywhere from two to eight years. So we'll say we've gone away to college. It isn't always a lie. We spent some time in New York in the last few months, and Jasper was working on a philosophy degree at Cornell."

"Did you tell them that you died to move back to Forks?" Minerva asked.

Jasper nodded.

"We happened to be in Denali at the time, then Alice saw Bella jump off the cliff and she had to run after Edward in Italy. So we said she died and we moved before she made it back."

Jasper, Harry, and George told Minerva about my time in Italy. Minerva was in a way a part of my family. They just didn't go into the specifics of the Volturi.

"Here you are, Mrs. Whitlock," Newt said returning my bag. "All set. If you raise this piece you'll find that your switch is in the folds."

"Thank you, Mr. Scamander."

"Please," he said. "Call me Newt."

"Alright. Newt then. It's only fitting that you call me Alice opposed to Mrs. Whitlock."

Newt scribbled down what looked to be an address on a piece of paper.

"I'd like to hear more about your adventures, Alice. Owl me anytime, and we'll set something up."

I smiled and nodded.

"Of course."

"You would be welcome too, Jasper," Newt said turning to Jasper. "It is alright that I call you Jasper now that we all are on first name terms, right?"

"That's fine," Jasper smiled.

"Well then, it was a pleasure to meet you Alice and Jasper Whitlock, and we will eagerly be awaiting your owl."

Newt extended his hand to Jasper while Tina hugged me.

"Be safe, young one," she said before turning to hug Jasper as Newt hugged me.

"I hope to hear from you soon."

"Of course, sir."

Jasper and I stepped back from the older couple before waving and turning to greet others.

Jasper and I talked to almost everyone in the room, living and otherwise. Some of the ghosts of Hogwarts made their way in as the party was dying down. Sir Nicholas, the Bloody Baron, and Helena Ravenclaw.

I did come across Luna and Rolf Scamander. Luna hugged me tightly.

"Harry has missed you, Ms. Alice," Luna said. "He cried for a long time."

"Thank you for being there for Harry."

Luna nodded.

"Anytime."

After that, Luna started up a conversation with a bewildered Jasper about Wrackspurts.

"Are Wrackspurts real?" Jasper asked me as we walked away from Luna.

"I'm not sure," I murmured. "Luna's father, Xenophillius, made up a lot of creatures. It's hard to tell what's real and what's not."

The ball began to wind down close to two in the morning. Jasper and I stayed behind to help the professors clean up.

"Thank you for doing this, Minerva," I said as we walked to the seventh floor.

"Of course. I didn't get a chance to do anything for you when you came back home, so Jasper and I decided we'd do a last minute celebration and surprise you now."

"It was perfect."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. Now go get your Pensieve and then go get changed. If you wish you can help with patrolling the halls."

"Of course," I smiled. As soon as we finish."

"No rush, Alice."

I pulled Jasper up the staircase.

"Come on! We have to hurry before they shift."

Jasper laughed, but he hurried up and followed me to the seventh floor.

"How many times have you gotten stuck on the stairs?"

"Five time in my first term of my first year."

"Even though you could see them change?"

I nodded.  
"I thought I could run to the top and then jump on the platform before the stairs move. I failed."

"You didn't fall down did you?"

I shook my head.

"I didn't make it up the stairs."

Jasper chuckled and squeezed my hand.

"You could make it now."

"I'm sure I could," I smiled. "I just don't want to run."

"What if I carry you?"

I pondered it for a moment before shaking my head.

"We have a few more minutes before the stairs will change. Let's walk. Enjoy the views, if you will."

Jasper smiled.

"That works just as well."

"I miss it here," I smiled. "I miss being a student. I think I would have had a very different school experience if you were here with me."

Jasper squeezed my hand and watched me closely.

"It would have been a hell of a time."

I laughed.

"I think if you had been here, you wouldn't have noticed me."

"Why would you think that?"

"If you were here at Hogwarts, you wouldn't have noticed me because I was a Slytherin. You wouldn't have given me the time of day."

Jasper shook his head.

"I would have noticed you. How could I not?"

I sighed and smiled. When we made it to the top of the stairs, I stopped and turned to Jasper.

"Do you think you would have noticed me that day in the diner if I hadn't come running at you the second you came through the door?"

Jasper smiled and nodded.

"In my human life, Maria was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. In this life, it's you. I would have seen you, noticed you were a vampire, and try to talk to you."

"And if I wasn't a vampire?"

"I would have kept my distance. So I couldn't hurt you."

I smiled and stood on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

"Come on," I smiled. "We have a Pensieve to go get."

"Tell me more about Pensieves," Jasper said. "We've used one before, but I still don't know a lot about them."

"You know the basics," I smiled. "Pensieves are used so that a person can review memories and thoughts. Pensieves are thought to be very personal objects. So I'm going to ask the Room of Requirement to take me to a place where I can have a Pensieve that is my own."

"Can it get that specific?"

I nodded.

"The more specific you are the more thorough the Room is with you request."

I tugged on his arm.

"I'm coming," he laughed. "So the room will make the Pensieve specifically for you?"

I nodded.

"It will personally pick the stone, and engrave it with ruins."

"What will it say?"

I shrugged.

"We'll have to wait and see."

"You can't see it?"

I shook my head.

"The Room isn't a person. It doesn't make decisions the same way we do."

Jasper and I made it to the Room of Requirement not long after. Jasper stepped to the side as I began to pace back and forth in front of the wall.

 _I need a place to find my Pensieve_ , I thought.

After another moment, a door began to form. It looked like the door to a broom closet. I opened the door, and inside was a stone pensive sitting on the ground.

"What does it say?" Jasper asked as I kneeled down to pick it up.

I studied the runes wrapping around the front half.

"The girl who will live forever," I murmured quietly.

Underneath the writing, there were alternating stones. Emeralds, garnets, and topaz.

"Is that all is says? It looks like there is something else written on the back of it."

I gently turned the bowl around before reading the back ruins.

"It's my initials," I smiled. "M-A-B-W."

I traced the ruins on the back of the Pensieve before opening my bag, gently placing the Pensieve inside.

"Come on," I murmured. "Let's go get changed."

Jasper and I made our way back through the castle, quicker than we had done going to the Room of Requirement.

"Why did it pick that particular inscription?"

"I'm not sure. It's a title that Harry once mentioned to me. He said that he was the Boy Who Lived, and I was the Girl Who Will Live Forever. Maybe the Room of Requirement knew that."

Jasper grinned.

"You always have an answer," he said.

"They aren't answers," I disagreed. "They're possibilities."

"They're very logical possibilities. Actually, more logical than some of the answers."

I laughed and squeezed his hand.

"You think so?"

He nodded.

"You're one of, if not the most smartest person I know."

"You're bias."

"I'm not," he said, shaking his head. "I thought that from the very first day I met you."

He pulled our hands to his face, and kissed the back of mine.

"I love you," he murmured. "More than anything on this planet."

"I love you too," I smiled.

When we got to the room that we had stayed in months ago, Jasper turned to me.

"Has the password changed?"

"It always changes," I said, shaking my head. "But this time, the password isn't verbal."

Jasper watched carefully as I approached the door, and began knocking. After a moment, the doorknob began to form.

"There is something I want to show Jasper," I announced to Minerva the next morning at breakfast.

"Something here is the castle?"

"On the grounds, more or less."

"What's that?"

"I want to show him the Forbidden Forest."

Minerva frowned.

"Why?"

"There are creatures in there that I want to show him."

"I can take 'em," Hagrid said. "I got to go an' feed the Thestrals anyhow."

"Okay," Minerva said. "Just be careful, Alice."

I smiled and turned to Jasper.

"So how do you feel about going on a walk?"

"I thought you said we couldn't go into the Forbidden Forest?"

"When did I say that?"

"Not long after we met. You were telling me about Hogwarts."

"Oh, that," I remembered. "I said that as a student it's forbidden. I'm no longer a student of Hogwarts. I haven't been since 1994."

"That's true," Jasper laughed.

"So it's settled then," I smiled picking up the goblet which I had put blood into. "You and I will be exploring the forest."

After breakfast, Jasper, Hagrid, and I made our way to Hagrid's hut.

"We have to stop and get Fang," I told Jasper. "And we have to be careful in the forest. Some creatures won't take well to us being there."

"Like?"

"Well the Acromantulas for one. They can't hurt us by technicality, but they aren't exactly peaceful creatures."

"They're worse," Hagrid said. "Since Aragog died. But after the war they settled back in and started havin' more babies."

"What about Firenze? And Bane? Are they still there?"

"Who is Frienze and Bane?"

"Centaurs. Frienze fought alongside the Order during the Battle of Hogwarts."

"And Bane and the others?"

"Cowards," Hagrid grumbled. "They didn' fight 'till the secon' wave. They're still here though. More territorial than yeh might remember."

"Maybe I can talk to Bane. He and I got along for the most part."

"That's 'cause yeh see the future."

"Still," I frowned and turned back to Jasper. "There is also a wolf pack there. Werewolves. Not like the La Push wolves."

"La Push?" Hagrid asked.

"It's a Native American reservation about twenty minutes away from Forks. They turn into wolves there. But I don't know if they're actually werewolves."

"What makes yeh say that?"  
"They don't just turn at the full moon. They change in the middle of the day."

"That doesn't sound much like a werewolf to me. I'd say that sounds more like a shapeshifter. I'd go ask the DADA professor."

I shook my head.

"I'll take your word for it. Anyways, if you see a werewolf, I can protect you, I just need you to stay behind me."

"Alice, I—"

"Jasper, please. The werewolves here are much different that the ones you've seen."

Jasper watched me for a moment before sighing.

"Okay. I'll stay behind you."

"I'd listen to 'er, Jasper," Hagrid said. "Alice is one of the brightest an' most powerful witch of our world."

"I know that, Hagrid," Jasper said, "I just don't want her to get hurt."

"I won't get hurt. This is my world. I know what to do."

"I don't understand something," Jasper said, frowning. "You were attacked by Remus while he was a werewolf. Shouldn't you be one too?"

I shook my head.

"Remus stopped it somehow. He never told me how he did it, but somehow he did it."

"So there is a way to stop it?"

I shrugged.

"I suppose so. I just don't know what he did. I was unconscious. The only thing that I remember of it was that it hurt. It wasn't as bad as the Cruciatus Curse and the transformation, but it hurt."

"Did you get the characteristics from it? Like how Bill likes rare meat."

I shook my head.

"Nothing changed for me. I lived my life just as I always have."

"You should ask him."

I smiled.

"I'd have to do that when we get home tonight. "

"Are you going to sleep?"

I shook my head.  
"I'll use the Resurrection Stone. Now I'm curious."

"Maybe we should do that when we go to Bella's. I think she'd be fascinated by it."

"Maybe," I smiled.

When we left Hagrid's hut and set into the woods, I took Jasper's hand, and took out my wand.

"Remember," I said. "Be careful."

Jasper nodded.

"I understand."

"Alice, while yer here, I need yer help with somethin'."

"What's that?"

"The unicorns also need to be fed, an' they don't like me too much. I was wonderin' if yeh might help me."

"Why don't they like you?" Jasper asked.

"Unicorns are more open to women than to men," I explained. "When they're babies they don't mind, but as they mature they start to mind. I'll help you."

"They aren't much further ahead than the Thestrals. If yeh wan' teh go ahead, I'll catch up teh yeh."

I nodded and took the food from Hagrid.

"Can do."

When Hagrid stopped at the Thestrals, he pointed us in the direction of the unicorns.

"Is it okay that I'm with you?" Jasper asked.

I nodded.

"If you're going to touch one though, touch one of the gold ones."

"Unicorns can be gold?"

"Babies are gold, the older ones are silver, but the most mature ones are pure white."

"What're they like?"

"The ones here at Hogwarts are very gentle."

"Are the ones outside of Hogwarts not?"

"They are. But if they are given enough reason, they will harm you. They are kind, but treat them with respect."

Jasper nodded and walked quietly beside me. Close to five minutes later, I began to see the unicorn colonies.

"Hello, beautiful," I said, holding my hand out as one of the older unicorns approached me. "I have food for you. Are you hungry?"

I reached inside of the bag of food that Hagrid gave me and offered it to the unicorn. The creature smelled it before taking it from me.

Jasper moved closer to me before reaching in my bag.

"Can we take pictures of them?" Jasper asked.

I nodded.

"Colin Crevey used to." I turned my attention to the unicorn that still stood in front of me. "He's going to take a picture of us," I murmured, reaching up to pet the creature's muzzle. It bowed its head, allowing me to pet the top of it's head.

After Jasper took the picture, he placed the camera back into my bag.

"Let me see your hand," I told Jasper. "I want to try something."

Jasper held his hand out to me.

"What are you doing?"

"Just watch." I turned to the horse. "I'm going to place his hand on you if you would. He's a Muggle. Never seen anything like you before."

The unicorn lowered its head and didn't flinch as I laid Jasper's hand on it.

"That's it," I smiled. "Easy does it."

I took my hand off of Jasper and moved around the unicorn, heading further into the colony, spreading food as I went. The unicorn began to follow me after a moment, leaving Jasper in amazement with his hand in the air.

"Alice!" Jasper whispered in excitement as he reached me, "I thought I couldn't touch a grown unicorn!"

"It trusts me," I said. "I think it knows that I wouldn't do anything to hurt it."

"Have you been out here before?"

I shook my head.

"I haven't fed them before. I went past them though. When I was going through the forest on the night of the Battle. I usually helped Hagrid feed the Thestrals with Severus and I lead the school."

"Deputy Headmistress Black," Jasper smirked.

I nodded.

"Voldemort used to ask why I cared. I told them that the animals are loyal to those who are loyal back. Voldemort assumed that because I was loyal to them, they'd assist him when the final battle came. They knew where my loyalties where, and they began to attack Voldemort's soldiers. More specifically the Giants."

As I wrapped up feeding the unicorns, Hagrid appeared, remaining at the edge of the trees.

"Now I'm not always going to be here to feed you," I told the first unicorn. "You have to cooperate with Hagrid. I'll come when I can though."

I patted the unicorns muzzle before making my way back to Hagrid. The unicorn followed me for a moment, before returning to its colony.

"Thanks fer the help, Alice. They seem teh like yeh."

"It's not a problem. If they give you too much trouble, and you need help, you can come and get me from the Cullens."

"Thanks," Hagrid smiled. "I'll take yeh to the centaurs. Firenze liked yeh."

With that, the three of us set off from the unicorn colonies.

It wasn't a long walk from the unicorns to the centaur colony. Two centaurs stood tall between two trees. They're arrows were drawn back.

"You're trespassing!" one of them called out to us. "This is the land of the centaurs."

"I want to speak to Bane and Firenze," I called back. "My name is Mary Alice Black."

The two centaurs looked at each other and the one on the right stepped back, and set out deeper into the woods.

"What business do you have with Bane and Firenze, Mary Alice Black?"

"That business is my own."

The centaur glared at me but didn't press the matter any further.

After a few minutes, Firenze ran from the trees, skidding to a halt in front of me.

"Mary Alice," he smiled. "It's so good to see you."

"Hello, Firenze."

"What do you want?" Bane asked lingering back towards the trees.

"I wanted to introduce my husband to Firenze."

"You asked for me as well," Bane frowned.

"Because I knew that you would come anyways."

"Are you still practicing Divination?" Firenze asked, calling my attention.

"I don't have much of a choice with the visions."

"But the stuff I taught you to do. Reading the stars. Have you practiced?"

"No," I admitted. "But I would like to get back into it."

"You remember how to do it, don't you?"

I nodded.

"I remember."

"Good," Firenze nodded. He turned to Jasper. "Your wife has a brilliant mind. She is one of the most powerful witches that I have ever met. I worked under her when she was undercover. She's unbelievably kind, and you are very lucky."

Jasper smiled.

"Thank you," Jasper smiled. "That's very nice of you."

Firenze nodded.

"Alice helped me keep my position when the Death Eaters took over Hogwarts. She saved me from being killed during the Battle of Hogwarts."

"How so?"

"She snuck up on my attacker and cursed him with a spell I've never seen before."

Jasper turned to me.

"What spell?"

"Severus' spell. Sectumsempra. It's dark magic, but it was war. You did what you have to do to survive."

"I know that," Jasper said, squeezing my hand. "You forget. I was in a war myself. As a human and as a vampire."

"I know that."

"The stars align for you two," Firenze said. "But there is something in the future of your family. There's a certain darkness."

"You see it too?" I asked.

"What have you seen?" Firenze asked.

"One of my coven mates. My brother. His girlfriend. I see two paths for her. Either her becoming like us, a vampire, or I see her dying."

"A human girl, yes?"

I nodded.

"You saw this in a vision?"

"Tarot cards."

"The stars agree, Mary Alice. This human girl has two paths. One is not a good path. Steer her away from the path."

"Thank you Firenze," I said.

"Look to the stars, Mary Alice. They will guide you. Act quickly for the human girl will go down the wrong path soon. Go now. Set her on the right path before it's too late. If you need my help, you are welcome here."

"Thank you. I'll be back soon."

I turned to Jasper.

"We'd better head back."

Jasper nodded and the three of us turned and headed back to the castle.

"The human," Hagrid frowned. "Why would she die?"

"I don't know," I admitted. "Bella is a danger magnet. She jumped off a cliff for fun and almost drowned. She's angered the mate of the vampire who hunted me, and then hunted her."

"Does the mate know abou' yeh?"

I shook my head.

"Tobias' alteration works up until they're sentenced to die. That's how it worked with James. He remembered me. He remembered my name, my family."

"Yeh killed him, didn't yeh?"

I nodded.

"For once, I felt relieved. But Victoria...she's still out there. If she remembers, I'm going to have to come back home."

"Is tha' so bad?"

I shook my head.

"The Cullens won't like it very much."

"Bu' we're yer family. What say do they have?"

"They don't," Jasper said. "But they fear me hurting you."

"Yeh would never do tha' to Alice."

"Edward doesn't trust him after Bella's birthday. He doesn't admit it, but I've seen his mind."

The three of us went quiet. Jasper and I walked hand in hand, and Hagrid glanced over at us from time to time grinning.

When we made it back to the castle, Jasper turned to me.

"We'd better get going," Jasper said. "It's getting late."

"It's still early there," I murmured. "Can't we stay in Britain for a little while longer? We can go to the Burrow and see Molly."

Jasper watched me carefully before nodding.

"Okay. We'll go to the Burrow."

"Thank you," I smiled.

Jasper leaned down and kissed the top of my head.

"Of course."

Jasper and I left the Burrow in the early hours of the next morning. Molly had stayed up talking to us. I told her about mine and Firenze's worries for Bella.

"You know better than everyone else what you need to do," Molly said. "If those are the paths you see, tell Bella."

"I have. I've been trying to figure out how to steer her away from the path."

"Good," Molly said. "I trust that you'll know what to do."

When we got back to Forks, Carlisle and the others excluding Edward were in the living room. When we came in, Carlisle grinned.  
"How was it?" he asked.

"It was great," I smiled. "I met Newt Scamander!"  
"The magizoologist?" Rosalie asked.

I nodded.

"Minerva asked him to come. She told him how I've followed his work for years, and he's helped my with my bag." I opened the bag and showed them the switch. "Now if I just flip this, the bag looks like a regular messenger bag from the inside."

I stuck my hand inside to show them before switching the bag back. I reached inside and pulled out the Pensieve.

"Is that—"

"A Pensieve," I smiled. "I can review every memory or though. Even the ones I can't remember. Every thought, every feeling."

"What does the writing say?" Esme asked, tracing the front of it.

"The girl who will live forever," Jasper smiled. "The Room of Requirement engraved it."

"Does that mean it's set in stone that Alice will never die?" Rosalie asked.

I shook my head.

"I think it's possible," Jasper said looking at me.

"Why do you say that?"

"Well the Volturi are afraid of you because you are the most powerful vampire alive."

"I wouldn't say that," I frowned.

"It's true," Carlisle said. "Your visions and your powers magically...there's been nothing like you in our world. That's why the Volturi respect you so much."

"Also," Jasper continued, "you're a hero in your world. Why would they kill you? And _how_ would they kill you? I think it is a possibility that you will live forever."

"But I wouldn't want to without you," I murmured.

Jasper smiled and kissed the top of my head.

"We don't have to worry about that."

"So you're taking that to Bella's?" Emmett asked.

"And the Resurrection Stone. I have a question for Remus."

"What's that?"

"Somehow, Remus saved me from becoming a werewolf years ago. I never questioned how he did it. But I realized that whatever he did, it could have saved people."

"So will you tell people?"

I nodded.

"I have to."

"You don't have to," Rosalie said.

"But it's the right thing to do. It saved me."

"What if it doesn't save others though?"

"Then it was worth a try."

The six of us talked until Edward came home.

"Charlie will be leaving soon," he announced. "We'll leave in about an hour."

I nodded and turned to Jasper.

"We'd better go change," I said, scratching at the dirt spot on his jeans. "Where did this come from?"

"When the Firenze ran to us, he skidded, and some dirt got on me. Nothing a little detergent can't take out."

"Don't forget your oxygen tank," Carlisle said as Jasper and I headed for the stairs.

"I know, I know," I grumbled.

Once Jasper and I changed, I headed to the cabinet, removing the key from around my neck to unlock the door.

"I'm gonna need more room here," I said, pulling out my wand.

"Do you want to buy a new case?"

I shook my head.

"Engorgio," I said, drawing my wand back slightly.

The case expanded, giving more shelf room to the potions.

"I'm going to have to figure out a better solution to organizing this," I murmured. It's not if I can just leave everything out."

"We'll go find a new case," Jasper said. One with more shelves. And we can get some organizers."

"Thank you," I smiled, shrinking the case back down. I pulled the box with the Resurrection Stone inside from the box of trinkets.

"What all is in that?" Jasper asked peering over my shoulder.

"Nothing of import," I smiled. "I have some Spellotape, some sealing wax, and some chocolate frog cards that I've been meaning to put in my card box."

Jasper crouched down beside me and pulled my card box off the shelf. He opened it and pointed it to me.

"Go ahead and move them while you're thinking about it," Jasper said. "It saves you from having to do it later."

I laughed and pulled the five cards from the bottom of the first box.

"What cards do you have there?" Jasper asked.

"Almeric Sawbridge, Andros the Invincible, another Dumbledore, Artemisia Lufkin, and Bridget Wenlock."

"Dumbledore is a common card, right?"

I nodded.

"Very common. I think in my childhood I got about twenty of him over the span of two years."

"How often did you eat chocolate frogs?"

"Not very often actually. I bought them for the cards, and Fred and George would eat the frog. The only time I really ate them was when I got enough for all of us to have one. Typically that resulted in a lecture from Remus about responsible spending."

"It was your money," Jasper frowned.

"That he expected to last me a lifetime."

"You would have worked. Made more."

"You know, I still wouldn't of hated being an Unspeakable."

"Would you have to go to school for it?"

I shook my head.

"I couldn't decide what I wanted to do, so Minerva and Dumbledore helped me set up a way to take all the classes for all the careers I was considering."

"How did that work?"

"I took classes after everyone's lessons, at night, over breaks."

Jasper smiled.

"Overachiever."

I shook my head.  
"Indecisive."

"That too," Jasper said with a grin. "Now come on. Edward is starting to get impatient."

"Are we running there?"

Jasper shook his head.

"No, we're driving, but I think Edward might be on edge about something."

I frowned.

"I'll have to look," I murmured.

"Or you could ask," he murmured, helping me put on my oxygen tank.

"I could. But if he doesn't tell me—"

"Then he doesn't want you to know."

"Now that's not fair," I said, as I started reattaching my wand holster.

"What is?"

"He gets to invade everyone else's mind, but if we do it it's rude?"

"I never said that," Jasper frowned.

"Then he doesn't want us to know," I repeated back to him.

"I hate it that you're always right," Jasper said, glaring at me.

I smiled and kissed his cheek.

"Come on," I said, pulling his arm.

He grabbed my bag, with the Pensieve and the Resurrection Stone tucked neatly inside.

"Ready to go?" Edward asked when we made it down the stairs.

I nodded.

"I have another surprise for Bella."

"What's that?"

"The Resurrection Stone. I have a question for Remus, and I decided I would show it to her."

"I read her the Tale of the Three Brothers."

"And?"

"She wants to know if the Deathly Hallows exist."

"Well you already know the answer to that. So what'd you tell her?"

"What you told me about them."

"Well I think she'd be very pleased to see the Resurrection Stone."

"You know, you don't have to do this if you're not comfortable with it," Edward said. "Let her this far into your world."

I shook my head.

"I don't mind. She knows the importance of the Statute of Secrecy, and she's going to be a part of our lives."

Edward sighed.

"I guess so."

"You don't want her to be?" Jasper asked, frowning.

"I do, just not in that way."

"We don't have a choice now," I said as Edward pulled out of the driveway. "My life and hers is on the line now. When I went back to Italy to make the Unbreakable Vow, I took responsibility for your mistakes. If Bella isn't changed, I will die. You will not get me back, and you will have to look Jasper in the eye every single day."

Edward didn't speak. He eyed Jasper in the rearview mirror before focusing on the road.

 _That wasn't very nice, Alice,_ Jasper thought to me, frowning.

"It's the truth," I muttered. "Now he knows. If he doesn't change her, he'll lose me and her. There is no magic on this earth powerful enough to bring the dead back to life."

"She's right, Jasper," Edward said. "I have to think about her too now."

"You say that like it's a bad thing," I said, watching him closely.

"You know I don't mean it like that," Edward said.

The rest of the ride was quiet. Jasper kept a hand on my shoulder, and he pushed soothing waves through the car. Once we got to Bella's, he slipped his hand off my shoulder, rushing to get the door for me.

"Thank you," I said as he took the oxygen tank from me.

"No problem," he smiled, handing me my bag.

The three of us headed to the door, which flung open as we made it to the steps.

"Alice! You're back!"

I smiled.

"I've been back for a few hours now. We ended up going to the Burrow after we left Hogwarts, and we left once Molly started getting tired. Now, why is it that you and Edward seem to be more tense than when I left on Friday?"

"Because Jacob got me into more trouble with Charlie. Now I have to be home by four o'clock exactly, and I can't go anywhere except for school and work."

"What did he do?"

"When you looked in my mind, you saw me and Jacob rebuilding a motorcycle," Bella said. "Well there was two. One was mine. Jacob brought mine to Charlie, knowing how he felt about motorcycles."

"He's upset with you," I frowned. "Why?"

"He doesn't want me to see Edward."

"But now you can't see him?"

Bella nodded sadly.

"You know, maybe that for the best."

"Alice, don't start," Bella sighed.

"Well it's funny that you say that," I smiled. "I've only just started. I have some things lined up for us this morning."

"The Pensieve?"  
"Well that among other things. I am actually needing to talk to Remus."

"But, Alice, Remus is—"

"Dead. I know. Edward read you the Tale of the Three Brothers, correct?"

Bella nodded.

"Well, I possess one of the remaining two Hallows."

"Where is the others?"

"Harry has the Invisibility Cloak, and the Elder Wand is in Dumbledore's tomb with him. When Harry dies, the power of the Elder Wand will die with him. That is what Dumbledore intended."

"So you have the Resurrection Stone?"

I nodded.

"Harry thinks I should have it. He's afraid of what's going to happen to me when they are all gone, so he thinks I should have it so I can always call them if I need them."

I sat my bag on the ground and reached inside. I pulled out the Pensieve and the Resurrection Stone.

"This," I said, picking up the small box, "is the Resurrection Stone. I've used it a few times while in my possession. Typically, I'll wait until I go to the Netherworld, but this is an urgent matter and I don't have time to wait."

"What's wrong?" Edward asked.

"You'll find out. Bella, do you have a pen and some paper?"

Bella nodded and scurried into the kitchen, bringing me back a notepad and pen.

"Remus is going to likely give a list of ingredients," I said. "I need you to write those down."

"What is this for?"

"You'll see. Just trust me."

I flipped the stone over in my hand three times.

 _I need Remus_ , I thought.

As my thought ended, Remus began to appear.

"Alice?" he asked panicked. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Re. Calm down."

Remus sucked a deep breath in and looked between Jasper and I.

"You've never asked for me directly," he said. "I thought you were angry with me."

I shook my head.

"No. Not angry, but I am confused. You're the only one who can help me."

"What's wrong?" Remus asked.

"After Pettigrew escaped when Dad came to Hogwarts, you scratched me. You were in your werewolf form. I never changed into a werewolf. You did something that made the scar only that. A scar."

"You want to know what I did," Remus said.

I nodded.  
"We could save lives, Re. Did you or did you not find a cure?"

"I had heard whispers about it a long time ago," Remus said. "Back when you parents, James, Lily, and I were in school. I figured it was worth a chance to try it when I hurt you. I couldn't let you suffer the same fate as me. It worked."

"But you never went to the Ministry?"

"It's complicated," he said.

"You could have saved people, Remus. What did you do to save me?"

"You know how to seal the wound of a werewolf right?"

I nodded.

"Powdered silver and dittany."

Remus nodded.

"To that mixture you must add phoenix tears and the blood of the werewolf who attacked the victim."

I now understood why it was complicated.

"It was easy to get the blood of the werewolf because it was me who attacked you. Other werewolves may not be so lenient. But the important thing is, you have to do it after the attack. Before the next full moon."

"A lot of werewolves are in Azkaban. From siding with Voldemort during the war… but Remus, I have to go to the Ministry. You know that, don't you?"

Remus nodded.

"I knew you would. You can't have knowledge of a cure and not try to save people. It's how you are. And how you've always been. That's what I loved about you."

"So why did you leave her?" Bella asked, stepping forward.

"Bella," I hissed.

"No, Alice, it's okay," Remus reassured. "I left her because I wanted her to have a normal life. A chance to love someone else and have all the things I couldn't give her. If I hadn't left her, I don't think she would be where she is today. It's like what Edward did for you."

Bella looked at me and then at Remus.

"How does he know?"

"He and my family are watching over me. They see things."

Remus smiled.

"I am happy the two of you found your way back to each other. I think Alice is rooting for you."

"Hush, Remus," I said, eyeing him.

Remus laughed and took a few steps closer.

"Was that all you needed?"

I nodded.

"When are you going to the Ministry?"

"Tonight. I'll be back before school tomorrow morning."

"I'm glad I could help."

"Don't worry, Re. I'm not taking the credit for myself."

"I didn't think you would. But I think you should."

"Why?"

"Because I want to make things right with you."

"Re, I could give your name. The profits will go to Teddy, and he wouldn't have to worry about money!"

"Split the profits," Remus said. "I want you to keep some of it. I wouldn't have figured it out if it weren't for you."

"Remus—"

"Split the profits, Mary Alice. If you don't, I shall know."

I sighed.

"Fine. I'll split the profits."

"Just as stubborn as always, Alice."

I smiled.

"Bye, Re."

"Goodbye, Alice. I hope to see you soon."

I smiled, and dropped the stone from my hand.

I crouched down and picked up the stone, returning it to its box.

"Did you get that Bella?"

Bella nodded and handed me the paper.

"So you'll be leaving tonight?"

I nodded.

"But I'll be back first thing tomorrow morning."

"Do you need to go now?"

I shook my head.

"It'll be okay. I have other things to show you. Memories. Old ones, and more recent ones. The recent ones are important for you to see, and so is one of the old ones. It will help you understand why I am leery about you being around the werewolves. Edward, the new memories will help you to understand why I am so persistent about Bella's future being set in stone."

"Alice—"

"No," I said holding up my hand. "Stop it. Don't talk, just watch and listen."

I moved the Pensieve to the coffee table, and sat down in front of it.

"Jasper you sit next to me, Edward and Bella, you sit on the other side."

I pulled out my wand, and pointed it to the Pensieve.

"Engorgio."

Once the Pensieve was at the size I needed it to be, I pressed my wand to my temple. Bella leaned forward, watching at the silver strand came from the side of my head. I dropped the memory in the Pensieve.

"You have to stick your head inside of it," I told them. "It won't hurt you. Our first stop is in the past."

I stuck my head in first, showing Bella and Edward how to work the Pensieve.

I fell into the bright lights of Remus's office.

"We're going to watch from the beginning of the night," I told the other three when they joined me. From when Remus and I were in his office."

The scene formed and the memory that I could remember so very clearly began to form.

 _"You don't have much more time, Re. The moon will rise soon. You and I have to start setting up the office."_

 _Remus frowned at the tea he had been drinking._

 _"Why do you have to come with me for every transformation?"_

 _"To keep you company," I said. "You've been doing this alone since Dad went away. Is it so bad that I want to do this for you?"_

 _"One day you are going to get hurt, Mary Alice," he growled._

 _"But I haven't yet," I said calmly pulling the Marauder's map closer to me. "Now stop being cranky and drink your tea. Professor Snape will be here with your potion soon."_

 _Remus sighed and picked up the cup._

 _"That's strange," I said, watching the map closer._

 _"What is it?"_

 _"Harry, Ron, and Hermione are coming back from Hagrid's. But they have someone else with them."_

 _"Let me see?"_

 _I passed the map to him._

 _"Peter Pettigrew," Remus breathed. "Sirius, he wasn't lying!"_

 _"Wait, Remus! There!"_

 _I pointed to the footprints running across the map. The footprints of Sirius Black._

 _"Alice, we have to go!"_

 _"Remus," I said, grabbing his hand, "what if the map is wrong?"_

 _"It's never wrong! I charmed it to make sure that it was never wrong. Now come on we have to go!"_

 _"How did he do it?" Bella asked as me and Remus ran from the office. "How did he make sure that it was never wrong?"_

 _"Charms. Tracking Charms on anyone who set foot in the castle. In the areas where they knew existed."_

 _Remus and I ran through the corridors, and onto the grounds._

 _As we approached the Whomping Willow, I raised my hands to the branches._

 _"Immobulus!"_

 _The branches froze in their place giving Remus and I enough time to slip through the hole._

 _"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed from the floor above us. "WE'RE UP HERE-SIRIUS BLACK-QUICK!"_

 _Remus and I darted up the stairs, both of us pulling out our wands. Remus pointed his wand at the door, and blasted it open._

 _"Expelliarmus!" Remus shouted._

 _Harry's wand flew out of his hand into Remus's, as did Ron and Hermione's. He passed the three wands back to me._

 _"Alice!" Ron shouted. "Alice, please you have to help! Your father-Sirius Black—"_

 _"I know, Ron," I said, coming closer to him. "Hush now."_

 _"Where is he, Sirius?"_

 _Dad's eyes never left Remus. After a moment, he raised his hand, and pointed at Ron._

 _"Alice," Ron whimpered reaching up to tug on my sleeve._

 _"Ron, you have to trust me," I said, crouching down in front of him. "Do you trust me?"_

 _Ron nodded._

 _"Then be quiet."_

 _I stood up straight and turned back to Dad and Remus._

 _"Unless he was the one," Remus was saying. "Unless you switched…without telling me?"_

 _Dad nodded._

 _"Professor," Harry asked, "what's going on—?"_

 _Harry's questioned wasn't finished. I had seen that flash in front of my eyes._

 _Remus walked over to Dad, and held out his hand, pulling him to his feet and into a hug._

 _"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screeched._

 _We all turned around to face her._

 _"You," she accused. "You—"_

 _"Hermione—" Remus tried saying._

 _"You and him!"_

 _"Hermione, you need to calm down now," I said._

 _"I didn't tell anyone!" she shrieked, ignoring me completely. "I've been covering up for you!"_

 _"Hermione, listen to me please," Remus shouted over top of her. "I can explain!"_

 _"I trusted you!" Harry roared, "and all this time you've been his friend!"_

 _"You're wrong," Remus said calmly, "I haven't been Sirius's friend for twelve years, but I am now, if you'll please let me explain—"_

 _"No!" Hermione screamed."Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too — he's a werewolf!"_

 _The room went silent. Ron tugged on my sleeve again, and his eyes searched my face for confirmation. I nodded, and he turned to face Remus, wide eyed._

 _"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione," Remus said. "Only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle, and I certainly don't want Harry dead. But I won't deny that I am a werewolf."_

 _Ron made an effort to stand up, but the pain in his leg caused him to whimper and sit back down._

 _Remus stepped towards him._

 _"Get away from me, werewolf!" Ron hissed._

 _"Ronald," I hissed crouching down to his level. "That is still the same Remus you have known for years! Why do you think I came to your house every month!"_

 _"But—"_

 _"No buts, Ronald," I said. "It's still him. He's not dangerous. I've lived under the same roof as him for the last twelve years. Since my father went to prison."_

 _"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione."_

 _"Except for Alice," Dad croaked._

 _"I'm not. If I had been a little more clever, then I would have told everyone what you are."_

 _"At what cost, Hermione?" I asked. She turned to face me. "Is it such a horrible thing to be a werewolf, that you have to take everything from him?"_

 _"Alice, you know the dangers—"_

 _"Yes, Hermione," I said. "I do know the dangers, but as I told Ron. I've lived with Remus for the last twelve years. From the day my father was sent away to prison. He was in my life for the five years before that. He has never hurt me."_

 _"Anyways," Remus said, speaking up, "they already know. Well, the staff do at least."_

 _"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron gasped. "Is he mad?"_

 _"Some of the staff thought so. They already hated that Alice lived with me. He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy —"_

 _"AND HE WAS WRONG!" Harry yelled. "YOU'VE BEEN HELPING HIM ALL THE TIME! IF YOU CARED ABOUT ALICE AT ALL, YOU WOULDN'T HAVE HELPED HIM!"_

 _"I have not been helping Sirius," Remus said. "I will explain if you just give me a chance. See, look," he turned to me. "Alice, if you'd give them their wands, and hand Ron yours."_

 _I passed out the wands, and gave Ron my wand._

 _"She can do wandless magic," Hermione said._

 _"Alice, keep your hands up," Remus said as he tucked his own wand into his pocket. "There. You are armed. We are not. And Alice's hands are in sight. Now will you listen to me?"_

 _"If you haven't been helping him how did you know he was here?"_

 _"The map," Remus said. "The Marauder's Map. Alice and I were in my office, and Alice was looking at it—"_

 _"You know how to work it?" Harry asked._

 _"Of course I know how to work it," Remus said. His voice was beginning to grow impatient._

 _"Remus," I said, calling his attention to me. "Calm."_

 _Remus took a deep breath before continuing._

 _"I helped write the map. I'm Moony. That was my friends' nickname for me in school. That's what Alice called me growing up—"_

 _"You wrote—"_

 _Remus interrupted Harry._

 _"The important thing is, I was watching the map very closely tonight. Alice had seen a vision of you three going to see Hagrid before his hippogriff was executed. She wanted me to watch the map to make sure Harry got back safe. When she saw you coming back from Hagrid, you had someone else with you."_

 _Remus started pacing. I made my way across the room, keeping my hands up. I stopped in front of Remus and put a hand on his shoulder. He brushed it off, and kept pacing._

 _"Is he okay?" Bella asked._

 _"He was stressed," I said. "Understandably so."_

 _"Ron never knew why you came over every month?"_

 _I shook my head._

 _"Remus asked Molly and Arthur not to tell the kids. Once I turned into an Animagus, I told Fred and George Remus's secret."_

 _Jasper watched Remus carefully._  
 _"He looks more tired than I've ever seen him."_

 _"Would you believe he was only thirty-four?"_

 _No, Ron," said Remus when we tuned back into the memory. "Two of you."_

 _Remus stopped pacing and stepped closer to me. Almost like a protective stance._

 _"Can I see the rat?"_

 _"What?" Ron asked, surprised. "What's Scabbers got to do with anything?"_

 _"Everything," Remus said._

 _"Ron," I said gently, stepping closer to him. "Please. For me. Can you let Remus see Scabbers?"_

 _When Ron pulled Scabbers from his robe, the rat began thrashing violently trying to escape._

 _"That's Pettigrew," Jasper said._

 _I nodded._

 _"It is. You'll get to see him human soon."_

 _" I don't understand," Bella said. "How is this supposed to help me understand how the wolves are dangerous."_

 _"Remember when I called Remus with the Resurrection Stone? This is the night Remus attacked me. The scar on my spine came from this night."_

 _"An Animagus," Dad was saying, "by the name of Peter Pettigrew."_

 _"You're both mental!" Ron yelled. "Alice, tell them!"_

 _"I can't," I told Ron quietly. "It's true, Ron."_

 _"Peter Pettigrew's dead!" said Harry. "He killed him twelve years ago!"_

 _Harry pointed at Dad, who looked angrier by the second._

 _"I meant to," he growled, his yellow teeth bared, "but little Peter got the better of me … not this time, though!"_

 _"Dad, don't!" I yelled as Dad jumped off the bed._

 _"Sirius! No!" Remus yelled._

 _I stepped in front of Dad and put my hands on his face._

 _"Dad, stop it. Look at me. Please," I begged._

 _Dad scanned my face before looking up at Ron again._

 _"You can't do it just like that ," Remus said. "They need to understand. We've got to explain —"_

 _"We can explain after!" Dad said trying to move around Remus and I._

 _"Dad, stop it please," I begged. It was as if he didn't hear me. He moved around me, leaving only Remus to hold him back._

 _"They've got a right to know everything!" Remus said. "Ron kept him as a pet! There are parts of it that I don't even understand myself. And Alice and Harry! You owe Alice and Harry the truth!"_

 _Dad stopped struggling but kept his eyes on the rat._

 _"Please," I said quietly, my voice breaking slightly. "Why'd you leave me?"_

 _"All right, then," Dad said. "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for. …"_

 _"Dad, no!" I said. "Mom wouldn't want this!"_

 _"Your mother would understand, Alice. I have to keep you and Harry safe."_

 _"You're both insane and your dragging her down with you," Ron said, standing up. He used Harry and Hermione for support. "I've had enough of this. I'm off."_

 _"You're going to hear me out, Ron," Remus said, pointing his wand to the rat. "Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."_

 _"He's not Peter!" Ron yelled._

 _"Ron, you're hurt," I said. "Sit back down."_

 _Harry pushed Ron back onto the bed._

 _"There were people on the street, witnesses, who saw Pettigrew die that night," Harry said. "A whole street of people—"_

 _"They don't know what they saw," Dad snapped._

 _"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter. I did as well. Months ago, Sirius tried contacting Alice. He told her the basics, but we didn't believe him. Not until we saw the map tonight. The Marauder's Map never lies. Peter's alive and Ron is holding him, Harry."_

 _"But Professor Lupin," Hermione said in a shaky voice, "Scabbers can't be Pettigrew…it just can't be true. You know it can't."_

 _"Why can't it be true?" Remus asked._

 _"Because … because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework — the Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings and things … and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only eight Animagi this century, including Alice, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list —"_

 _Hermione was interrupted by Remus's laugh. He approached me and put a hand on the small of my back._

 _"You're right again, Hermione. But the Ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."_

 _"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus. I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer." His eyes flickered to us, and he glared. "Keep you hands off her."_

 _Harry frowned and looked between Remus and I as Remus took his hand off my back._

 _"Re—"_

 _"Not now, Alice," Remus murmured. "Your father doesn't approve of us and now isn't a good time to talk about it."_

 _He turned back to the other three as I sighed._

 _"You're together?" Ron asked in bewilderment._

 _"Fred and George never told you?" I asked him._

 _Ron shook his eyes._

 _"Alice that's your godfather," Ron choked out._

 _"Maybe on technicality," I said. "But he was never my father figure. I knew who my father was."_

 _"He's your professor," Hermione said. "That should be an issue."_

 _"The staff is also aware of that," I said. "I never went to a Potions class without him trying to talk me into breaking up with Remus all year. But that is neither here nor there. Remus has a story to tell."_

 _"Sirius, you'll have to help me," Remus said turning back to him._

 _As Remus spoke the door behind us swung open and the floorboards creaked._

 _Remus stepped away from me to the door and looked outside._

 _"There's no one there," Remus frowned._

 _"So this place is haunted!" Ron said._

 _"No it's not," Remus said. "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted. The screams and howls the villagers used to hear were made by me. That's where all of this starts — with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten and if I hadn't been so foolhardy."_

 _Remus's energy was starting to go down. He came over and leaned on me._

 _As Ron went to interrupt, Hermione shushed him._

 _"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform … I am able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again. Alice stays with me in her Animagus form. Since she turned seventeen, she's refused to leave my side."_

 _"She should," Dad said, turning to face me. "It's not safe for you."_

 _"See?" I told Bella. "Even Remus's best friend said it was dangerous to be around him."_

 _"But the potion—"_

 _"Won't work on the La Push wolves. They're too different. Keep watching, and you'll understand why I don't believe that the La Push wolves are true Children of the Moon."_

 _"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered however," Remus said, "I became a fully fledged monster once a month. I sent Alice to the Weasley house so that she would be safe from me, and so I could recover. I knew that she would be safe and taken care of there. As a child, it seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me. But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school." He paused and turned to Harry. "I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted because I came to Hogwarts. This house the tunnel that leads to it — they were built for my use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was dangerous."_

 _Remus's face was sad. I reached up and pushed his hair from his face._

 _"It's okay, Remus," I murmured in his ear. "You are safe."_

 _Remus took a deep breath and continued._

 _"My transformations in those days were — were terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor. … Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it. But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black, Alice's father … Peter Pettigrew … and, of course, your father, Harry — James Potter. Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her. I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth. And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi."_

 _"Even my dad?" Harry asked._

 _Remus nodded._

 _"Yes, indeed," Remus said._

 _I moved closer to Harry and studied his face carefully._

 _"My mother and father were still in school when I was born. I stayed with your mom, who was my mother's best friend, and your father. One day, over the summer, I was with Remus and your dad. He used to shift into his Animagus form to keep me occupied."_

 _"You knew my father?"_

 _"I don't remember much about him," I admitted. "I was four years old when my mother died, and five when your parents died. But the night they died, I saw a vision of Voldemort coming to your house." I ignored the protests of Hermione and Ron when I said his name. "I'm sorry, Harry. The vision came too late. I could have saved them, but at the time, I didn't know how to control my visions. I still struggle with it."_

 _"You were a child," Harry said. "I can't fault you for that."_

 _I smiled and turned to Remus, motioning for him to continue._

 _"It took Sirius, James, and Peter the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation can go horribly wrong — one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."_

 _"But how did that help you?" Hermione asked._

 _"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals. A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James's Invisibility Cloak. They transformed … Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."_

 _"There's a knot to stop it?" Bella asked._

 _I nodded._

 _"You couldn't freeze it with spells," I said._

 _"But you did," Edward frowned._

 _"I was one of the most powerful witches of my time. According to Dumbledore, I was one of the most powerful witches before my time as well. Between my visions of the future, my ability to produce wandless magic, and everything else I could do, I have very few limitations."_

 _"Soon," Remus was saying as we tuned back in, "we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did … And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."_

 _"What sort of animal — ?" Harry began, but Hermione cut him off._

 _"That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"_

 _"A thought that still haunts me," Remus. "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless. Carried away with our own cleverness. I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course, he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed. All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me … and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. I could barely take care of Alice. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it … so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."_

 _"Snape?" Dad said, suddenly tuning back in. "What's Snape got to do with anything?"_

 _"He's here, Sirius," Remus said. "He's teaching her as well. Potions. He's been talking to Alice. Trying to get her to leave me all year, telling her that I was putting her in danger because I was working with you…"_

 _"Why would I hurt my own daughter?" Sirius growled. "I love her more than anything!"_  
 _"Professor Snape was at school with us," Remus explained to the other three. He was actually friends with Alice's mother, Johanna. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted, and that Alice should have been moved out of my care. He has his reasons … you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me —"_

 _"It served him right," Dad sneered. "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to … hoping he could get us expelled—"_

 _"Dad, that's enough," I snapped._

 _He turned and looked at me before sighing, and turning back to Scabbers._

 _"You never told me this story," I said to Remus, frowning._

 _"I didn't want you to think poorly of your father," Remus admitted. "Severus was very interested in where I went every month. We were in the same year, you know, and we — er — didn't like each other very much. He especially disliked James. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field … anyway Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be — er — amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it — if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf — but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life … Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was. …"_

 _"Dad, you didn't," I gasped._

 _"He did."_

 _"That's horrible," I said._

 _"So that's why Snape doesn't like you," said Harry slowly, "because he thought you were in on the joke?"_

 _"That's right," Severus said from behind Remus._

 _Severus pulled the Invisibility Cloak from off of him. His wand was pointed directly at Remus's chest._

 _"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow," he sneered at Harry. "Very useful. Thank you, Potter. You're wondering how I knew you were here? I've just been to your office, Lupin. Alice mentioned that you forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a gobletful along. And very lucky I did. Lucky for me, I mean. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight. To make matters worse, you had Alice with you. You claim to care for her, but you pulled her here. In danger."_

 _"Severus —"_

 _"I told the headmaster again and again that you're helping your old friend Black into the castle, Lupin, and here's the proof," Severus interrupted. "Not even I dreamed you would have the nerve to use this old place as your hideout —"_

 _"Severus, you're making a mistake," Remus said urgently. "You haven't heard everything — I can explain — Sirius is not here to kill Harry and Alice isn't in any danger —"_

 _"Professor, please," I begged._

 _"Quiet, Mary Alice," Severus said before turning back to Remus. "Two more for Azkaban tonight. Alice can go stay with the Weasley family until she gets on her feet. Perhaps move into her parent's old house. I shall be interested to see how Dumbledore takes this. He was quite convinced you were harmless, you know, Lupin —a tame werewolf —"_

 _"Professor, he's never hurt anyone," I said._

 _"Alice, stop it," Remus said quietly. "You're a fool, Severus. Is a schoolboy grudge worth putting an innocent man back inside Azkaban?"_

 _From the tip of Severus's wand, cords shot out, wrapping around Remus's mouth, arms, and legs._

 _"Remus!" I gasped, heading to help untie him._

 _Severus flicked his wand, sending me back to the wall._

 _As my head collided, Dad growled and jumped to his feet. Severus's wand was now pointed right between my father's eyes._

 _"Give me a reason," Severus whispered. "Give me a reason to do it, and I swear I will."_

 _I lunged forward, sliding my way in between the two._

 _"Please," I begged. "I've lived twelve years of my life without my father. Don't make me live the rest of my life without him too."_

 _"Move out of the way, Mary Alice."_

 _"No," I said sternly._

 _"Mary Alice Black," Dad said, calling my attention to him. "Move. Now."_

 _"He'll kill you," I whispered. "His decision is set. It's not going to change."_

 _"I don't care," he said. "You are not going to risk your life for me. Now move."_

 _I looked at Severus one more time before I moved out of the way, and sliding down the wall to the floor._

 _"Professor Snape — it — it wouldn't hurt to hear what they've got to say, w — would it?" Hermione asked._

 _"Miss Granger, you are already facing suspension from this school. You, Potter, and Weasley are out-of-bounds, in the company of a convicted murderer and a werewolf. came here without a choice. But for once in your life, hold your tongue."_

 _"But if — if there was a mistake —"_

 _"KEEP QUIET, YOU STUPID GIRL!" Severus shouted."DON'T TALK ABOUT WHAT YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND!"_

 _A few sparks shot out of the end of his wand, just barely missing Dad's face._

 _"Vengeance is very sweet," Severus said, turning his attention to Dad. "How I hoped I would be the one to catch you …"_

 _"The joke's on you again, Severus," Dad snarled. "As long as this boy brings his rat up to the castle I'll come quietly …"_

 _"Up to the castle?" said Snape silkily. "I don't think we need to go that far. All I have to do is call the dementors once we get out of the Willow. They'll be very pleased to see you, Black … pleased enough to give you a little kiss, I daresay."_

 _I looked up to Severus in shock._

 _"P-Professor, please," I spluttered._

 _"You — you've got to hear me out," Dad croaked. "The rat — look at the rat —"_

 _"Come on, all four of you," Severus said. He clicked his fingers, and the ends of the cords that bound Remus flew to his hands. "I'll drag the werewolf. Perhaps the dementors will have a kiss for him too —"_

 _"Get out of the way, Potter, you're in enough trouble already. If I hadn't been here to save your skin —"_

 _"Professor Lupin could have killed me about a hundred times this year," Harry said. "I've been alone with him loads of times, having defense lessons against the dementors. If he was helping Black, why didn't he just finish me off then? And Alice has lived with him for twelve years. He has done nothing to harm her in that time."_

 _"Don't ask me to fathom the way a werewolf's mind works," hissed Snape. "Get out of the way, Potter."_

 _"YOU'RE PATHETIC!" Harry yelled. "JUST BECAUSE THEY MADE A FOOL OF YOU AT SCHOOL YOU WON'T EVEN LISTEN —"_

 _"SILENCE! I WILL NOT BE SPOKEN TO LIKE THAT! Like father, like son, Potter! I have just saved your neck; you should be thanking me on bended knee! You would have been well served if he'd killed you! You'd have died like your father, too arrogant to believe you might be mistaken in Black — now get out of the way, or I will make you. GET OUT OF THE WAY, POTTER!"_

 _My eyes suddenly glazed over and the room around us was blurry. I saw Harry raise his wand to Severus, and Severus was suddenly flung back. I could see Ron and Hermione with there wands also raised._

 _"Harry, Hermione, Ron, don't!" I screamed at the same time as the younger ones yelled, "Expelliarmus!"_

 _Severus had hit the wall when my eyes readjusted._

 _"Harry, what did you do?" I gasped._

 _"You shouldn't have done that," Dad said, turning his focus to Harry. "You should have left him to me."_

 _"We attacked a teacher. We attacked a teacher," Hermione repeated. "Oh, we're going to be in so much trouble." I drowned her out and rushed over to Remus._

 _"I got Remus," Dad said. "Go check Snape. Heal his wounds so they can't hold anything against Harry."_

 _I made my way over to Severus. I hovered my hand beside his head. There was a faint glow, but the blood didn't stop._

 _"The cut is too deep," I said. "I don't have any Dittany of hand. All of it is in my dormitory."_

 _"Leave him be then."_

 _"Re," I said, turning away from Severus. "Are you okay?"_

 _"I'm fine, Alice."_

 _"What Professor Snape said—"_

 _"I know, Ali," he murmured. "Just stay calm. Thank you, Harry," he said turning away from me."_

 _"I'm still not saying I believe you," he told Lupin. "I trust Alice more than the both of you."_

 _"Then it's time we offered you some proof," Remus murmured. "You, boy — give me Peter, please. Now."_

 _"Come off it," Ron. "Are you trying to say he broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean …Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat — there are millions of rats — how's he supposed to know which one he's after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"_

 _"You know, Sirius, that's a fair question," Remus said, turning back to Dad as I clutched his arm. "How did you find out where he was?"_

 _Dad put a hand in his robe and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. When he smoothed it out, I saw that it was the picture of the Weasleys in Egypt._

 _"How did you get this?" Remus asked Dad._

 _"Fudge. When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he told me that Alice had grown up so much. Then he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page … on this boy's shoulder … I knew him at once … how many times have I seen him transform? And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts … to where Harry was …and Alice. My beautiful Alice..."_

 _"My God," Remus said. His eyes were flickering between Scabbers and the paper that Dad still held. "His front paw …"_

 _"What about it?" said Ron defiantly._

 _"He's got a toe missing," Dad said._

 _"Of course," Remus breathed. "So simple … so brilliant … he cut it off himself?"_

 _"Just before he transformed. When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself — and sped down into the sewer with the other rats …_

 _"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" Remus asked, turning to face the three younger ones. "The biggest bit of Peter they found was his finger."_

 _"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or some thing! He's been in my family for ages, right —"_

 _"Ron," I said slowly as the pieces connected. "Percy got Scabbers right after the first full moon after Dad went away. I helped him catch him. That was twelve years ago."_

 _"Didn't you ever wonder why he was living so long?" Remus asked._

 _"We — we've been taking good care of him!" said Ron._

 _"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he? I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again …"_

 _"He's been scared of that mad cat!" said Ron, nodding toward Crookshanks, who was still purring on the bed._

 _"No Ron," I whispered again. "Scabbers got sick before Hermione get Crookshanks. Fred and George told me. It wasn't long after Dad broke out."_

 _"Besides," Dad said, "this cat isn't mad. He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no dog. It was a while before he trusted me. Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me."_

 _"What do you mean?" breathed Hermione._

 _"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't … so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me. As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table. But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it. This cat — Crookshanks, did you call him? — told me Peter had left blood on the sheets … I supposed he bit himself … Well, faking his own death had worked once."_

 _"And why did he fake his death?" Harry asked furiously "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents! Maybe even like you killed your own wife!"_

 _"No," Remus said, "Harry —"_

 _"And now you've come to finish him off!"_

 _"Yes, I have," Dad said._

 _"Then I should've let Snape take you!" Harry shouted._

 _"Harry," said Lupin hurriedly, "don't you see? All this time we've thought Sirius betrayed your parents, and Peter tracked him down — but it was the other way around, don't you see? Peter betrayed your mother and father — Sirius tracked Peter down —"_

 _"THAT'S NOT TRUE!" Harry yelled. "HE WAS THEIR SECRET-KEEPER! HE SAID SO BEFORE YOU TURNED UP. HE SAID HE KILLED THEM!"_

 _"Harry … I as good as killed them," he croaked. "I persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me … I'm to blame, I know it … The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but then Alice had a vision. She told Remus and I that 'there was a man at Uncle James and Aunt Lily's house.' So I left Alice with Remus, and I went to Peter's house and it was empty. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. I had lost my wife only a matter of months before this. You're not wrong, she did die because of me in a sense. They were looking for me, because they thought I'd be the Secret Keeper. I was so scarred. I set out for your parents' house straight away remembering Alice's vision. And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies … I realized what Peter must've done … what I'd done …"_

 _His voice broke. He turned away._

 _"Enough of this," Remus said. "There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."_

 _"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked tensely._

 _"Force him to show himself. If he really is a rat, it won't hurt him."_

 _Ron hesitated. Then at long last, he held out Scabbers. Scabbers began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning, his tiny black eyes bulging in his head._

 _"Ready, Sirius?"_

 _Dad had taken Severus's wand from under the bed._

 _"Together?" he said quietly._

 _"I think so. Alice, be on guard just in case. On the count of three. One — two — THREE!"_

 _After that, everything happened quickly. There were blinding lights and Scabbers was frozen in midair. After a second, he fell to the ground and he began to morph into a man._

 _"Did you believe your father before that?" Edward asked._

 _"I didn't know what to believe," I said. "But I was still cautious of my father. The story will start to move faster from here. I wanted you to see the moment that Harry and I first started to bond. It was a strange time. After this memory, there is one more from this night that I want to show you. A happier memory of Harry and I."_

 _"Well, hello, Peter," Remus said. "Long time, no see."_

 _"Remus! Sirius! My old friends!"_

 _"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed —"_

 _"Remus," gasped Pettigrew, "you don't believe him, do you… ? He tried to kill me, Remus …"_

 _"So we've heard," Remus said in an icy tone. "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'd be so —"_

 _"He's come to try and kill me again! He killed Lily and James and now he's going to kill me too. You've got to help me, Remus …"_

 _"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out," Remus said._

 _"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again, the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"_

 _"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" Remus asked in surprise. "When nobody has ever done it before?"_

 _"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly. "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"_

 _Dad laughed without humor. It was dark, and it sent chills up my spine._

 _"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" he said._

 _Pettigrew flinched._

 _"What, scared to hear your old master's name? I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"_

 _"Don't know what you mean, Sirius —" muttered Pettigrew, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face was shining with sweat now._

 _"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years. You've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter. … They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them … I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information … and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out here, biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways … If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter —"_

 _"Don't know … what you're talking about… ," said Pettigrew again, more shrill than ever. He wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Remus. "You don't believe this — this madness, Remus —"_

 _"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat," said Lupin evenly._

 _"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew. "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban — the spy, Sirius Black!"_

 _"How dare you," Dad growled. "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter — I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us … me and Remus … and James …"_

 _Pettigrew wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath._

 _"Me, a spy … must be out of your mind … never … don't know how you can say such a —"_

 _"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because I suggested it. I thought it was the perfect plan … a bluff … Voldemort would be sure to come after me, which he did, but he would never dream they'd use a weak, talentless thing like you … It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."_

 _"Dad?" I asked, calling his attention to me._

 _"What is it, sweetheart?" Remus asked, stepping closer to me in the same protective way he had stood earlier._

 _"Mama," I whispered. "Dad said he knew they would always come for him. Does that mean that Mama was always going to die?"_

 _Remus couldn't answer. Instead he turned to Dad._

 _"Sirius?"_

 _"No, Alice," Dad said sadly. "When Dumbldeore thought they'd come for me, he was going to hide us. But they came sooner than we'd expected."_

 _Remus pulled me in his arms, running a hand through my long hair._

 _"It's okay, Ali. I promise."_

 _"Professor Lupin?" asked Hermione timidly. "Can — can I say something?"_

 _"Of course," Remus said._

 _"Well — Scabbers — I mean, this — this man — he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now? And Alice. She's been staying at the Weasley house since she was five. He's never hurt her either."_

 _"There!" said Pettigrew shrilly, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand. "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head, nor Alice's! Why should I?"_

 _"I'll tell you why," said Black. "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for fifteen years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him. And as for Alice...you could never take her. She's the strongest witch I've ever seen. She'd see you coming."_

 _"Er — Mr. Black — Sirius?" said Hermione. "If you don't mind me asking, how — how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?"_

 _"Thank you!" gasped Pettigrew, nodding frantically at her. "Exactly! Precisely what I —"_

 _But Remus, who still held onto me, protecting me from the man who stood between him and my father, looked at him, and silenced him completely._

 _"I don't know how I did it. I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the dementors couldn't suck it out of me, but it kept me sane and knowing who I am … helped me keep my powers … so when it all became … too much … I could transform in my cell … become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know …" He swallowed. "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their emotions … They could tell that my feelings were less — less human, less complex when I was a dog … but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand …But then I saw Peter in that picture … I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry and my daughter… perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark Side was gathering strength again. Ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies … and to deliver the last Potter to them, and deliver the young Black girl who his followers had meant to kill months before the death of the Potters. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors …and oh the pain it would cause me to know that my daughter, the last Black left, had died. My Alice...my pride. My life…" He trailed off, turning to face me. "So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive. It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the dementors couldn't destroy it. … It wasn't a happy feeling … it was an obsession … but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog. It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused … I was thin, very thin … thin enough to slip through the bars. I swam as a dog back to the mainland. I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry. Believe me. Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them." He paused and turned to me. "Alice, I know you're still wary of me, but I need you to believe me too. I loved your mother so, so much. It destroyed me when she died. I hate that I left you, but I had to keep you and Harry safe."_

 _I looked at him before looking at the ground._

 _"Do you not love her anymore?"_

 _"What?"_

 _"You said you loved her. Do you not anymore?"_

 _"Mary Alice Black, I've loved your mother since we were fourteen. She didn't know it until we were fifteen. There was only one thing I loved more than your mother. The beautiful baby that we made. Please, Alice. You have to believe me!"_

 _"I believe you," I whispered._

 _"Harry?"_

 _"I believe you."_

 _"No!" Pettigrew yelled._

 _"Sirius — it's me … it's Peter … your friend … you wouldn't …"_

 _Dad kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled._

 _"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them," he sneered._

 _"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Remus and I. "You don't believe this … wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"_

 _"Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter. I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" he said casually over Pettigrew's head._

 _"Forgive me, Remus."_

 _"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend," Remus said, rolling up his sleeves behind my back "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"_

 _"Of course," Dad said with a wicked smile. "Shall we kill him together?"_

 _"Yes, I think so."_

 _"Remus," I gasped. "You can't! The Dementors! They'll take you both away from me!"_  
 _"Alice, calm down," he whispered in my ear. "I have to keep you safe."_

 _"I let you sleep in my bed!" Ron was saying in a repulsed voice._

 _"Kind boy … kind master …" Pettigrew crawled toward Ron, "you won't let them do it … I was your rat … I was a good pet …"_

 _"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter."_

 _Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his broken leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes._

 _"Sweet girl … clever girl … you — you won't let them … Help me …"_

 _Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified._

 _Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry._

 _"Harry … Harry … you look just like your father … just like him …"_

 _"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" Dad roared. "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"_

 _"Harry," whispered Pettigrew, shuffling toward him, hands outstretched. "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed … James would have understood, Harry … he would have shown me mercy …" He turned suddenly and headed for me. "Alice! You've been around me for twelve years! Don't let them kill me!"_

 _As Pettigrew reached forward to grab my leg, I shot a hand out, cause him to fall backwards._

 _"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort," Dad screamed, as he and Remus moved to stand in front of him. "Do you deny it?"_

 _Pettigrew burst into tears._

 _"Sirius, Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord … you have no idea … he has weapons you can't imagine … I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you and Remus and James. I never meant it to happen … He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me —"_

 _"DON'T LIE! YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY! MY WIFE DIED BECAUSE OF YOU!"_

 _"He — he was taking over everywhere!" gasped Pettigrew. "Wh — what was there to be gained by refusing him?"_

 _"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed? Only innocent lives, Peter! Harry and Alice would have grown up with their parents! My daughter wouldn't flinch away from me every time I come close to her!"_

 _"You don't understand!" whined Pettigrew. "He would have killed me, Sirius!"_

 _"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED! DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"_

 _Dad and Remus stood with their shoulders touching. Two wands pointed at Pettigrew's chest. I looked up to Harry wide eyed._

 _"You should have realized," Remus said quietly, "if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."_

 _"NO!" Harry yelled. He ran forward, placing himself in front of Pettigrew, facing the wands. "You can't kill him," he said breathlessly. "You can't."_

 _"Harry, this piece of vermin is the reason you have no parents," Dad snarled. "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than your whole family."_

 _"I know," Harry panted. "We'll take him up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the dementors … He can go to Azkaban … but don't kill him."_

 _"Harry!" gasped Pettigrew, and he flung his arms around Harry's knees. "You — thank you — it's more than I deserve — thank you —"_

 _"Get off me," Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust. "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because — I don't reckon my dad would've wanted them to become killers — just for you."_

 _No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Dad and Remus were looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands._

 _"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry," said Dad. "But think … think what he did …"_

 _"He can go to Azkaban," Harry repeated. "If anyone deserves that place, he does …Alice?"_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"He took your mother away from you. Are you okay with this decision?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"Azkaban is when he belongs."_

 _Pettigrew was still wheezing behind him._

 _"Very well," Remus said. "Stand aside, Harry."_

 _Harry hesitated._

 _"I'm going to tie him up. That's all, I swear."_

 _Harry stepped out of the way. Thin cords shot from Lupin's wand this time, and the next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged._

 _"But if you transform, Peter," growled Dad, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too, "we will kill you. You agree, Harry?"_

 _Harry looked down and nodded so that Pettigrew could see him._

 _"Right," said Remus, suddenly businesslike. "Ron, I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey, so I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing."_

 _He hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand, and muttered, "Ferula." Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint. Remus helped him to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince._

 _"That's better," he said. "Thanks."_

 _"What about Professor Snape?" said Hermione in a small voice, looking down at Severus's prone figure._

 _"There's nothing seriously wrong with him," said Lupin, bending over Severus and checking his pulse. "Alice healed his head injures. You were just a little — overenthusiastic. Still out cold. Er — perhaps it will be best if we don't revive him until we're safely back in the castle. We can take him like this …"_

 _He muttered, "Mobilicorpus." As though invisible strings were tied to Snape's wrists, neck, and knees, he was pulled into a standing position, head still lolling unpleasantly, like a grotesque pup pet. He hung a few inches above the ground, his limp feet dangling. Remus picked up the Invisibility Cloak and tucked it safely into his pocket._

 _"And two of us should be chained to this," Dad said as he nudged Pettigrew with his toe. "Just to make sure."_

 _"I'll do it," Remus said._

 _"And me," Ron said in a voice that was almost a growl._

 _In the next few minutes, Remus and Ron were handcuffed to Pettigrew, and we were on our way back through the shack. Crookshanks walked in front of us all. Behind the cat, was Remus, Ron, and Pettigrew. Severus was drifting behind him, being held up by his wand, which was held by my father. I walked next to Dad, using wandless magic to help steady Severus, and Harry and Hermione walked carefully behind us._

 _"Snape shows you a touch of favoritism, doesn't he?" Dad asked, nudging me._

 _"He told me that Mama was one of his best friends," I murmured. "He told me earlier this year that he was afraid I was going to turn out like you, but I'm like her."_

 _"He's right about that," Dad said. "You look so much like her. You got her brains too. Do you have any piece of me?"_

 _"I don't know," I whispered. "Sirius, I—"_

 _"Sirius?" he asked, in surprise._

 _"Look," I sighed. "I was four years old when Mum died. You went away only five months after that. I wasn't old enough to remember much about you. For the last twleve years, I grew up thinking my father was a mass murder. I was made fun of for who I was. For who my father was. I don't know what traits I got from you. Re didn't like talking about you."_

 _"She's got traits of yours, Sirius," Remus said, glancing over his shoulder at us. "She's brave and true-hearted."_

 _"Alice," Dad said in a voice barely above a whisper. "I'm sorry."_

 _"I know," I murmured, keeping my eyes on my hands that were stretched out in front of me. "James...he was more important. You had to do right by James. Remus and I, we did alright."_

 _"Alice—"_

 _"It's okay," I said, shaking my head. "You don't have to explain."_

 _"I think I do," he said. "You think that James meant more to me than you did?"_

 _"I don't think. I know."_

 _"Whatever you think you know, you're wrong."_

 _"I'm not," I growled. "If I meant more to you than what you claim I do, you would have stayed! But you left me! I needed my father but you were rotting away in Azkaban because you acted too rashly!"_

 _I dropped my hands, and slid between Ron and the wall, stepping over Crookshanks, and speeding from the room._

 _"Alice!" Remus called from behind me._

 _For the first time in my entire life, I ignored him, and kept going._

 _"I've never seen you like that," Jasper murmured._

 _"I was so upset with him," I whispered. "Growing up, I couldn't understand. What made Voldemort so special that Dad sold out his wife and his best friend. That night, I couldn't figure out why it was that he had to go on his own, find Pettigrew, and try to kill him instead of letting the Aurors handle it. I understand it in a way, but because of what he did, or rather because of what he was thought to have done, I paid the price."_

 _When I made it outside, I sucked in a deep breath of the cool air hitting the knot in the tree with my foot as I raised my hands in the air in front of me. As I released the knot, the tree remained completely still. From inside the tunnel, I could hear Dad and Harry talking._

 _"You know what this means?" Dad asked. "Turning Pettigrew in?"_

 _"You're free," said Harry._

 _"Yes . But I'm also — I don't know if anyone ever told you — I'm your godfather."_

 _"Yeah, I knew that," said Harry._

 _"Well … your parents appointed me your guardian. If anything happened to them …I'll understand, of course, if you want to stay with your aunt and uncle, but … well … think about it. Once my name's cleared … if you wanted a … a different home …"_

 _"What — live with you? Leave the Dursleys?"_

 _"Of course, I thought you wouldn't want to," Dad said quickly. "I understand, I just thought I'd —"_

 _"Are you insane?" said Harry in a voice filled with excitement. "Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?"_

 _"You want to?" Dad. "You mean it?"_

 _"Yeah, I mean it!" said Harry._

 _"I have a house. One my wife and I bought after we graduated. Once my name is cleared, I'll talk to Alice about transferring it back into my name."_

 _I was livid. Dad hadn't made me that offer. It became clear to me that Harry held the same level of importance to my father that James had. A place of importance that was higher than where I stood._

 _I told Jasper, Bella, and Edward the thoughts that had been running through my mind at that moment. A second after I finished talking, Crookshanks exited the tree._

 _As soon as Crookshanks made it out, I took off, heading away from the Whomping Willow._

 _"Alice!" Remus called again._

 _I stopped, and turned to face him._

 _"Al, come back, please."_

 _I quickly made my way back to Remus._

 _Remus pointed his wand directly at Pettigrew's chest._

 _"If you make one wrong move, Peter, or if you make an attempt to touch her, I will personally end you." Remus kept his wand pointed at Pettigrew, and he turned to me. I placed a hand on his shoulder, keeping him close to me. "Hear him out," Remus, whispered in my ear. "For me. Please."_

 _I looked at Remus and glanced over my shoulder before turning back to him._

 _"Re, I want to ask you something, and I want you to be honest with me."_

 _"What's that, love?"_

 _"Does Sirius love Harry more than he loved me?"_

 _"No, Alice," Remus gasped. "Alice, your his child."_

 _"Harry is his godson," I said._

 _"Yes. But Alice, he loves you more than anything."_

 _"He wants to take my house away from me."_

 _"You're not using it," Remus murmured. "You're living with me."_

 _"I just thought one day, you and I would move there."_

 _"I like our cottage," Remus said. "What if this summer, we redecorate?"_

 _I laughed._

 _"We'll talk about it later."_

 _I leaned over and kissed his cheek before walking closely next to him across the castle grounds._

 _The lights of the castle were slowly becoming brighter. We were close now. Remus, I noticed, became slightly more tense._

 _Suddenly, a cloud in the sky shifted, exposing the pale light of the full moon hanging over head._

 _"Remus?" I asked._

 _Remus suddenly jerked to a stop. Severus's body collided with the three._

 _"Stop," Dad said from behind me. "Alice?"_

 _"He's going to change," I said, turning wide eyed. "The kids. We have to get them out of here."_

 _I turned back to Remus, and he began snarling quietly. It was growing louder and louder._

 _"Oh, my —" Hermione gasped. "He didn't take his potion tonight! He's not safe!"_

 _"Run," Dad whispered. "Run. Now."_

 _Harry lunged towards us, but Dad grabbed him and threw him back._

 _"Alice and I will take care of it. Run! Now!"_

 _I moved quickly, transforming into my Animagus form. I snipped at Remus's arm, trying to keep his attention off of the kids._

 _In a second, I heard a bang. Pettigrew had picked up the wand that Remus had dropped. Ron was motionless on the ground. I turned and snapped my jaws at Pettigrew. There was a second bang as he turned the wand on Crookshanks._

 _"Expelliarmus!" Harry shouted. Remus's wand went up in the air. I knew Harry had it handled, and I turned my attention back to Remus. He and Dad were snapping at each other's throats. I ran forward, and nipped at Remus's arm to take his attention away from Dad._

 _Remus rounded on me, snarling. His eyes softened slightly as he looked at me, but then in the next second he was back to snarling as I began running away from him._

 _"Sirius! Alice!" I heard as I lured Remus into the woods. "He's gone! Pettigrew transformed."_

 _I howled, signaling that I heard him, and Remus who was still chasing me howled back. Dad caught up. He was bleeding. Gashes went across his muzzle and back._

 _"Keep him distracted," Dad barked at me. "I'm going after Pettigrew!"_

 _He rounded back towards the kids, bounding across the grounds._

 _Once we were in the woods, far enough away from the children, I stopped running, and turned to face Remus. He walked towards me, and I slowly backed away from him._

 _Remus snarled at me, and I whined. The werewolf stopped in its tracks. For a moment I was convinced he knew who I was. Then suddenly, Remus began to snarl again, and ran past me into the woods._

 _I ran through the woods, back to where the others had been. Harry and Hermione were gone. I immediately shifted back in search of Remus's wand, praying that Pettigrew hadn't taken it._

 _I found it buried in a bush. I put Remus's wand in my wand holster next to mine._

 _Behind me there were quiet footsteps. I turned to find Remus hovering over me._

 _"Remus," I said slowly. "Don't. Remember who you are!"_

 _Remus snarled at me and stepped closer._

 _I made the attempt to transform in an attempt to escape, but I wasn't quick enough. Remus swiped at my back, causing a deep gash. Blood covered the grass, and I was so sure I was going to die. I howled in pain._

 _He was going to kill me. I was sure of it. His mouth watered, and he drooled. The drool hit my back. The pain was worse than before._

 _The howls caused the werewolf to retreat._

 _I could no longer hold my form. My howls turned to screams._

 _"Mary Alice?" Severus asked, leaning down next to me._

 _"Harry," I gasped. "Go find Harry!"_

 _"Mary Alice, you have to stay still. You're bleeding."_

 _Severus set to work over me, conjuring a stretcher._

 _"I have to move you," he said. "It's going to hurt."_

 _"Let me die," I moaned._

 _"No!" Severus yelled. "Your mother died to keep you safe and I will not let that be in vain, Mary Alice Black."_

 _Severus carefully moved me onto the stretcher. It felt like I was being split apart. My screams grew louder and louder._

 _"Remus," I gasped. "He didn't mean to."_

 _"I told you," Severus said. "Werewolves are dangerous! He will always be a monster!"_  
 _"No," I gasped. "Not a monster."_

 _"Stop talking," Severus said. "You have to save your energy."_

 _"Harry," I whispered._  
 _"I'm going to find Harry."_

 _Suddenly, the ground that was moving below me became blurred._

 _"Professor," I whispered._

 _"What?"_

 _"Am I going to die?"_

 _Severus placed a hand on my shoulder._

 _"You are going to be okay. We're going to take you to Madam Pomfrey."_

 _"I don't want to be a werewolf."_

 _"He didn't bite you."_

 _"His saliva hit me. It got into the cut. Let me die. Please," I cried._

 _"You're going to be okay Alice. Now stop talking."_

 _"My father...I'm sorry for what he did."_

 _"Stop. Talking."_

 _I did what he said and closed my eyes._

 _"Stay awake, Alice. You have to stay awake."_

 _"I'm tired," I slurred._

 _"Keep talking to me then. You have to stay awake."_

 _"I need you to do something."_

 _"What's that?"_

 _"I-I—"_

 _I couldn't finish my statement. I had blacked out, but I was sure I was dead._

The memory swirled. The next scene was me in the hospital wing.

 _I was lying on my stomach, sleeping. Large bandages were seen poking through a tan bandage that was wrapped around my torso._

 _"Let me see her!" Remus yelled from the hallway._

 _"She is resting!" Madam Pomfrey yelled back._

 _"I may be able to help her. Just let me see her."_

 _"Make it quick."_

 _Remus burst through the doors, running to me. He was holding a bowl in his hands. There was a bandage wrapped around his hand, and whatever was in the bowl was blood red with specks of silver._

 _"I need the bandages off."_

 _"What is that?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she began to unwrap me._

 _"I've heard whispers of a cure. From werewolves who I've encountered. They spoke of a cure that they didn't want the Ministry to know about."_

 _"What is it?_

 _"A mixture of powdered silver, Dittany, phoenix tears, and the blood of the werewolf who attacked the victim. It has to be put into the wound before the next full moon, or she'll be changed."_

 _"I don't remember him saying that," I murmured. "It was something my subconscious picked up on."_

 _As Madam Pomfrey removed the blood soaked bandages, Remus moved closer. He tilted the bowl and poured it straight into the bleeding wound._

 _I was no longer sleeping. The Hospital Wing was filled with the sounds of my screams echoing off the walls._

 _"Alice," Remus said, kneeling down next to me as Madam Pomfrey set to work. "It's okay. I'm here. Shhhh."_

 _Remus pressed his forehead against mine._

 _"Ali, I'm so sorry."_

 _"Shhh," I murmured back my hand against his face. "It wasn't you."_

 _"Severus...he said you told him that you didn't want to be like me."_

 _"I saw what you go through everyday," I said. "I didn't want to make things worse for you."_

 _"Ali," Remus sighed._

 _"Shh," I murmured, patting his hand. "Stay. Please?"_

 _Remus looked up at Madam Pomfrey._

 _"Fine. You can stay. Make sure she rests."_

 _She rewrapped the bandages, and left. Remus pulled the chair as close to the bed as he could, and held my hand tightly in his._

 _"I thought I killed you when I heard what I had done."_

 _"I thought I was going to die," I whispered. "There was so much blood. But Remus, this isn't your fault. Please...don't leave me."_

 _"It's not safe for you anymore."_

 _"You forgot to take your potion. That's all. I'll make it every month, and I'll be safe again. Please, Remus, please," I said. My voice broke and Remus kissed my temple._

 _"Shh," he soothed. "I'm not going anywhere."_

 _"Sirius," I whispered. "What happened to him?"_

 _Remus launched into the story of what had happened to Dad, Harry,and Hermione. About how he had escaped thanks to Hermione and a Time Turner._

 _"Let's go hide out with him for a while," Remus whispered in my ear._

 _"I can't disappear forever," I said. "The Ministry would know I know something."_

 _"So you'll come with us for a few months. Then we'll come back, and hide Sirius at our cottage for a while."_

 _"And if we're caught?"_

 _"We won't be. It'll be our next adventure."_

 _"Let me think about it," I murmured closing my eyes._

"The next memory," I said, as the picture swirled, "is of me and Harry. It was a few days after Pettigrew escaped. Remus had went to go back his office up.

 _Harry came walking through the Hospital Wing as Madam Pomfrey was helping me get my robes on over my bandages._

 _"Hi, Alice," Harry said._

 _"Hello, Harry," I smiled._

 _"Are you coming to the End of the Year Feast?"_

 _"It's the plan."_

 _"Is she okay?" Harry asked, turning away from me._

 _"Ms. Black is lucky to be alive. Professor Lupin just barely missed her spine, and she lost a lot of blood. She'll have to use a cane to get around until the heals all the way."_

 _"Dumbledore said that you could sit with the Gryffindor table. Fred and George are anxious to see you."_

 _"Madam Pomfrey wouldn't let them in," I smiled. "She's afraid they'd cause a ruckus and prevent me from recovering."_

 _"I'll walk her down, Madam Pomfrey," Harry said._

 _I turned and looked at her._

 _"Please?"_

 _Madam Pomfrey nodded._

 _"Make sure you hold onto her other arm."_

 _"Professor Lupin wanted me to tell you that he'll meet you at Kings Cross," Harry said. "He was heading out when I saw him."_

 _"He didn't come say goodbye to me," I frowned._

 _"Word got out about your relationship," Harry murmured. "He's slightly embarrassed."_

 _"About me?"_

 _"Well the attack was in the Prophet this morning."_

 _"Don't call it an attack," I frowned. "It was an accident. He wasn't in his right mind."_

 _"Anyways, that's not why I came," Harry said, helping me stand._

 _"Why did you come?"_

 _"I wanted to get to know you more. Being that you're my godsister."_

 _"You know, I've always considered you my brother. Not my godbrother, but my brother. Even when you didn't know who I was."_

 _"Really?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"I stopped playing Quidditch so I could keep an eye on you."_

 _"You played?"_

 _I laughed and nodded._

 _"Best damn Seeker Slytherin house has ever seen."_

 _"You were a Seeker?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"I loved playing. But Remus asked me to keep an eye on you. So I quit. The new Seeker lasted a year, then Draco Malfoy became the Seeker. I didn't mind. I wanted to make sure you were safe. I didn't do a very good job though. You end up in the hospital wing every year for injuries."_

 _"That wasn't your fault. But why didn't you ever tell me?"_

 _"Remus told me not to."_

 _"Can I ask you a question?"_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"You and Professor Lupin are dating?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"I think I know where you're going with this. I don't see Remus as my father. I never did. Dad used to try and get Uncle Moony to stick, but that never worked. I always called him 'my Moony." I laughed._

 _"I think he loves you very much. You should have seen his face when he found out what happened to you...he was heart broken. Snape told him that you were begging him to let you die."_

 _I sighed._

 _"He wasn't wrong. I was in pain. I wanted my mother."_

 _"Can I ask what happened to her?"_

 _"Death Eaters. They came looking for Dad. He went to go see your parents. She hid me, and they killed her...I watched her die. It's the only memory I have of her."_

 _"Ron is bringing a photo album that Hagrid gave me. I think I have a picture of her somewhere inside of it."_

 _"Really?"_

 _"Her name was Johanna, right?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"Johanna Penelope Nott Black. She was your mother's best friend. I vaguely remember your mother and father. They were always around...Uncle James and Aunt Lily...I'm so sorry, Harry. I tried to save them. My father...he didn't like that I could see the future. He believed they were stories. He didn't believe me when I said I saw him dying. He left and Mama paid the price...but when I saw a man entering the gate to James and Lily's house...it somehow was different."_

 _"Remus told me that you think Sirius cares for me more than you?"_

 _"He never once offered me to come back home with him. After twelves years he seemed like he wanted nothing to do with me...but you...it was almost instantly. I think it's cause you look so much like James."_

 _"I don't want to cause problems between you and Sirius."_

 _"You didn't cause anything, Harry. He did. The day he went away. But it's okay. Remus and I...we have our cottage. He told me I could redecorate the house this summer. You know Harry, if you need to get away from your aunt and uncle's, you can come and stay with me for a bit this summer. Remus wants to go stay with Dad."_

 _"I'd like that."_

 _"We can go to Diagon Alley and get your school stuff, and all that. And the Quidditch World Cup is this summer. Maybe we can go. You, me, Fred, George, Ron, and Hermione?"_

 _"I'd like that."_

 _I grinned._

 _"It's a plan then. Hopefully I won't be using this stupid cane anymore."_

 _"When will I come?"_

 _"Give me a week or so to talk to Remus, and to get everything ready for you."_

 _"Thanks, Ali."_

 _I grinned._

 _"No problem, Har."_

The scene swirled again.

"This memory is recent," I said. "It's the last of the three memories I have prepared for you."

I showed Edward and Bella the conversation between me and Firenze. About Bella's fate.

"You see?" I told Edward. "The decision that will decide Bella fate forever will be decided soon."

"Why do you keep pressing the matter, Alice?" Edward yelled.

"Because I want you to choose right!" I growled. "I want you both to make the right decision! One that will keep her alive!"

Jasper pulled me into a hug.

"Calm," he told me.

Then suddenly, the four of us were pulled from the Pensieve as the memories ended.

"Do you see it now, Bella?" I asked.

"It's not the same, Alice," Bella said. "The wolves wouldn't be so reckless."

"Reckless," I repeated, jumping to my feet. "I'll remember those words."

I jumped to my feet, put my pensive into my bag, and headed for the back door, ignoring the calls of Bella, Jasper, and Edward behind me. For a moment, I felt like I was seventeen again.

* * *

 **Sixty-three pages. That is how long this chapter ended up being on Google Docs in Arial point 11 font. I put so much work in this chapter and I am so proud of it. I gave more of an insight of Alice's past. I think that is one of my favorite things to write. I also am so happy I finally gave a story to the scar on Alice's back. The way I pictured it, was the claw cut deep into her back, and the smell of the blood almost caused Remus to attack her. But somewhere, deep inside of him, his right mind showed through and made him run from her.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the chapter, and I hope to have the next one up as soon as I can!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	92. Victoria

_"A person's fears are lighter when the danger is at hand." ~Lucius Annaeus Seneca_

* * *

Chapter 92-Victoria

The weeks following the incident at Bella's went by rather smoothly. Bella apologized, and told me she understood why I showed her the memory.

"Remus lied to the kids you know," I said suddenly as she apologized.

"About what?"

"He said that we hadn't seen Sirius. Or even talked to him for that matter. It wasn't true. We had seen him twice. He sent a letter asking me to meet him and Remus and I went. Armed, of course. We talked. He stayed with us for the next full moon."

"So when you asked him why he didn't stay...was it fake?"

I shook my head.

"I was angry with him. I had asked him before, and I thought I was okay. But I wasn't."

"Harry. Does he know?"

I nodded.

"I told him the truth after Dad died."

I had went to the Ministry the night of Bella's apology. I had waited so I could bottle the memory, and return to Remus's house to see if he had anything written on the matter. The people at the Ministry told me that I would be sent money once a month for the cure. Half of everything I earned went to Teddy. I started an account in Gringotts in his name, and gave the key to Andromeda.

"I told the bank that the account would not be available for him to access without your permission until he was seventeen. My name is on there too, but you have complete control."

When I went home that night, I used to Resurrection Stone to call Remus back.

"I matter now," he laughed.

"You've always mattered," I smiled. "Now you matter to more people."

"Thank you, Alice."

I nodded, and dropped the stone.

School became more regular as the weeks passed. People stared, and I became slightly embarrassed.

"She's dying, you know," Jessica Stanley whispered to Lauren Mallory one day at lunch. "I heard Bella say something to Edward about it last period."

Lauren glanced at me. I kept my head down, eyeing my sketchpad.

"How long do you think she has left?"

Jessica shrugged.

"Judging by the looks of her, not long."

I looked up from my sketchbook and turned to the two girls, flashing a small smile.

"Do you think she heard us?" Lauren asked Jessica.

Jessica shook her head, and turned her attention to her lunch.

 _Don't worry about them, Al,_ Edward thought.

 _At least we know the story is working. What did Bella ask you?_

 _She was asking about the backstory,_ he said with a slight frown. _I didn't think Jessica was listening._

I glanced over at the girls and then back to Edward.

 _You would think they would have found something better to talk about._

Edward chuckled slightly, causing Bella to raise an eyebrow at him while a few others looked at him in concern.

 _You can handle the paparazzi and people like Rita Skeeter, but you can't handle the stares of a few Muggle teenagers?_

I glared at him.

 _I just didn't realize how much Muggles inserted themselves into other people's business._

Edward snorted and leaned over to Bella.

Bella looked at me and frowned.  
"Not all," she whispered to me.

"She knows," Edward murmured back.

"So, Alice," Jessica asked calling my attention to her. She hadn't spoken to me directly in a long time, so it took me slightly by surprise.

"Yes?"

"How long do you have to wear that?"

I traced the tube in my nose.

"Early to mid-September. If I get worse, longer."

"What are the chances?" Angela asked, "of getting worse I mean."

"Fifty-fifty," I shrugged. "They've never seen anything like this."

"I don't mean to pry," Angela said.

I waved my hand at her.

"It's no problem."

"Well then can I ask another question?" Jessica asked.

"Depends on the question."

"Two weeks ago, a man with black hair came here with Jasper. Who is he?"

"When we were in L.A, Carlisle started seeking out any relatives. He found my brother. He was away at a boarding school when our parents died."

"How much older is he than you?"

"Nine years."

"And you're seventeen?"

I nodded.

"How long have you been with Dr. and Mrs. Cullen?" Angela asked.

"Since my parents died ten years ago. Like I said, Harry was away at a boarding school, and when he turned eighteen, he decided to stay there. I was put in a foster home, and he couldn't find me."

"So are you going with him?"

I shook my head.

"I turn eighteen in June. I don't see the point. Besides, my family is here. With the Cullens."

Before anybody had the chance to ask anymore questions, the bell rang.

I let out a deep breath in relief and jumped to my feet, packing away my sketchbook.

"Muggles are so nosy," I said, hitting my head on Jasper's shoulder that afternoon when I got home.

"What happened, Darlin'?" he asked, grinning.

I filled him in on that day at lunch. He snickered as I laid my head on his lap.

"Are you sure it's a Muggle thing and not a human thing?"

"Oh, it's definitely a Muggle think," I growled. "In my world, it was common courtesy to keep yourself out of people's business. If you asked, and a person was clearly uncomfortable, then you don't mention it."

"Not all Muggles are that nosy. I promise."

"I know," I murmured. "Angela Webber, she apologized when she realized I was uncomfortable with all the questions."

"Why were you uncomfortable?" Jasper murmured. "It's not true."

"I was uncomfortable because I've never had to go into so much detail with my story."

"It's over now," he smiled, leaning over me and kissing my forehead.

I smiled and closed my eyes.

Over the next few weeks, I had to return to England on the weekends for press releases about the cure.

"Why didn't Remus Lupin tell anybody that he had found a cure?" a reporter asked me during a radio interview "Why keep it to just saving you?"

"I think that Remus was afraid," I said. "Werewolves, at the time, were looked at more negatively than now. Remus couldn't keep a job, and he and I barely scraped by. When I was attacked, and tried it, he wasn't even sure that it would work. He heard whispers, underground during the first war. He figured it was worth a shot."

"Can you tell us about the attack itself?"

I nodded and set into the story. I started from Remus forgetting his potion. I told about his change, and how I had come searching for the wand that he had "dropped" during the transformation.

"You lived with him for sometime after that, right?"

I nodded.

"That's correct."

"Were you ever afraid of him?"

I shook my head.

"Remus Lupin was not a monster," I said. "He was kind, and brave, and loving. What happened that night was an accident. I knew that Remus would give up everything to change it."

The reporter smiled, and looked down to her notes.

"So it isn't a secret that you and Remus Lupin were romantically involved. Did the attack impact that?"

I nodded.

"He was terrified of me being around him. It took him about three weeks to actually look at me. Remus told me that he would never marry me, that we'd never have children. He tried everything in his power to push me away."

"Yet you stayed?"

I nodded.

"I stayed with him until he pushed me away. When he left, he told me he wanted me to have someone young. Someone normal."

"Did he leave you because of the attack."

I nodded.

"He left me because of what he was. I didn't find that out until later. At the time, he told me he didn't love me. But things worked out for the better."

I smiled at Jasper, who stood towards the back of the room.

The interviewer followed my eyes and smiled.

"Right, your husband. Do you think what happened between you and Remus puts a strain on your current marriage?"

I looked at Jasper for a moment and frowned.

"I don't think it has," I said, turning to face the woman. "Jasper is understanding about it. It's one of his best qualities. He understands that Remus and I were together, and we didn't work out. He knows I love him, so I don't think it strains anything."

"What would you say _does_ put a strain on the relationship?"

"My memories," I said. "I remember things so clearly compared to other vampires. My transformation didn't heal the trauma that I had before I was changed. It carried over into this life. He doesn't admit it, but I know it gets exhausting."

Jasper glared at me, before pulling open the door and stepping outside.  
"Well there we have it," the interviewer said, turning to face the front. "Mary Alice Black Whitlock discussing the cure for Lycanthropy found by Remus Lupin. Tune in tomorrow where we will talk about the effects of the Wolfsbane Potion."

Once we were off the air, I paused to say goodbye before I took my leave, heading after Jasper. I found him outside, sitting on the ground. He was watching his lap as he twirled his wedding ring.

"Why'd you storm out?" I asked sitting beside him. I attempted to take his hand, but he jerked away.

"I can't believe you said that on the radio," Jasper snapped.

"Said what?"

"You know what."

"About my past?"

"You think I'm exhausted by trying to help you?"

"No. I think you're exhausted at having to try to fix the same problems over and over again."

Jasper looked at me with sad eyes.

"Mary Alice, if that's what you think then you really don't know me."

"Enlighten me then, Jasper," I sighed, hitting my head against the stone wall behind me causing a small crack to form. "Don't tell me you like dealing with me when I'm like that."

"I don't _deal_ with you," Jasper growled. "I'm your husband. Not your handler. And no, I don't like it when you're upset, but I don't mind helping. I know that what you went through was worse than anything we could have imagined, and like you said, the transformation didn't fix that trauma. I knew that when we started dating. I knew it wasn't going to be easy but no normal marriage is."

"I don't understand."

"Understand what?"

"You went through the same things that I did. You were in a war and then you were part of a newborn army. You don't have that trauma."  
"No. But I didn't watch my family die."

I sucked in a breath and rested my chin on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry."

Jasper turned his head and put a hand on my face.

"It's okay. I know you didn't mean any harm by it." He kissed my forehead and smiled. "Now come on," he said jumping to his feet. "We have twenty minutes until your next interview."

The interviews continued for the next week or two. I was asked my opinion of how to keep the cure on hand. Jasper was asked about his life with me, and whether it has felt different since the cure went out.

I was sent copies of all of my interviews that were on paper. Bella read some of them, and frowned.

"So are you getting credit for it or is Remus?"

"Remus is. I'm receiving the royalties because Remus is gone. I'm splitting them with Teddy, so I know he won't have to worry about money."

"Why not give all the money to Teddy?" Bella asked. "Don't you have enough in your vaults?"

"That money will eventually run out, Bella, and I'm not getting any older. I tried. I really did. Andromeda wouldn't let me. The deal she and I made was that I would split the royalties with Teddy until his death. After that, all the money will come to me."

"But you barely use the money there."

"You're wrong. Sometimes I get the money from my vault and convert it to Muggle pounds so I can go shopping. I convert it to American Wizarding Currency so that I can get potion supplies. You've known about my secret for a month, Isabella. There's still a lot you don't know about me or my kind."

"Alice," Edward warned.

"Don't Alice me," I snapped. "It would do her some good not to make assumptions about something that she knows nothing about."

"Don't mind her," Edward murmured to Bella. "She's just overprotective when it comes to her world."

"Because I'm trying to keep them and the rest of my world safe," I glared. "In the 1600s, when America was first colonized, my kind was hunted. We were burned at the stake. Most weren't witches, but some were. In the 1920s, there was an organization, New Salem Philanthropic Society. They called themselves Second Salemers. They tried to hunt us again. To put an end to my kind. Then there was Grindelwald, and then Voldemort. They have to stay safe. So yeah. I'm overprotective."

I slammed my book shut and jumped to my feet.

"Alice—"

"Let her go," Edward murmured. "She needs to cool off."

I pulled my oxygen tank out of Bella's kitchen and headed for the door.

"Leaving already, Alice?" Charlie asked. "Edward usually stays until nine."

I nodded.

"I'm kind of tired, but Edward wants to stay. So I was going to call Jasper."  
"I'll take you," Charlie said jumping to his feet. "I'll just peek in on Bella and Edward and then we'll go."

"Thanks, Charlie," I smiled.

When I got home, Charlie walked me to the door where he was met by Jasper and Carlisle.

"Alice got tired, and Edward didn't want to bring her home."

"She could have called me," Jasper frowned.

"She wanted to," Charlie murmured as I leaned against Jasper for support. "I just figured I'd save you a trip out."

"Thank you," Carlisle smiled.

"Come on," Jasper murmured. "Let's go to bed."

He wrapped an arm around me and pulled me through the house until we were out of Charlie's eyesight. I straightened up and pulled the tubes out of my nose.

"What's the matter?" Jasper asked.

"I thought that telling Bella about me would make things easier," I said. "It's only making things harder. Edward said I was overprotective when it came to my family."

"Considering all that you and your family has been through, that's not a bad thing," Jasper said as he pushed the door to our room open. I put the oxygen tank against the wall and headed to grab my cauldron and some potions ingredients.

"Maybe not," I said as Jasper helped me set up the table. "It was overly hypocritical though. He gets scared if she trips over her own shoelace."  
"Alice," Jasper scolded with a small smile. "Don't forget, she is your best friend."

"In a way, I suppose."

"Is she not?"

I sighed.

"She was, but—"  
"But now you have George back?"  
"No," I said, glaring at him. "I was going to say that while she was my best friend, in this world, I wasn't her's."

"What do you mean?"

I shrugged.

"Never mind. It's not important."

"Ali," Jasper murmured, "talk to me."

"Bella and I wouldn't be friends if she and Edward weren't together. She, like everyone else, would have seen me as the weird girl."

Jasper pulled me into a hug.

"I'm sorry, baby," he murmured.

"It's okay."

"How can I make it better?"

I smiled at him.

"No worries. It will be okay."

Jasper nodded and kissed my cheek before going to the bookshelf and pulling a book off of it.

I set off to work brewing a Beguiling Bubbles potion for George.

"I used to make these all the time," I murmured. "I helped them make the recipe."

"How'd you do it?"

"I took the properties of other love potions, and I took the common traits of each one."

"You said once that Voldemort was conceived under a love potion, but you never went into detail about it. Only that he couldn't feel it. Why?"

"Because it wasn't real love."

"But his mother loved his father. That was real."

"But he didn't love her back. On his end, it was made by means of a potion. It mimicked love."  
"So if Tom Riddle actually loved Merope Gaunt, Voldemort wouldn't have turned out like he did?"

"It's a big possibility. He told me once that the love I had for my family was a liability, but he admired it. 'Love is weakness, Mary Alice', he told me. 'Love will kill you.' But if you would die for love, wouldn't that make it a strength?"

"I suppose it would," he smiled.

Jasper and I talked about the effects of love potions for about an hour before Edward turned up in the doorway.

"What the hell was that?" he growled at me.

"What the hell was what?" I said, not looking up at him.

"You yelled at Bella! She's so upset—"  
"No," I snapped. "Don't come in here with that, Edward. You called me overprotective. What did you expect?"

"You're so self-involved, Alice," Edward said. "If it doesn't fit your expectations, all hell breaks loose."

"I'm self-involved?" I yelled. "I give up everything for my family! I put my life on the line for you so that _you_ could be happy, and I'm self-involved?"

I smacked his chest. Jasper ran up and pulled me away from him.

"I've put my head on a plate for you, Edward Cullen," I growled as the others filled the hallway. "Nothing I do will never be enough."

"Alice?" Carlisle asked. "What happened?"

"Edward has finally done it," I said, glaring at Edward. "After graduation, I'm gone."

Before anybody could say anything else, I waved my hand and the door flew shut.

I moved away from the door and ran into the closet.

"Alice," Jasper asked, running after me. "Can we talk about this?"

"I warned them, Jasper. One more time and I was leaving."

"Where are you going?" he asked as he watched me pull clothes off the shelf.

"I'm spending the weekend in England."

"I'm going to stay here," Jasper said quietly. "Carlisle and I should start planning the logistics if you and I are leaving."

I nodded and pulled him into a tight hug. I'll be back Sunday."

"Call me once you get settled."

I nodded.

"I love you."

"I love you more."

I gave a weak smile and waved before disappearing.

Over the next five hours, I would receive five calls and three texts from Edward. All of them went unanswered.

 _Alice,_ one message read, _I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. Come home. We can talk about this._

After some time, I started getting flickers of Edward and Bella. It wasn't until early the next morning that the vision came through entirely.

 _"I really messed up this time, Bella," Edward said with his head in his hands. "I've never seen her so angry. She isn't talking to any of us. Except for Jasper of course."_

 _"Why couldn't you just leave it alone, Edward?" Bella asked._

 _"I didn't think…"_

 _"Has Jasper said how she's doing?"_

 _"Not to me," Edward said. "He isn't talking to me either."_

 _"You need to make things right with Alice. So do I. She was right. I should have stayed out of her business."_

 _"How do I get her to stay?"_

 _"I think an apology is a good place to start. From both of us. You broke your promise to her. About changing. So try to rebuild her trust."_

 _"I don't know if that's going to be enough this time, Bella."_

 _"Call her."_

The vision ended, and as my vision refocused, there were three sharp knocks on the door.

"Coming," I called.

Harry and Ginny were at the door, James in Ginny's arms, and Albus in Harry's.

"Hey!" I exclaimed, pulling the door open further. "What are you guys doing here?"

"Jasper said you were here," Harry said. "He said that Edward finally pushed you."

I nodded and stepped back towards the living room.

"He called me self-involved."

"How are you self-involved?" Ginny asked. "Didn't you give up your life for us? And put yourself at risk more than once for him?"

I nodded.

"Apparently that doesn't matter," I shrugged.

I held out my hands for Harry to give me the baby.

"So when are you leaving?"

"Later tonight," I sighed. "I was going to leave tomorrow, but I miss Jasper."

"Come to the Burrow," Ginny said. "Mum would love to see you."

I sighed.

"I don't know," I murmured. "I came here to be alone. To think."

"Being alone isn't good for you, Alice," Harry said. "Come. Please?"

I nodded.

"Let me go change first," I said passing the baby back to Harry.

"Unca' Jasper?" James asked peering around the couch.

"Uncle Jasper isn't here right now," Ginny told James. "It's just Aunt Alice."

I left the four in the living room, and sped off to my room. Downstairs I heard my phone ring and then Harry answer it.

"Hello?" he asked. "No, she isn't here right now. She's getting dressed. I'll have her call you."

Suddenly it went quiet.

"Who was that?" I asked as I went back downstairs.

"Jasper," Harry said, holding out my phone. "He said to call him as soon as you could."

I took my phone back and redialed Jasper's number.

"Ali?" he asked.

"Is everything okay?"

"Al, can you _please_ call Edward? He's been calling all of us nonstop."

I sighed.

"Jazz—"

"I know, sweetheart but please. Do it for me."

I sighed.

"Fine."

"Thank you, Ali. When are you coming home?"

"Tonight."

"Good," he said. I could imagine his smiling face. "I miss you."

"I miss you too," I smiled. "I just needed to get away. To think."

"I know. You don't have to explain yourself to me."

"I'll see you soon," I said.

"I love you," he murmured.

"I love you too."

The line beeped and I snapped the phone shut.

"I'll call when I get to the Burrow," I sighed.

When I got to the Burrow, I popped inside and greeted everyone before sitting on the hill and calling Edward.

"Alice?" he asked when he answered the phone.

"You have five minutes."

"Alice I am so so sorry," he said. "I didn't mean it I swear."  
"That's the problem, Edward. You never mean it. But you do mean it. You were just angry enough to let it slip out."

"I know you've given up a lot for us, Alice. For your family too. I don't think you're self involved. Please. Don't go."

"Edward, I can't keep playing this game with you. We've played in for over fifty years."

"Give me until graduation. Please."

"Fine. But I'm still going to throw my graduation party. Harry and George is looking forward to it and I won't let you ruin this for them."

"Can you please tell Bella about it?"

"We'll see."

I snapped the phone shut and turned back towards the Burrow.

"Well?" George asked.

"I'm giving him until graduation to change my mind. Otherwise, I'm moving back here, and I'm going to start training."

"Are you going to go back to Auror training?" Harry asked. "I'm sure I could get you in without it."

"I don't know," I said. "Maybe I could do work as an Unspeakable."

"You know, Jasper could make a good teacher," Ginny said. "He could teach at Hogwarts."

"What would he teach?"  
"Muggle Studies. What better way to learn it than by a Muggle?"

I laughed.

"It's an idea."

I stayed at the Burrow until close to seven. After that, I Apparated back to Forks. I landed in the forest and started walking home.

Jasper was sitting outside, laying on the stairs, with a book in his lap. I walked slowly to him, smiling. He didn't look up. He just peacefully.

"Whatcha reading?" I asked sitting next to him.

He turned over to me and grinned.

"Alice!"

He pulled me into a tight hug.

"I missed you," I murmured against his shoulder.

"I missed you too."

"So I talked to Edward," I said, as he pulled away from me.

"I heard. You're giving him until graduation?"  
"Technically I'm giving him until the graduation party. Harry and George are really looking forward to it."  
"Carlisle and Esme are thrilled that you're giving him one last try."

"I shouldn't be giving him any more tries," I murmured.

"I know," Jasper said, pulling me onto his lap, "but you are a good person."

"Wizards don't play baseball."

"What?" he laughed.

"You know, 'three strikes and you're out'. Wizards don't play baseball. He shouldn't be getting a third try."

Jasper laughed.

"Are you getting tired?"

I shook my head.

"I'm just glad to be home."

Jasper kissed the top of my head.

"Don't leave me again," he whispered.

"I'm sorry," I said, closing my eyes. "I just didn't want to take it out on you."

"I could have taken it."

I laughed.

"I'm sure you could have."

I didn't look up until I heard the click of a camera. Rosalie was standing just outside of the front door with my camera in hand.

She smiled and passed the photo and the camera to me.

"You two don't have many pictures of just the two of you," Rosalie said. "I thought you might like one."

"Thank you," I smiled.

She nodded and stepped back inside the house.

"Come on," Jasper said. "Edward is inside. He wants to see you."

I groaned.

"Alice, stop that. Be the bigger person."

"How can I be the bigger person when I'm over a foot shorter than he is?" I teased.

Jasper grinned and lifted me off the ground and onto his shoulders.

"There," he said. "Now you're the bigger person."

I laughed as Jasper carried me through the house. Once we got to the living room where everyone else was, he lowered me off his shoulders and onto the couch.

"We're so happy you've decided to stay," Esme smiled.

"One more chance," I said, looking at Edward. "All he has is one more chance."

Carlisle nodded.

"Of course. We understand."

I turned to Jasper.

"So Harry and George are going to come out for the graduation party."

"What about the others?"

I shook my head.  
"But Molly is sending presents, and some food for the party."

"When will we meet the others, Alice?" Esme asked.

"Soon," I said. "I'm trying to find a time when everyone is free on both sides. I mean, Charlie lives in Romania."

Esme nodded, and resumed dusting the spotless table behind her.

Edward seemed to be keeping true to his promise. He was a lot more kind than I had seen him in the last year. It was almost like when I first came. But I couldn't help but feel like I was waiting for him to go back to normal.

 _I'm not going to go back to that, Alice,_ Edward thought to me one day at lunch. _Please. You have to believe me._

 _Saying that you'll do something, and actually doing that thing, are not the same,_ I thought back glancing at him. _If you keep doing, then I'll believe you._

Edward nodded and turned back to Bella.

"What?" she asked him quietly.

"Nothing," he murmured back. "Don't worry."

On Monday evening, before Edward headed to Bella's, I got a sudden vision. I hadn't gotten any flashes of it, or any hints of an upcoming vision.

 _"So I'm thinking," Charlie's voice rang in my head, "maybe you deserve a parole for good behavior. For a teenager, you're amazingly non-whiney."_

"Oh," I said, suddenly, closing my book and turning to Edward. "Did you catch that?"

"Catch what?" Jasper murmured against my cheek.

"Bella's ungrounded," I said, smiling. "Charlie just decided."

 _Let me know if anything changes?_

I nodded.

Jasper, who was reading the newspaper groaned.

"What is it, love?" I asked, taking the paper from him.

"The killings in Seattle," he said. "It's getting bigger. Too big for a human's doing."

"You think it's more than?"

"I've thought it was since we started looking into it, but I don't know," Jasper murmured. "You trained as an Auror, right?"

"I did."

"Take a look at it. Does it sound like something more than human?"

'I read through the newspaper.

"If I took a guess, I would say it sounds like a newborn vampire," I murmured.

"Can anybody at MACUSA get a list of vampires?"

I shook my head.

"Only werewolves are required to register."

"Vampires don't have a bad rep?"

I shook my head.

"Not _as_ bad. But it's definitely better since I've come home. So what do we do about our friends here?"

"Alice, I don't think there is anything we can do," Jasper murmured.

"But Jazz—"

"Alice, you have to remember, you're on thin ice with the Volturi. If we go in here and do something, but it's not what they want done, they're going to hold you responsible. I'm not going to lose you."

"Jasper, if this gets anymore out of control, Aro might decide to go there. If they go there, they might come here. Edward is dead set against changing her. I will be the one to pay!"

"It's not going to come to that. I swear."

I sighed, and passed back the paper.

"I sure hope not. I have a bad feeling about all of this."

Jasper kissed my temple.

"It's going to be alright. I swear."

He took back the paper and tossed it on the table before holding me tightly to his chest.

By the next day, I had forgotten almost completely about the mess in Seattle. Edward had confirmed that Bella was ungrounded, and he had said that if Bella and I were to go shopping, we couldn't go anywhere near Seattle.

"I can agree with that," Jasper murmured, wrapping his arms around my waist. "I don't want you in Seattle."

"It was an issue when you were sniffing around up there while I was in England," I grumbled, shaking his arms off of me.

Jasper sighed.  
"I wanted to do it before you came home in case anything went bad."

"I can protect myself, you know."

"I know. I just don't want you to have to."

I sighed and kissed his cheek.

"We got to go," I told him. "We'll talk about this when I come home."

Edward and I headed out to the car. As I put my mask in place, Edward pulled out of the driveway.

"So the graduation party," Edward said. "Bella would want to keep it small—"

"It's not just for Bella," I interrupted. "Harry and George want to see the people I went to school with. I tell them stories, and they want to put a face to the name."

"So everything you do now is dictated by Harry and George?"

"I'd watch it, Edward," I said.

"Sorry, it just that—"

"I'm not doing what'll make Bella happy? Because heaven forbid I do something for me?"

"Alice," Edward sighed. "Please. I'm trying."

"Yeah," I said, looking out the window. "I'm sure you are."

I pulled my sketchbook from my car and started drawing plans for the party.

"Hey, Alice," Bella said sliding into the car. "What're you drawing?"

"Party plans," I murmured.

"Alice—"

"Not for you," I said. "Arthur's retirement party. Molly asked me to plan it."

I glanced at Edward who had a slight smile.

 _Nice save,_ he commented.

"Hmm," I responded out loud.

Edward sighed.

"Is she still mad at you?" Bella asked, once I got out of the car.

Edward nodded.

"Understandably so. I upset her on the way to your house."

"Is she really going to leave?"

Edward nodded again.

"George told me that Alice is a good person, but she has her limits. And it's true. She's giving me until graduation to turn it around."

"That's not very long."

Edward shrugged, and I headed off to my first class.

The day passed slowly. I was getting flickers of something I couldn't completely see.  
"Miss. Cullen?" Mrs. Molina asked. "Are you okay?"

I blinked, and turned to her.

"I'm sorry?"

"I asked if you were okay. Do you need to go see the nurse?"

I shook my head.

"I'm sorry Mrs. Molina, I'm just a little tired. That's all."

"Miss. Cullen, if you need a moment—"

I shook my head.

"No. I'm fine. Continue please."

She watched me for a moment, and then nodded before continuing the lesson.

"Hey, Alice," Ben Cheney said, meeting me at the door when the bell rang. "Do you want some help with that?"

"No, that's all right," I smiled. "I can get it. But you're more than welcome to walk with me."

"Sure," he smiled. "Angela will be here in a moment. Would you mind waiting for her?"

I shook my head.  
"It's no problem."

Angela came a few seconds later.

"Hey, Alice," she smiled. "How are you?"

"A little tired, but otherwise okay," I smiled back.

"Did you want Ben or me to carry that for you?" she asked.  
I shook my head.

"Ben's already offered. But thank you."

Once we made it to the cafeteria, I headed to the table knowing Edward would grab my food for me. Angela grabbed a soda before joining me, pulling out what looked to be graduation announcements. Edward and Bella appeared a few minutes later. I hadn't gotten a chance to examine Bella's outfit this morning. Her jeans were worn down. I made a mental note to buy her a new pair.

"Have you sent out your announcements yet?" Angela asked as Edward sat down a tray with a small amount of food on it.

"No. There's no point, really. Renée knows when I'm graduating. Who else is

there?"

"How about you, Alice?"

"All done," I smiled, picking up the bottle of water on the tray.

"Lucky you." Angela sighed. "My mother has a thousand cousins and she expects me to hand-address

one to everybody. I'm going to get carpal tunnel. I can't put it off any longer and I'm just dreading it."

"I'll help you," Bella offered. "If you don't mind my awful handwriting."

Edward smiled.

 _No werewolves,_ he commented to me.

I snickered and focused on the food on my tray.

"Actually," Bella was saying, "I'd rather go to your house if that's okay — I'm sick of mine. Charlie un-grounded me last night."

I smiled and looked up from the tray with the apple in hand.

"Really? I thought you said you were in for life."

"I'm more surprised than you are. I was sure I would at least have finished high school before he set me free."

"Well, this is great, Bella! We'll have to go out to celebrate."

"You have no idea how good that sounds."

"What should we do?" I asked.

 _Maybe I could take her to England one night. To meet the others._

"Whatever you're thinking, Alice, I doubt I'm that free."

"Free is free, isn't it?" I shrugged.

"I'm sure I still have boundaries — like the continental U.S., for example."

I frowned and glanced at Edward.

 _Maybe we could do it at night. We'd have to be quick about it, and I'd have to keep a close eye on Charlie…._

"Well, what are we doing tonight?" I pressed.

"Nothing. Look, let's give it a couple of days to make sure he wasn't joking. It's a school night, anyway."

"We'll celebrate this weekend, then."

"Sure," Bella said, but she sounded like she didn't mean it.

Angela and I set into a discussion about things we could do.

"We could have a girls' day," I said. "The three of us in Port Angeles."

"Maybe we could go to Hoquiam for a change of scenery. Maybe but they don't have much in the ways of shopping. Seattle would be a better choice, but we obviously can't go there because of the killings…"

My voice trailed off as the cafeteria disappeared.

 _Victoria's fiery orange hair whipped around her face as she ran through the hills of what looked like to be Oregon. The picture flipped. Victoria was running through a forest now. Footsteps were chasing her. I couldn't see who they were, but I had a rough idea as the picture flickered back to Oregon._

 _"I'm coming," she growled to herself._

Edward's laugh brought me back. I jumped and squeezed my eyes shut for a second before opening them again.

 _She's coming,_ I thought loudly.

"Naptime already, Alice?" Edward asked, with a smug smile.

"I'm sorry," I said. "I must have been daydreaming."

"Daydreaming's better than facing two more hours of school," Ben said.

I chuckled and threw myself back into the conversation.

 _Alice,_ Edward called to me. _When?_

 _Saturday,_ I thought back, glancing at Edward. _You need to get her out of town._

 _Alice—_

 _No! Get her out of town. We can take her. I'll use magic if I have to. She can't see that coming. Use the tickets from Carlisle and Esme. Take her to Florida._

I turned my attention back to the conversation and Angela and I came up with possibilities until the bell.

 _What are you going to tell her? About why you have to cancel?_

 _It doesn't have to be this weekend. I answered. Angela will understand._

After lunch, the day seemed to fly. I left last block early, complaining of feeling sick. I went out to wait in Edward's car, flipping ahead to focus. I focused on the place that I had seen her in Forks.

"That's not far from the house," I whispered to myself.

After the bell rang, I stashed my sketchbook into my bag before readjusting my tube.

I could hear Edward, Bella, and Mike coming. They were talking about issues with Mike's car.

"I know a few things — I could take a look, if you like," Edward offered. "Just let me drop Alice and Bella at home."

I frowned and waited for Edward and Bella to get to the car.

"You're really not that good a mechanic, Edward," I said as soon as he opened the door. "Maybe you should have Rosalie take a look at it tonight, just so you look good if Mike decides to let you help, you know. Not that it wouldn't be fun to watch his face if Rosalie showed up to help. But since Rosalie is supposed to be across the country attending college, I guess that's not the best idea. Too bad. Though I suppose, for Mike's car, you'll do. It's only within the finer tunings of a good Italian sports car that you're out of your depth. And speaking of Italy and sports cars that I stole there, you still owe me a yellow Porsche. I don't know that I want to wait for Christmas. . . ."

I rambled on to keep Bella from bringing up my vision from lunch. She was thinking about it, and I thought it would be best for her to not know.

 _Edward,_ I said, as he pulled up to the mouth of the drive. _Don't tell Bella the vision. She's going to ask. Tell her it's about Jasper. And try to bring up the tickets today. Sooner rather than later._

Edward nodded, and I took off up the driveway. Jasper met me halfway.

"Where's Carlisle?" I asked, not stopping to hug him like I usually did.

"Getting ready for his shift at the hospital. Why?"

"She's coming," I said, setting the oxygen tank inside the door when I got inside. "Carlisle!" I called.

"I'm in the living room, Alice," he said in a normal voice.

I took off to the living room, pulling my sketchbook out of my bag.

"Alice?" Carlisle asked, as I came sprinting into the living room. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"She's coming," I said, throwing my sketchbook onto the table. "Victoria."

"Where is this?"

"The forest right next to the treaty line," Carlisle said.

I pulled the crystal ball off of the mantle and rushed back to the table.

"She's coming Saturday. We have to be ready."

"I'm going to call out of work," Carlisle murmured to Esme. "I'm going to say that Alice caught a cold and I want to look after her to make sure she doesn't get any worse."

Esme nodded as Carlisle dialed the number.

"Can you see this?" I asked in a low voice so the phone wouldn't pick it up.

Everyone, including Carlisle, nodded.

"She's in Oregon right now," I said, as Carlisle talked to whoever had picked up the phone. "She's moving slowly. She's planning something."

"Are you positive that that's where she is?" Esme asked.

I nodded.

"Unless she's found her way around my visions...I doubt she has. James didn't have enough time to tell her about me before he died."

"But what if she remembers?"

I shook my head.

"James said that he didn't remember until he realized he was going to die. Victoria thinks she's going to win."

After a few moments, Carlisle jumped back into the conversation.

"I've talked them into giving me until Sunday off. Alice, you can't be seen in town this weekend. The hospital thinks that you and I are going to California to see your doctor."

I nodded and returned the crystal ball to the mantle.

"We have to end this," I said. "Saturday night."

* * *

 **Hey guys! So, if you don't follow my Tumblr, which you totally should, then you haven't heard the news. I am getting a new computer this week, and I am giving this one to a friend of mine so we can stay in contact after she moves. SO the next chapter may take a bit to get put out while I am figuring out how to work the new computer, but I am going to try and get it up as soon as possible.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	93. A Hunt of Our Own

_"With the catching ends the pleasure of the chase." ~Abraham Lincoln_

* * *

Chapter 93- A Hunt of Our Own

The day that I had the vision of Victoria, Edward brought Bella to the house.

"She doesn't know," I said, as soon as I saw the decision be made, "and the plan is that she won't know. So act normal. I'll find out what Edward told her, and fill you all in."

Everyone nodded and dispersed. Jasper and I stayed in the living room. He pulled me into his arms, and rested his cheek on the top of my head.

"It's all going to be okay," he said. "I promise."

"I'm not worried," I murmured. "You're going to be there."

"Don't let this stress you out this week, okay?"

I nodded and closed my eyes.

"You know, I forget that she doesn't actually have to wear that," Bella said from downstairs.

"I guess I never moved the oxygen tank," I murmured, keeping my eyes shut.

"Don't worry about it, Al. It's fine there."

 _What'd you tell her?_ I asked as Edward and Bella stepped into the living room.

 _That you're seeing Jasper somewhere down South and you're worried about him._

I whispered Edward's thoughts to Jasper.

"That makes sense…" Jasper said, trailing off. "You typically do look out for my future."

"So, Alice," Edward called, bringing my attention away from Jasper before I could answer. "Do you want to play chess?"

"Sure," I grinned. "Regular, or Wizard's?"

"Wizard's?" Bella asked.

"I think that answers the question," I smiled. "In my world, we had a version of chess. The rules are no different than regular chess, but the board itself is different. Come watch."

Edward was already on the other side of the room, setting up the board. Jasper sat next to me, and Bella sat next to Edward. Both of them intently watched to board.

"Pawn to D-3," I started.

My pawn slowly moved it's way up the board, settling into it's spot in D-3.

"Knight to C-6," Edward called back.

"I don't understand," Bella said, watching the piece move across the board. "Aside from the pieces moving on their own, how is wizard's chess different from regular chess?"

"Give us just a second," I said, as I scanned the possible move choices.

After a few moments of Edward and I calling out moves, and watching the other's decisions, his knight took one of my pawns.

Bella's eyes grew.

"So you have to buy a new board each time you play?" she asked.

I shook my head.

"I can fix them with a repair spell."

Bella watched more intently than before. Edward and I spent nearly an hour planning moves, and watching the other decide. In the end, Edward won.

"Want to give it a try?" Jasper asked Bella. "You against me?"

"Sure," Bella said.

"Don't worry, Bella," I smiled. "Listen to the pieces. They'll give you hints."

I repaired the pieces and reset the board before resting my head in Jasper's lap. I closed my eyes, and watched them play the game through my visions.

While I watched, visions of Victoria tried to catch my attention.

"Focus on me, Ali," Jasper murmured, placing a hand on my stomach. "Listen to my voice."

"She keeps trying to get through."

"Don't let her," Jasper murmured. "Hold her off."

I sat up quickly and headed for the door.

"I'm going to step outside for some air," I said. "I'll be back."

"Where's she going?" Bella asked.

"She just needs to clear her head," Edward said. "She'll be back in a moment."

I headed straight for the forest line, and raised my hands in the air.

"Protego Maxima, Repello Inimicum, Fianto Duri."

I moved around the yard, muttering the same spells over and over again. After about fifteen minutes, Edward, Bella, and Jasper, joined me outside.

"It's best we stay here on the porch," Jasper said. "It can be dangerous if we get in the way."

"What's she doing?"

"Putting up protective barriers," Edward said.

"Why? Did she see something?"

Edward and Jasper were quiet for a second.

"No," Jasper said. "She just worries sometimes."

"So we can't get out?"

"We can," Edward said. "But enemies can't get in."

"So Victoria—"

"Victoria, the Volturi. Everyone who Alice sees as a threat."

"But Jacob—"

"Jacob and his werewolves have no business here," I said turning around. "They should be safe, but I'd get a message across to him just to be safe."

"Jake isn't returning my calls."

"I'll send a message to Sam then," I said, turning back to the house.

"Sam?" Bella asked. "Why would you have contact with Sam?"

"Because they've come here to figure out whether or not I posed a threat to the town. He gave me a number to call in case there were issues."

"Why would you pose a threat to the town? Isn't that what the treaty is for?"

"The treaty doesn't have guidelines for Wizardkind. When the treaty was made, I hadn't found Carlisle, so they didn't know my kind existed, and the wolves only found out when I came here."

 _Are you okay?_ Edward asked, raising an eyebrow.

 _I'm worried,_ I admitted. _Did you talk to Bella about Florida?_

Edward nodded.

 _Charlie threw a fit, Bella threatened to move out…_ Edward paused and replayed the moment in his head for me.

 _But you're going?_  
Edward nodded.

 _Florida doesn't seem far enough...maybe I can call Harry, and get him to bring you two to my house._

 _No, Alice. Bella will get suspicious._

I sighed, and looked at Bella who was eyeing Edward and I carefully.

 _She's already suspicious. She's going to ask you about it. Tell her that you were showing me inside of Jasper's head so he wouldn't be suspicious._

Edward nodded, and I took Jasper's hand.

"Who won?" I asked.

"Jasper did, obviously," Bella said. "The pieces tried helping, but he still worked around it."

"Jasper's tricky like that," I grinned. "He'll always win no matter what. Most of the time he beats me, you know."

Jasper smiled.

"I've had lots and lots of practice. More years than both of your ages combined."

"I'm not that much younger than you are," I frowned.

"Yes you are," Jasper laughed. "132 years younger is a lot younger. Esme is not that much younger than me. You on the other hand, my dear, are definitely quite a bit of ways younger."

I sighed.

"Maybe just a little. Come on, Bella. I have potions to brew for George. You can help me."

"What are you making?" she asked as she, Edward, and Jasper followed me up the stairs.

"Bruise pastes and love potions."

"Didn't you just make love potions?" Jasper asked.

"WonderWitch products sell out quickly. I took the potions with me and gave them to George when I went to England. He asked Harry to pass along the message of things he was running out of."

"So do you technically work for George?"

I shook my head.

"I do it to keep myself busy and because George struggles with potions. Although I've thought about becoming a partner."

"George offered when we were in England back in September," Jasper said proudly.

"And you turned him down?"

"I told him to let me get everything straightened out, all my vaults put back in my name. Then we came back to Forks, and I told George that maybe once I graduated, I would become a partner at Weasley's Wizarding Wheezes."

"So will you move back to England?"

I shook my head.

"Apparate their from open to close, come back here after. But I think when we leave Forks, I'm going to go there for a few months so that way it's not suspicious that I died and you all leave right after."

"What about Jasper?"

"He'd stay here for a couple of days, and then he'd join me in England, while everyone else was leaving to go to L.A where I had 'died'."

"You already have it planned?"

"Carlisle and I have had it planned since we came home. When we left, everyone thought I was dying. It's best that everyone thinks I'm dead when we actually leave."

"So when you disappear—"

"I'm going to leave, go to England, and everyone else, including Jasper is going to stay out of the public eye for a few days. Carlisle will tell the hospital that I'm dying, and they had to go to L.A. After about a week, they'll come back. Say I died and they had my funeral, and that Jasper went to England to try and track down my family."

"And the rest of us?"

"Will be here packing, and getting ready to move."

"What'll happen to the house?"

"It'll stay in our name," Edward said. "Maybe sometime later, we'd come back."

We made it to the room, and I started pulling out supplies for the bruise paste.

"I'll make some extra for you," I smiled. "Judging from that bruise on your arm, you could use it."

Bella frowned as she looked down at her arm.

"What'd you do to yourself?" I asked.

"She hit her arm on the doorway last night," Edward said. "She was going to the bathroom, and was half-awake."

"I don't remember that," Bella said.

"Don't worry," I smiled. "I'll send you home with some."

"Don't you already have some?" Jasper asked, crouching down. "From where we got Emmett that punching telescope?"

"I think it's in Emmett and Rosalie's room. You could go check and see if they have it and would let you borrow it."

"Punching telescope?" Bella asked.

"It's something that Fred and George came up with." I paused, and turned to the door. "Hey Jazz?"

"Yeah?" he asked, popping his head back in the door.

"Can you ask Emmett if we can borrow the telescope too?"

He nodded, and disappeared again.

"Alice don't tell me you're going to use it against Bella," Edward frowned.

I shook my head.

"No. But I am going to use it on me, to show it how she worked."

Jasper came back in a few seconds later, and handed me the telescope and the bruise paste.

"This 'ought to be fun," Emmett said, grinning from the doorway.

"Watch and I'll show you how it's done."

I brought the telescope to my eye, bracing myself for the contact.

As it hit, Bella flinched away, wide-eyed in horror.

"Alice, are you okay?" she asked.

"Hold on," Edward murmured. "Watch."

I could feel the bruise forming around my eye and laughed as Bella's eyes widened.

"I don't understand. How can you bruise?"

"Because magic is stronger than anything."

I rolled up my sleeve and held out my left arm.

"See the scars around the Dark Mark?" When she nodded, I continued. "I tried to cut it off with spells. It didn't work, but the scars lasted through the transformation."

I picked up the bruise paste and headed for the mirror.

"How long will it take for the bruise to go away?"

"It's already starting to," I smiled, turning back to face her. I stepped closer to her, and handed Edward the bruise paste.

"Help her put that on. Remember, not too much."

"Thanks, Alice."

I nodded and set back to work.

After I worked on the bruise paste, I worked on the Heartbreak Teardrops love potion.

"Edward said you helped Fred and George make the love potions."

"I did. But I don't condone using love potions."

"Why not?"

"Because it's not real. And if you have a baby under the effects of a love potion, you end up like Voldemort. Incapable of love…" I trailed off and watched Jasper carefully as he sat in the window reading. "I couldn't imagine being unable to love."

"So how does it work?"

"This one," I said, "you have to put it into the eyes of the person you're interested in."

"Who came up with the name?"

"Freddie. He asked me to come up with different concepts, so when I came up with this, he decided he wanted to put teardrops somewhere in the name."

"Did you come up with the names of anything?"

"WonderWitch and Calamity Lotion."

"What is Calamity Lotion?"

"Another love potion."

"Does different love potions do different things?"

"They have different concepts, but each love potion does the same thing. Make someone who doesn't love you, love you."

After I finished that potion, I waved my wand, and everything returned to their spot.

"I'll have to take these to the store when you guys leave," I said as I started packing everything into boxes. "I have to get the love potions into the right vials and all that."

"Well I think it's about time to get you home," Edward told Bella.

"I'll see you tomorrow, Bella," I smiled.

She waved, and slowly made her way out the door with Edward following behind here.

"Do you think Victoria is going to come here?" Jasper asked, pulling me to the bed and onto his lap.

"I don't know," I said. "I know that I can't outrule anything.I can't put them over Bella's house because a wolf is likely to go there for Charlie."

"You're doing the best you can, sweetheart."

"Maybe it's not enough."

"It is. Rest now."

I wasn't sure what Jasper did, but I had the sudden feeling that for now, everything would be okay.

"Come on," Jasper said, standing up to grab the box. "We need to get to the store."

I held out my hand, and as soon as he took it, we disappeared.

As the week passed, I began to come up with a plan for when Victoria came. As far as Bella knew, I kept seeing Jasper somewhere close to where Maria was, and I was worried about why he would be there, so my strange behavior didn't tip her off at all. George wanted to bring Fred to see me, but I told him about Victoria and told him that I didn't want him or the baby to be at risk.

"Are you sure you've got this?" Edward asked, Friday before he and Bella left.

"We've got this. You make sure Bella is safe."

"What about you? What if she remembers?"

"Jasper will keep me safe, and we'll head to England to keep everyone safe. Everything and everyone is going to be okay. Go, and have fun in Florida. Stay out of the sun, and tell Renee I said hello."

Edward nodded, and gave me a small hug.

"Be safe."

"We will."

With that, Edward headed out, and I turned to my plans.

"I can't focus on decisions anymore," I said, running to grab my cauldron.

"Alice, what are you doing?" Jasper asked as I raided my ingredients to find what I need.

"I can't focus on decisions," I said. "I need to see what's going to happen. When she'll be here, when we need to be ready, everything she's going to do. She's finding the loophole. She keeps changing her mind. Laurent told her."

"So what are you doing?"

"Remember how I said that Voldemort was angry about my limitations, so he tried different potions and spells?"

Jasper nodded.

"You told us about it when Edward wanted you to look for Jacob."

"That's right," I said. "And I didn't know if the limitations would work with the wolves, so I didn't try it. One of the potions that Voldemort poured on my eyes worked. It took off the decision restriction on my visions."

"But?"

"But it will temporarily blind me."

"For how long?"

"Until the potion wears off."

"How long does that take?" Jasper asked, glaring at me.

"Three hours."

"Alice—"

"Jasper, please," I begged. "I have to see! I can't be of any use to anybody if I can't see! It's a temporary side effect. It'll wear off. We have time. I'm positive."

Jasper's eyes scanned my face, and he pressed his hand against my cheek.

"Is that the only side effect."

I nodded.

"I promise."

"I'm going to be there the whole time."

I set off to work, quickly brewing the potion. It took close to two hours to brew. Moments before it finished, I relocated the cauldron to the living room where everybody was gathering.

"Okay," I said. "Carlisle, do you have an eye dropper?"

Carlisle nodded, and disappeared for a moment before returning with the eye dropper and handing it to me.

"I can't do it myself," I said, passing the dropper to Jasper. "Put ten drops in each of my eyes. It'll break down the decisions restrictions of my vision."

"I thought that the future wasn't set in stone," Rosalie frowned.

"This future is. She's made her decision, but she's changing it so I won't see. It's her game. She only lets me see what she wants me to see. So, I play along. But she doesn't know that I can see the decision that's been made."

"So ten drops?" Jasper asked.

I nodded.

"Why'd you make so much?" Rosalie asked, peering inside the cauldron as I stirred the potion with my wand.

"Because I need to see," I said. "You never know when I'm going to need it."

"When will it be ready?"

"It's already done," I said, laying down with my head in Jasper's lap.

Jasper took in a deep breath before dipping the eye dropper into the cauldron.

"Is this going to hurt you?"

"No," I said shaking my head. "Not at all."

That was a lie. The potion did hurt a bit, but it wasn't enough pain for me to not be able to hide. It wasn't enough to make Jasper worry.

"Ready?" Jasper asked.

I nodded and gave Jasper an encouraging smile.

I watched his face as he began putting the drops in my eyes. His face faded, and after a moment, all I saw was black.

I sat up and began trying to find my way to the couch.

"Alice, what are you doing?" Jasper asked.

"I need to move around," I said, as I pushed myself off the ground, using what I was almost positive was Emmett's knee.

"You can't even see!" Jasper said with a slight chuckle.

"Then walk with me," I said, stepping towards the direction of his voice.

Jasper placed his hands on my elbows, and began to guide me towards the couch.

"Sit down," Jasper said. "Focus on Victoria."

He lifted up my hand and placed something on my lap.

"What is this?" I asked.

"It's your sketchbook. You should try and sketch what you see."

He pressed a pencil into my hand.

"Focus," he told me.

I felt his hand on my knee.

"Come sit," I said, patting the empty spot on the couch next to me. "I focus better when I know you're nearby."

After a second, I felt the couch cushion next to me dip as Jasper sat down next to me. I leaned against him and began to focus on Victoria.

"She's getting closer," I said. "She's taken a detour. She thinks I'm expecting her earlier, and that she'd be able to pass us."

"Can you hear her thoughts?"

I shook my head.

"She's talking to herself. She seems to do that often…" I trailed off as I began to shuffle through the events.

"Think of the place where we're going to meet," Carlisle said. His voice sounded close. "Is it still near the treaty line?"

I nodded and began to sketch out the place where she'll cross us.

I slid the sketchbook onto Jasper's lap.

"This is the place where we wait. Do you know it, Carlisle?"

I heard the paper being passed around, but my eyes could only see what was yet to come.

"Yeah," Carlisle said. "I know it."

" Can you get us there?"

"Yes."

"Jasper?" I asked.

"Yes, sweetheart?" he murmured against my temple.

"I don't want to use magic," I said. "I'm afraid that it'll spark a memory for her."

"That's okay," he said. "You don't have to use magic. If it turns into a fight, I'll keep you safe."

I nodded, and refocused on the future.

"Where is she at now?" Esme asked.

"She's in Idaho. Around Boise."

"And she's going to be here tonight?"

I nodded.

"She's moving fast," I said. "By midnight she'll be in Washington. Then she'll be here tomorrow."

"Can you get a time, Alice?"

I focused, and as the future clouded around me, and we made it to the place in question, I looked at Jasper's watch.

"Around eight," I said, returning to the black. "So we should leave here after seven."

We finished making our plans, before we disbanded.

"Jasper," I murmured.

"Hmm?"

"Can you help me to the bedroom," I said. "I need to find something."

Jasper stood before helping me to my feet. Like he did earlier, he kept his hands on my elbows and guided me to where I needed to go.

"Somewhere in the things I brought back from England, I have a scrying mirror. It'll help me pinpoint an exact location...or better yet, I need a map."

"I'll see if Carlisle has one in his study."

I nodded and pulled the key off my neck. I felt around for the lock before turning the key. Once inside, I felt around for my scrying stone.

Jasper came back a moment later, and spread the map on the floor.

"Tell me what it lands on."

I began moving the scrying stone in a circle over Washington and North Idaho.

"Come on," I murmured under my breath. "Find Victoria."

The stone hovered for a moment before it clattered and hit the map.

"Where did it hit?" I asked.

Jasper was quiet for a moment as he repositioned the stone.

"St. John, Washington," Jasper said.

"You're sure?" I frowned.

"That's what the map says. Can it be wrong?"

"No," I murmured. "I don't suppose it can. She sped up...maybe she was looking for a secluded place to hunt. St. John isn't all that big. I think there is a little over five hundred people there."

"Why go to a small town though?" Jasper asked. "Wouldn't that attract more attention?"

"Victoria knows how to keep herself safe. Tobias once told me long ago that her gift was self-preservation. She knows when she's in danger. They'll blame it on someone passing by. They'll think that they're long gone."

I scooted back to the cabinet and put the scrying stone back inside before turning the key and putting it back around my neck.

I pushed myself up off the floor, and began walking to the bed.

"Alice," Jasper murmured in my ear, wrapping his arm around my waist.

"Hmm?"

"Rest. Please."

"I can't rest," I said. "I have to plan. I have to see if I can find how long she's staying in St. John and I—"

"You've planned enough, Darlin'. You know what time she'll be here. You know what time we have to leave. Everything is planned. Now I need you to be safe, and in order for that to happen, you need to rest."

I sighed and closed my eyes.

"The potion will wear off in about another hour or so," I murmured. "You know, people take sight for granted. It's not until it's gone that you know how lucky you are that you had it."

"You miss being able to see?" Jasper asked.

I nodded.

"Yes. It's very frustrating. I can hear, smell, touch, taste...but I can't see you."

"Me?"

I nodded.

"My favorite thing in the world."

He laughed and smiled before kissing my forehead.

"My life," he sighed. "My wife."

I smiled and opened my eyes. My vision was still mostly gone, but I was able to see light in the very middle.

"It's coming back," I grinned.

"Rest now," Jasper said, smiling against my forehead.

"No," I said, pushing away from him slightly. "I want you to be the first thing I see."

"I still would be," he laughed. "When you open your eyes."

"Jazz—"

"Shhh," he murmured. I could feel a heavy cloud of exhaustion weighing over me.

"I don't want to sleep," I mumbled.

"I want you to be at your best tomorrow. Please, Ali," Jasper begged. "Just for a little while?"

I sighed and closed my eyes.

"Just for a little while," I mumbled before closing my eyes, and slipping under the heavy cloud.

I wasn't sure how much time had passed. It wasn't possible for me to be asleep, but everything was fuzzy.

My phone rang, but Jasper picked it up and put it on speaker.

"Alice," Jasper murmured in my ear. "Edward is on the phone. He wants to talk to you."

The cloud disappeared, and I didn't feel groggy or tired. I did keep my eyes closed. I wanted to ensure that Jasper would be the first thing I saw.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Alice. Can you see her?"

"She's in Washington. She's hanging around a small town. St. John."

"She might be hunting…" Edward mused, trailing off. "Nobody is going to care about a disappearance in a town that small."

"That's horrible," I scoffed.

"But you know it's true," Jasper murmured.

I wrinkled my nose.

"Even the humans have little regard for life. Yet somehow, we're monsters."

"Victoria isn't human, Alice," Edward said in an icy tone.

"But she was once," I said. "Anyways. What did you call about? Is something wrong."

"I wanted to see if you had a plan set."

"We do," I said.

"Is magic involved?"

"No," I sighed.

"Alice, that might be our best chance at getting her.

"Maybe so," I said. "But consider that I use magic, and we don't catch her and it sparks a memory. She could go off course. Head for England and attack my family. She's being careful Edward. I wouldn't see her decide until it's too late."

"So it's more convenient to leave Bella a target?"

"Edward, there is no easy way to do this," I said. "It's either them, or it's her, and I swore I would keep them safe. I owe them."

"You owe them what?" Edward snapped.

"Everything," I said. "I owe them everything. I put them into danger, and now I must keep them safe from it. I am a witch, but my magic is not here for you to take advantage of."

"Alice, I didn't mean—"

"I know that," I said with a small smile. "If it's a last resort, I will use magic, but I won't if I have another option."

"Understood," Edward said.

"How's Florida?"

"We just got to the house," he said. "Bella, Phil, and Renée are eating."

"What excuse did you come up with?"

"I wanted to call and check on you. That you were getting sick before we left."

I nodded.

"Good plan."

"She seems worried about you. She wants to come up and see you sometime soon."

"Maybe I can invite her to the graduation party," I mused. "Tell her I'll call her as soon as I'm feeling better."

"Not while Bella is here," he said. "Wait until we leave before you call."

"I'll wait until you're home to call," I said.

"Thank you, Alice."

"Of course."

"Good luck out there. Be safe."

"Always," I nodded.

The phone line went dead, and I snapped the phone shut.

I turned to Jasper, and opened my eyes.

It felt like I was seeing the sun for the first time. I grinned, and raised a hand to his cheek.

"Hi," he smiled, placing his hand over mine with one hand, and resting the other on my hip.

"Hi," I grinned.

"I'm guessing you can see again," he teased.

I nodded.

"So beautiful," I smiled.

Jasper's skin was shining against the bright book light that laid between us. The hand that was on my hip reached up and brushed the hair off my forehead.

"Ali?"

"Hmm?"

"Have you ever thought about training to fight again?"

I thought about it for a moment.  
"Yes and no. Yes because I think that I could always learn more—"

"But no because?"

"Because of what happened when we used to train together."

Jasper frowned.

"What do you mean?"

"Every time you unexpectedly came at me, my magic flared, and you got hurt."

"I didn't get hurt," he disagreed. "I think the trees took more damage than I did."

"I could have exposed us," I said.

"And you could have easily erased their memories," he argued back.

I laughed and we locked our fingers together.

"You'll always have a reason to do it," I smiled.

Jasper nodded.

"You're a good fighter," he grinned. "Remember the first time we ever trained?"

"Peter and Charlotte were terrified of me hurting you. But you...you trusted me."

"Of course I did," he said, closing his eyes as he rested his forehead against mine. "I trust you with my life."

After a quick kiss, Jasper leaned back against the pillow. His eyes were still closed. He didn't breathe, or speak, or move. It was almost like a statue was clutching on to me.

I watched him for a moment before resting my chin on his chest.

"I have thought about it actually," I murmured.

"And?"

"I'd be up to it if it would put your mind at ease."

"The others think you rely on magic too much," Jasper whispered in my ear. "When you went away, I heard Edward say something to Carlisle about it."

"Maybe so," I frowned. "But magic is the only thing I've ever known. It's the only thing that really makes sense."

"I know," Jasper murmured, sitting up and pulling me into his lap. "There's only one thing that's really made sense to me too."

"What's that?"

"Us," he smiled against my shoulder.

"I guess that does make sense," I smiled.

Close to noon, Jasper and I headed back downstairs. All of us were going over the final plan.

"She's going to know we're coming," I told the others after we had all sat down at the table. "She wants us to know she's here. She just doesn't know where we'll be."

I pointed to a place on the map.

"We go here. We'll catch wind of her as she goes along the treaty. I'm going to talk to Sam, and see if I can get half of us on their side of the treaty in case she tries to cross over."

"How do you plan on doing that exactly?" Rosalie asked.

"I sent him an owl," I said. "I told him I wanted to meet at the treaty line in an hour."

"Do you want somebody to come with you?" Emmett asked.

I shook my head.

"I told Sam I was coming alone."

"Alice—" Jasper started.

"I'll have my wand," I said.

He eyed me for a moment before he sighed.

"Okay," he said.

"When do you leave?" Carlisle asked.

"As soon as I change."

"Any specific outfit choice?" Emmett asked. I wasn't entirely sure if he was teasing or not.

"Something black," I said. "Long sleeves…Maybe somebody should wear something white; hopefully it will throw her off enough to lose sight of her gift, and maybe we can end this."

"End it," Esme repeated.

"I'm tired of running," I told her. "I'm tired of fighting, and battles, and having to take lives…" I trailed off, and jumped to my feet. "Be on alert. That's the most important thing. She'll be here soon."

I headed up the stairs, leaving the others talking quietly.

Jasper followed me, of course. He was worried. He was feeling it so powerfully that it was projecting.

"Why are you worried?" I asked when he made it to the bedroom.

"Who says I'm worried?"

"I can feel it," I murmured, pushing his hair out of his eyes. "What's wrong? Tell me. Please?"

"You've never gone to the wolves alone."

"I'm bringing a little more than just my wand," I smiled. "You don't have to worry about me."

"What else are you bringing?"

"I brewed these when Sam first confronted me," I said, pulling a small box from behind mine and Jasper's wedding picture. "I knew I'd need them later. Engorgio!"

The box grew, and I took the top off of it.

"There is a Confusion Concoction, an exploding potion on it's own…" I pulled various things out of the box. "I'm going to be alright, Jasper. I promise."

Jasper pulled me into a tight hug.

"You'd better bring her back in the same condition I left her in," Jasper said, like there was someone behind me. "She's my life."

"Of course," I smiled into his shoulder. "You have nothing to worry about, Major."

Jasper grinned as he put his hands on the sides of my face.

"You haven't called me that in years."

"I guess I haven't had reason to."

Jasper smiled.

"I like it."

"I'll make a note of that."

Jasper smiled.

"Good," he pressed his lips against my forehead, before closing his eyes and pressing his forehead against mine. "Come home to me, baby."

"Always," I whispered.

I kissed his one more time before I stepped away from him and disapparated.

When I made it to the spot where Sam and I were meeting, he was already there waiting with Jacob by his side.

"Alice," Sam greeted, extending his hand.

"Sam," I nodded. "Thank you for meeting me."

"Of course. Is everything okay? Is it something we should worry about?"

I sighed.

"Yes, actually, there is. She's back."

"Who's back?" Jacob frowned.

"Victoria," I said. "She's been teasing me. She'll be here tonight."

"Bella—" Jacob said wide-eyed before I cut him off.

"Is in Jacksonville with Edward. But I was wondering. Could we get permission to cross onto your land if she crosses? I want this to be over."

"So do we, but Alice—"

"Sam, please," I begged. "I've been running from her and James for the last fifty years. My husband wants his wife back. We have to end it. Tonight."

"The treaty," Jacob said, frowning at me. "You'd be violating it. Surely Edward and the others have told you about it."

"They have," I said, nodding. "But this is different. The town and Bella are at risk. Me, my husband, and my family in England are at risk. Sam, please."

Sam shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Alice," Sam said. "I've grown to like and admire you. But you are still one of them. I can not let you pass the treaty line. It would make the treaty void."

"Sam, please, you don't understand—"

"My mind is made up. We'll be there."

I sighed.

"Magic could capture her. If it was just me crossing the line, I could use magic and catch her."

"But are you willing to put your human family at risk like that?"

I shook my head.

"No. I don't want to use magic unless I have to."

Jacob watched me curiously.

"You care about them," he frowned.

"Of course I do," I said. "They're my family."

"Do you care about them more than your vampire family?"

I sucked in a deep breath and turned back to the forest.

"I'm afraid I can't give you that answer, Jacob. What I can tell you is that I love my husband more than life itself. He and my human family...they would be enough if I ever left the Cullens."

"Bella cares about you, you know," he told me as I turned to leave. "She used to write to you when you were away."

"I know," I nodded. "And I care for her too."

"So why are you keeping her away from me."

"Edward," I said. "I'm trying to keep peace in the family long enough for graduation."

"And if things aren't at peace?" Sam asked.

"Then I'm leaving."

"What will the town of Forks think?"

"That I've died," I said. "And they won't know any different. They'd never see me again."

"Should we try to keep Charlie on the reservation?"

I shook my head.

"I'm going to put up some enchantments. Only humans will be able to get through."

"But if Billy comes with him—"

I shook my head.  
"No, Jacob. This is the best way. I'll remove the enchantments tomorrow. First thing."

Jacob nodded and I turned on my heel and sped off, heading away from the treaty line.

It wasn't until I was far enough away from the treaty line, I slowed to a walk, and pulled out my phone. I dialed Jasper's number.

"Alice? What is it?"

"They turned me down," I said. "They said they couldn't risk it."

"Are you coming home now?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I have something to do first."

"Al?"

"It's nothing important. I'm just stopping my Bella's. I'm putting up some enchantments to keep Charlie safe in case he leaves La Push."

"How do you know he's there? Did Sam tell you?"

"No. I can't see his future and Charlie has never been able to hide from my visions. So he has to be with them."

"Alice, please be safe."

"I'm always safe," I smiled. "I'll be home in an hour, and then we'll head out."

"I love you," he said.

"I love you too."  
The line went dead, and I broke out into a run, heading for the Swan house.

It didn't take me long to get there. I peered out of the woods. Nobody was outside. I quickly set to work. Only humans could pass through the enchantments. Victoria wouldn't be able to get through, and neither would the wolves.

I texted Edward to let him know that Charlie was safe, before spinning back to the woods and heading for the house.

Everyone was waiting outside. Jasper was pacing in front of the stairs talking quietly to Carlisle. I couldn't make out what he was saying though.

"I hope you're not worrying yourself," I said, frowning at Jasper.

"Alice!" he said, spinning around and grinning at me.

"Is he worrying?" I asked Carlisle.

Carlisle shook his head.

"We were talking about Seattle."

"It's getting worse," I frowned.

"Yes," Carlisle said.

"That's not our main concern right now," I said, shaking my head. "Victoria. She's coming. We have to go."

I ran in the front of our group. Jasper ran next to me in a hovering and protective manner. Next was Carlisle and Esme side by side, followed by Rosalie, and then Emmett taking up the back.

"Sam and Jacob didn't approve us crossing the treaty line," I told them when we came to a stop. "We have to be careful not to cross onto their land. If Victoria knows about the treaty, and I'm sure Laurent would have said something to her, then she'll use that to her advantage."

"So what now?" Emmett asked.

"Now we wait," I said, pulling out my wand. "Point me," I hissed.

The wand spun in circles before it pointed behind me to the south.

I put my wand back into the holster, and stepped forward. Jasper still hovered protectively next to me. Carlisle stood on Jasper's other side. On my other side was Esme, then Emmett, and Rosalie on the end.

After ten minutes, Jasper put his hand on my shoulder, as I focused on the future. Carlisle asked me something that I couldn't quite make out.

"Sweetheart?" Jasper murmured in my ear. "Are you sure this is where you saw her?"

"She's almost here," I said.

 _Victoria was running through the green trees. She paused, and smelled the air._

 _"They're too close," she hissed._

 _She spun around, and headed onto another path...a closer path._

"On your left!" I said, spinning towards Emmett. Emmett lead the way this time. Jasper and Carlisle went further out to the sides. Rosalie was between the two, and I was in the back.

I could hear a branch snap, not to far from where we were.

"Victoria knew we'd be waiting for her," I called ahead to the others. "She didn't know we'd be as close as we were. She was expecting us to be further ahead."

Emmett was gaining on Victoria. I could see that as I came up next to Rosalie. He reached out and grabbed her, getting a small handful of the bottom of her hair. Victoria hurled Emmett off of her, and he crashed into a tree.

Emmett jumped up, right as Victoria crossed the ravine.

"Wait!" Carlisle called, skidding to a halt at the end of a small cliff. "She's in their territory now."

We changed our course, heading along the same lines, just curving away from the Quileutes' territory.

"She'll get away!" Rosalie yelled.

Right as she spoke, the wolves came from the trees, chasing Victoria.

"No she won't," Jasper called back as he saw the wolves.

Sam was nowhere in sight. I could see Jacob though, at the front leading. Right as Jacob almost caught her, Victoria flung herself back over to our side. Jasper sped up, and flung himself at her.

She jumped at the same time, and as she did so, she hit Jasper's chest, steering him away from her. He crumpled to the ground, and I skidded to a stop.

"Jasper!" I yelled, running to him.

"Alice, I'm fine. Go!"

He jumped back to his feet and rejoined the chase as I took off again.

Victoria jumped back over to the wolves' side of the land.

"Emmett, don't!" I yelled, seeing what he was planning.

He didn't listen.

"Emmett, no!" Esme yelled as she and the others caught on.

It was too late; Emmett had already flung himself across the treaty line.

The second his feet touched the ground, Paul ran at him, pushing him into the ravine below. Jacob and Sam, who I never saw join the hunt, stepped forward, and Sam eyed me carefully.

The rest of us were catching up. Paul was growling at Emmett, causing Rosalie to growl back.

"Rosalie!" I yelled. "Stop!"

Carlisle stepped forward.

"Emmett," he snapped, "Enough!"

Jasper stepped forward and a wave of calm flooded the area.

"Sam," I said, stepping forward. "We need a translator, and Edward is here. Bella once told me that you all feel safer around us when you're in your wolf form. Can I read your mind so you don't have to change?"

The big black wolf bowed his head to me, and I focused on him.

"I'm sorry," Carlisle said. "This is all a big misunderstanding."

 _He should know better,_ Sam thought, jerking his head at Emmett. _He was a part of the coven when the treaty was made._

"Sam thinks that Emmett should have known better. He says that Emmett was a part of your coven when the treaty was made."

"He does know better," Carlisle told Sam. "He was trying to get to her before she could get away again."

 _We can handle our side,_ Paul butted in watching me.

"Of course," I said. "We don't doubt that. It's my fault."

 _How so?_ Sam asked, cocking his head to the side.

"I told you that Victoria once hunted me. Before I became what I am. I told my family that I wanted this over tonight. Emmett was only trying to do just that. To keep me, Bella, and the rest of Forks safe."

 _I understand that,_ Sam said. _But he has a mind of his own, and he knew we were here._

"I'm sorry," I said.

"What's happening?" Jasper asked, placing a hand on my back.

"Paul said that they could handle their side. I told him I wasn't doubting that, and that this was my fault."

"But it isn't," Esme frowned. "You didn't tell Emmett to cross the line. He did that on his own."

"I know that," I said. "And that's what Sam said. But I said that I wanted this over tonight."

"Sam," Jasper said, stepping away from me. "I know you've already told Alice no, but that was before Victoria got away again. Is there any way you can let us cross the line?"

I turned to Sam pleadingly.

 _No, Alice,_ Sam said. _I'm sorry, but the elders would never allow it._

I sighed.

"No," I said.  
"We'll let you see if you can trace her on our side then," Carlisle said.

Sam nodded.

Thank you.

"He says thank you," I said.

I'm sorry, Alice, Sam said.

"It's okay," I said. I glanced at each of the wolves and then back to Sam. "You have to keep your family safe, and you don't trust us enough. I understand."

I turned to the others.  
"Come on," I said. "We've lost her."

Emmett climbed back up to where we were. I pointed my wand and his clothes and turned it, drying them off.

The run home was quiet. We made it back in what seemed like no time.

"Alice?" Emmett asked as we all sat in the living room. "Are you okay?"

I sucked in a deep breath and turned away from Emmett, cleaning up the scattered potion items I had left behind.

"Ali?" Jasper asked. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"It's nothing," I said, quietly.

"Ali," Jasper frowned. He knew I was lying. "You're angry. Why?"

"Because we could of had her, Jasper!" I exploded, dropping the vial. "I've been running from her and James for the last fifty-some years! I was ready for this to be over!"

"Alice, I'm sorry," Emmett said. "I didn't think—"

"You're right!" I yelled, rounding on Emmett. "You didn't think! You crossed the treaty line and you let her get away! You didn't have to cross the line! Sam and his pack could have taken care of her. I didn't even have the chance to use magic because I was too busy cleaning your mess!"

Jasper wrapped one arm around my waist and another around my shoulders.

"Shhhh," he whispered as I sob broke out from my throat. "Alice, it's okay. We're going to find her."

Jasper pulled me to the floor, and held me close to him.

"It's alright, Darlin'," he murmured, before kissing my temple. "It's all going to be alright. I've got you."

"I don't want to run anymore, Jasper," I murmured.

"You aren't running," Jasper said, running a hand through my hair as he rocked from side to side. "You and I are right here. In Forks, where we've been for the last three years."

I shook my head.

"We haven't lived here for all three of those years. We lived in England for around five months, and in Ithaca for two to three months."

"You know what I mean," he smiled. "It's all going to be okay. I'm never going to let her hurt you."

And I knew Jasper was right. Victoria would be come back, and when she did, we'd be ready for her.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **It took so much longer to get this chapter up than what I had anticipated. It took longer to get the new computer, and it didn't take me long to figure out how to work it, but I think it writer's block right after I got it.**

 **I used the movie and the script for Eclipse to do the chase, so I did a lot of studying for that and I've been doing some reading to help my writer's block. I also incidentally named the mate for my child on Sims (who's name is Sirius) Johanna without realizing it, so that was an event. If you have Sims and you want a fun but stressful challenge, I recommend the 100 Baby Challenge. I'm on 18 out of 100 and it's been a mess.**

 **SO I hope you enjoyed the chapter and I hope to have the new chapter out soon!**

 **Follow, Favorite, and review! :)(:**


	94. Blind Spots

_"It doesn't give them a loophole. It just gives them more time." ~Bruce McClendon_

* * *

Chapter 94- Blind Spots

In the days following Victoria's getaway, I was very high strung. I watched for her decisions, and I checked the decisions of the Volturi.

"Alice?" Bella asked me one day while she was at the house. I was toying with some new love potions for George.

"Hmm?"

"Do you think that maybe we should change me early? Before graduation?"

"Now why would we do a thing like that for?" I said, in a voice that sounded far away as I added ashwinder eggs to the potion.

"In case Victoria comes back. I can be of more help than the rest of you can," she said.

"You truly think it's as simple as that?" I asked, looking at her and raising an eyebrow. "If it was as simple as power, don't you think I would have caught her by now? You were in the same room as I was when the Volturi told us that I was the most powerful of our kind."

"But Alice, I can help! I'd be stronger than the rest of you."

I laughed humorlessly.

"You have absolutely no faith in us, do you?"

"No, Alice it's not that. It's only that—"

I rolled my eyes.

"I'm offended," I told her, turning my eyes back on the potion. "You're not actually worried about this, are you?"

"If it's no big deal then why did Edward drag me to Florida?"

"Haven't you noticed yet, Bella? Edward is the teensist bit overprotective?"

Bella sighed, and leaned back on the bed, continuing to read _Quidditch Through the Ages._

"You're worried about Victoria too, aren't you?" Bella asked.

"I am. But you don't need to be. We're all going to keep you safe."

"They're keeping you safe too," Bella frowned.

I shook my head.

"They have their priorities."

"Jasper's is you."

"He's the only one," I sighed. "They forget that I ran from her and James once too."

"You don't have to fight," Bella said. "You could go hide out in England until it's over."

I shook my head.

"I'm not a coward, Isabella."

"I never said you were," Bella breathed.

I jumped to my feet and tossed her a new Rita Skeeter article that Harry had sent me: _Alice Black: Hero or Coward?_

"You aren't worried about her, are you?"

"No," I said, smiling. "But I owe it to myself to fight Victoria. Not just for you, but for me and my family too. Jasper wants his wife back. I owe that to him. In that article, Rita Skeeter says I'm always going to run from my problems. Like I ran after the war. I'm not a coward, and I refuse to be seen as one."

Bella looked over at the doorway. I followed her eyes to find Jasper leaning in the doorway. He smiled at me before sitting down next to me and pulling me into his lap.

"You have to do what you have to do for you," he murmured in my ear as he rested his chin on my shoulder. "I'm always going to be here waiting for you."

I smiled and leaned on his shoulder.

"I need to find someone to test this out on," I frowned as I turned back to the potion that had finished.

"You can try it out on me."

I shook my head.

"No I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because you're already in love with me. That kind of defeats the purpose doesn't it?"

"Who do you usually try them out on?"

"I used to test them on Lee Jordan," I mused. "This is a trial potion, so it shouldn't last for more than a day. But I don't have time to go to England right now."

"I'll help," Edward said from the doorway.

I shook my head.

"We have school tomorrow," I said. "I think they're going to notice."

"What about Emmett?"

"Rosalie would never go for it."

"It's your best shot," Jasper murmured.

"I'll go ask her for you," Edward said.

I frowned, and looked back to Jasper.

"Are you going to be okay with it?"

"It's just a potion," Jasper shrugged. "It doesn't mean anything. He loves Rosalie. We all know that."

Edward came back a few seconds later with Emmett, Rosalie, Carlisle, and Esme trailing behind.

"How long will it last?" Rosalie asked, peering over the cauldron.

"A day. Two at most."

"There isn't anyway to make it shorter?"

"Love potions don't last very long," I said. "This is as short as I can get it for a trial."

"And as soon as it wears off I'll be okay?"

I nodded.

"Amortentia is the most powerful love potion in the world. Merope Gaunt had to give it to Tom Riddle continuously to make sure that Tom loved her. She forgot one dose. Just one, and he regained free will. This is maybe a tenth as powerful."

"Why only a tenth?" Bella asked.

"The WonderWitch line appeals more to teenage girls. Grown witches can brew Amortentia if they are serious about giving a love potion. WonderWitch is for for petty high school crushes. George pays me for brewing potions for him and making new items for him. I'll convert the money into Muggle money and pay Emmett for helping me."

"I didn't know you got paid," Bella frowned.

I nodded.

"I'm a co-partner, and an investor. I put forward money to help them get the supplies for inventory. In the event of Fred _and_ George's death, the company goes to me. They also put me as the head of the WonderWitch line."

"What happened when you died?"

"George and Ron worked together to try and come up with ideas," I said, as I pulled a vial out of the cabinet. "Ginny even pitched in. George didn't like any of the ideas that they came up with."

"So WonderWitch died?" Esme asked.

I shook my head.

"I kept a list of ideas while I was working as a Death Eater" I murmured, pouring the potion into the vial. "I always knew how my story was going to end, and I didn't want to leave Fred and George hanging when I was gone. About a year after the war, and they decided to go through my stuff, they found the notebook."

"Where would the company have gone if you hadn't come back?"

"George's kids I'd think," I said. "Or maybe to Harry and his kids."

"Why Harry?"

"I told you the story. When Harry won the TriWizard Tournament, he was given ten thousand Galleons of prize money. He gave all of it to Fred and George. That allowed them to start trials. I'd work on the WonderWitch line, then I'd go into the school."

"How'd you get passed Umbridge?" Jasper murmured.

"Told her I was helping Severus. And I did. But I'd find Fred or George and give them everything. Sometimes I'd go back into the Gryffindor Common Room and help with trials."

"Alice, do you think one day I could go see Fred and George's store?" Bella asked.

"One day, when it is safe for you to be around them."

Bella frowned.

"Alice won't let you anywhere near them if there is a chance that you would harm them," Edward explained.

Bella nodded, and I turned back to Emmett, pushing the vial towards him.

"Drink."

Emmett turned to Rosalie.

"You know I love you, right?"

I smiled.

"It's not going to kill you," I smiled.

"I know," he said, grinning. "But I am not responsible for my actions for the next twenty-four hours, and I probably won't get the chance to tell her."  
"I think it's sweet," Rosalie grinned.

"You would," I laughed.

Emmett drank the potion in one drink. He blinked before turning to me.

"So what do we do for the next twenty-four hours?" Rosalie asked, looking at me.

"We wait, and see how it affects him."

The new love potion worked better than I had anticipated. Emmett followed me like a lost puppy, and growled at Jasper anytime he touched me. Occasionally, Jasper would lean over and kiss my cheek to tease him.

"When will you be sending it to George?" Jasper murmured in my ear.

"Graduation," I smiled. "He and Harry are coming."

"Anybody else?"

I shook my head.

"Angelina turned George down the second he asked. Said America was too far for her to go and be away from her father. Ron and Ginny are staying behind to take care of the store."

"What about Charlie?"

"One of the dragons just laid two eggs. Charlie wants to be there when they hatch. He's going to take pictures and send them to me, and he wants me to do the same for him."

Jasper nodded.

"I don't think that'll be a problem."

As Jasper leaned in to kiss my cheek, there was a low growl from the doorway, causing Jasper and I to burst into laughter.

As soon as the potion wore off the next evening, Edward and I started planning a hunting trip.

"One of us should stay close to home," Edward said. "In case Victoria comes back."

"I'd see her coming," I said.

"And Alice could probably protect Bella and the town the most," Jasper said.

"Would you mind staying close to home?" Carlisle asked.

I shook my head.  
"It'd be easier if Harry or George needed to get ahold of me. I could get Bella and make a Portkey."

"And tell Charlie what, exactly?"

"That we were going to have a sleepover."

"It could work," Esme agreed.

So it was decided. I would hunt closer to home. Edward would hunt closer to the Canadian border.

"We can leave Friday night, after Bella goes to sleep," I said. "I could be finished by late Saturday night and go and keep her occupied."

"Alice, don't rush yourself to make sure that Bella has company. She's survived without us for seventeen years. She can live for two nights."

I shook my head.

"I don't plan on rushing myself. But I do tend to finish earlier than the rest of you. It gives me something to do until you guys get back. Then Edward and I can switch places late Sunday night, and I can come back home."

"So will you be taking the oxygen tank with you to be safe?"

I nodded.

"I take my bag with me anyways. What's the harm?"

Jasper smiled and nodded.

"Sounds like a plan."

"Come with me," I murmured, tracing below his eye. They were black now. "You look like you could hunt."

"I am going to hunt," he smiled. "Carlisle, Emmett, and I are going to Northern California next week."

I sighed.

"I'm going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss you too," he said before burying his face in my hair.

As the week went on, I kept an eye out for Victoria.

"Anything?" Jasper asked me Thursday as I was packing my bag.

"No," I said quietly. "It's almost like she's disappeared."

"Focus on the hunt for now," he said, holding my face in his hands. We'll figure something out when you get back Sunday night."

I smiled weakly and Jasper kissed my forehead.

The next morning when Edward and I met up with Bella, I leaned against the Volvo, and studied her face carefully.

"I'm staying close to home to hunt. I'll only be fifteen minutes away if you need me. I'll keep an eye out for trouble."

 _Try to watch for her future disappearing,_ Edward thought. C _harlie has been pushing her to go see Jacob. I think she's going to try to go to La Push while we're gone._

I turned my attention to Bella's head.

 _So that's Alice's translation for 'don't try anything funny just because Edward is gone.'_

"That's right," I said, beaming at her.

"When are you leaving?" she asked.

"Well we were supposed to leave tonight, but we decided to leave after lunch instead. I'll probably be back tomorrow night."

"You don't have to babysit me," Bella grumbled.

"It's not about you," I said. "I don't need as much as the others."

"Why?"

"Tobias thinks it's because of her height. Alice thinks it's because she didn't eat much in her past life. Not towards the end at least."

"Why?"

I shrugged.

"I didn't have time."

I turned towards the building as the bell ring.

"I've got to go. I'll see you later," I said with a weak smile before I headed to my first class.

The day seemed to drag like it always did when I was leaving early. After lunch, Edward and I would tell the front office that I wasn't feeling well, and then we would leave. When we finally made it to lunch, Bella and Edward were waiting outside for me.

"Feeling any better?" Edward asked, loud enough for Mike Newton, who was walking close behind us, to hear.

I shook my head.

"Not really."

"Carlisle said to try and hold out until the end of lunch, and if you're still not feeling better, then we'll go home.

Edward pulled the oxygen tank behind us as we walked to lunch.

"We'll have to drop the car off first," he murmured to me in a low voice.

I nodded.

"If you want to stay, you can. I can drive the car back."

Edward shook his head.

"She knows I'm leaving after lunch."

I nodded.

"If you're sure."

Edward smiled and nudged my shoulder.

"Jasper's going to miss you."

"I'm going to miss him too," I smiled.

"What do you think he's going to do all weekend?"

"Read probably. I've considered sending him to England, so he'd at least socialize."

"Why would that change anything?"

"Because he's afraid they won't like him if he does anything to upset them."

"Fair point," Edward laughed. "I think no matter what I do Charlie is going to hate me."

I shook my head.

"I think he'll like you slightly more after I die."

Edward chuckled.

"I guess you're right about that."

Mike Newton was still listening closely to us.

"Do you have an estimate?" Bella asked, playing along. "What do the doctors say?"

"Two years at most," I said with a weak smile.

"And there's no chance of you pulling through?"

I shook my head.

"My kidneys are failing now. After they shut down, I only have a few weeks."

"What about a donor?"

"She'd die on the table."

Mike's eyes widened as he quickly walked past us.

"Good job," I whispered to Bella. "It gets easier as time goes on."

"How many times have you used this excuse?"

"Quite often," Edward said. "She's always sick wherever we go. It explains her being out for her energy bursts."

"When's the next one?"

"It's starting. I'll probably be out the week after next."

A couple minutes before lunch ended, Edward and I left the cafeteria, heading for the office.

"Good afternoon, Edward and Alice," the secretary, Mrs. Cope said, smiling widely at Edward. "What can I do for you?"

"Alice isn't feeling well," Edward said. "I thought it'd be best if I take her home. She's been getting worse throughout the day."

"Will you be coming back?"

Edward shook his head.

"Bella said she'd get my work for me and catch me up on anything I miss."

Mrs. Cope turned to look at me, and smiled.

"Feel better, dear."

I nodded gave a weak smile in return.

We got home in no time. Jasper was waiting outside like always.

"Hey," I smiled as I extended my hand to him. "Are you okay?"

He grinned at me and nodded.

"I'm fine. I just wanted to see you before you left."

He took my bag from me as I wrapped the tubing for the oxygen tank around the handle and set it inside the door.

"You know, I was thinking," I said, as we headed up the stairs to the room. "Maybe you should go stay in England while I'm hunting."

"Why?" Jasper asked with a small smile.

"Because Carlisle says when you're here and I'm gone, all you do is read."

"And you think reading is bad?"

I shook my head.

"No, it's not bad. But isolating yourself is."

"I'm not isolating myself," he frowned.

"Who else do you talk to? Aside from me."

Jasper sighed.

"I don't want to argue with you," he groaned.

"We're not arguing," I said. "I'm just saying."

"I'm fine here."

"Okay," I said, putting my hand up. "It was just an idea. But Molly does miss you. So does the kids."

"Next time."

"We should go see them before my energy crashes."

"Is it still just Harry and George coming for graduation?"

I nodded.

"They're staying for the party."

"Have you talked to Bella about this party?"

"Not yet."

"Don't you think you should before you get too far into planning?"

"Why should I? It's not just for her. It's for me and Edward too."

"But this is her first graduation," he reasoned, squeezing my hand.

"It's my first graduation with our family," I frowned. "Why are you fighting this? Do you not want a party?"

"I never said that," he murmured, pulling me into his arms. "I just want to make sure that this is really what you want."

"It is."

I studied his face for a minute.

"What?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Are you okay?"

Jasper sighed.

"I'm going to miss you, that's all."

"I'm going to miss you too."

I stretched up to kiss his cheek.

"The sooner you leave, the sooner you come home," Jasper said, jumping off the bed. He grabbed my mirror off the nightstand and handed it to me.

"Call me tonight,"

"I will," I smiled.

He kissed my forehead.

"I'll see you tomorrow."

I smiled and reached up to kiss his cheek.

"I love you."

"I love you more."

I stepped away from him and grabbed my wand and bag, which I had packed the previous night, before flinging myself out the window.

Edward met me at the edge of the woods behind the house.

"I'll call you the second I see anything," I said. "Don't worry about Bella. If it would make you feel better, I can have Jasper watch her."

Edward shook his head.

"I trust her."

I nodded.

"Good. You should."

"Do you think the wolves would actually hurt her?"

"I don't know the answer to that," I sighed. "They're so different from what I've seen. They can change in the middle of the day if they're angry enough…I think that they are unpredictable, and unstable, and I'm afraid I can't give you the answer you're looking for."

"But you just said they were unpredictable and unstable."

"They are," I said. "But they care for Bella. And they keep their mind when they transform. I would have to take some DNA to see if they are true Children of the Moon, but I don't think they are."

"What _do_ you think they are?"

"I think they are nothing more than shapeshifters, but I can't say that I know for sure. It's something in their blood. So maybe at one point there _was_ a werewolf, and as time went on, and vampires came to the area, they evolved to transform when they need to."

"But you can't say for sure?"

"I can't say anything for sure. I don't know them well enough."

"Aren't you and Sam friends?"

"I wouldn't call it friends. We're civilized."

We made it to my stop and Edward climbed up the large rock with me.

"So what do we do? To keep Bella away from them?"

"The most I can do is keep an eye out for if her future disappears. But Edward, try to remember that she isn't a child. She's going to do what she wants to do no matter how we feel about it."

Edward sighed before jumping off the rock.

"I'll see you on Sunday. Call me if you can't find her."

I nodded, and jumped into a tree so that I could see my prey from above.

Friday night went smoothly. I had caught mostly deer, and around eleven o'clock, I decided to call Jasper.

"Hey," he smiled, as he answered.

His face lit up once he saw me.

"Hi," I smiled. "How is everything going?"

"It's going good for the most part. Carlisle talked me into a few games of chess."

"But?"

"But I miss you."

I grinned.

"I miss you too."

Jasper carefully eyed my surroundings.

"Are you in a tree?"

I nodded.

"The sky was beautiful. I wanted to see the stars."

It was one of the rare occasions where the sky was crystal clear. A million stars lit up the sky, and the moonlight of the full moon directly above me lit up my face.

"How good are the odds of you coming home tomorrow night?"

"Fairly well," I smiled. "I'm thinking that there may be a mountain lion a few miles south that I may go try to catch. I heard one earlier heading that way."

"How far would you be?"

"Maybe an hour tops. But I won't be there for more than two."

"Depends on what you find?"

"Exactly."

Jasper smiled.

"Well I won't keep you any longer. The longer we stay talking, the longer you'll stay gone."

"I love you," I grinned.

"I love you too. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Bye," I said, and Jasper faded from view, leaving my own reflection staring back at me.

I tucked the mirror away in my bag before I peered down at the ground below me. Just under the tree was a stag. He was by himself, eating the grass below him.

I dropped out of the tree, directly on his back. His legs snapped beneath him with the force of my drop, and he bleated loudly.  
Without a second thought, I bit into the deer's neck.

I couldn't help but think of James everytime I hunted a stag. I thought of Lily, and of Severus, every time I hunted a doe. I never hunted wolves, but that was mostly because of the La Push wolves, but every time I saw one, especially in the full moons, I thought of Remus, and how I spent so many years trying to protect him from himself. Hunting helped me clear my head, but it also brought back so many memories.

I did end up heading south to search for mountain lions. I was only there for about an hour before I headed back to where I was. I wanted to be nearby when Bella woke up in case anything went wrong.

I made it back to Forks close to seven Saturday morning. The sky was covered by thick clouds, the sun disappearing behind them.

It was around eight o'clock that I decided to take a break. Bella would be heading for work, so I decided that I should check and make sure she was heading straight there.

As it would happen, Bella had left for work early. I had focused, and checked on her present.

 _Bella's beaten up truck was pulling into Newton's Olympic Outfitters. The rumble came to a stop, and Bella stepped out, quickly making her way inside the store to get out of the rain._

 _"But it's the only time that Tyler can go," Mike Newton was complaining to his mother "You said after graduation —"_

 _"You're just going to have to wait," Mrs. Newton snapped. "You and Tyler can think of something else to do. You are not going to Seattle until the police stop whatever it is that is going on there. I know Beth Crowley has told Tyler the same thing, so don't act like I'm the bad guy — oh, good morning, Bella," she said when she caught sight of Bella. "You're early."_

 _"Light traffic," Bella joked, as she reached under the counter to grab her vest._

 _"Well, er . . ." Mrs. Newton hesitated, "I was going to call. I don't think we're expecting a ton of business today. Mike and I can probably handle things. I'm sorry you got up and drove out. . . ."_

 _"Okay," Bella said, slumping her shoulders._

 _"That's not fair, Mom," Mike said. "If Bella wants to work —"_

 _"No, it's okay, Mrs. Newton. Really, Mike. I've got finals to study for and stuff. . . ."_

 _"Thanks, Bella. Mike, you missed aisle four. Um, Bella, do you mind throwing these flyers in a Dumpster on the way out? I told the girl who left them here that I'd put them on the counter, but I really don't have the room."_

 _"Sure, no problem."_

 _Bella took the fliers from Mrs. Newton's outstretched hand before heading back out the door. She paused at the dumpster to look at the flier._

 _Suddenly, she was running to her truck and everything went black._

I gasped for air as I became lost in the darkness. As I worked on focused on her black future, I fumbled for my bag that was sitting on the rock next to me. I punched in Edward's number as my sight returned.

"Alice?" he asked, picking up on the second ring, "what is it? What's wrong?"

"Bella," I said quickly. "Her future and her present It disappeared. She's heading to La Push. She's figured it out. The way to get around my visions. I didn't realize it worked the same way when I was looking into the present."

"How long until she gets there? Did you see where she was?"

"She was at work. It takes about fifteen minutes to get to the treaty line."

"See if you can catch her before she hits the treaty line. I'm on my way."

The line went dead, and I grabbed my stuff, changing my phone for my mirror.

"Show me Jasper!" I exclaimed as I ran through the woods. "Jasper! Jasper are you there?"

"Ali?" Jasper asked, appearing in the mirror. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Bella's heading for La Push, and Edward wants me to try and stop her. Can you meet me at the treaty line?"

"You think I have a better shot at stopping her?"

"Maybe you can cut her off somewhere?"

"Of course, sweetheart."

"Thank you," I said, before stashing the mirror in my bag, and pushing myself to run faster.

Jasper was waiting for me at the treaty line.

"She's gone," Jasper said as I came to a stop in front of him. "I just barely missed her."

"I'll call Edward," I sighed. "He isn't going to be happy."

"Are you going to go back to hunting?"

I shook my head.

"I was done, anyways."

Jasper nodded as I put the phone up to my ear.

"Did you catch her?"

"No," I said. "I had Jasper chasing her, she had just made it over the treaty line when she got here."

"I'm going to go home and get the Volvo and wait for her."

"We'll meet you there."

"Aren't you going back to hunting?"

"No," I said shaking my head. "I'm finished. I'm just going to come home."

"Then I'll see you when I get there. I'm about an hour away."

"I'll see you then," I said, before hanging up the phone. I turned to Jasper. "Ready to go?"

Jasper nodded and took my hand and the two of us headed back home.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I figured I'd give a short little chapter to keep the timeline running smoothly. Next up is the sleepover, and Rosalie tells Bella her story. Some of the dialogue regarding the present will be changed for the sake of my timeline.**

 **I do want to take a moment to thank everyone who has taken the time to follow and favorite both me and the story. It means a lot, and I hope that you enjoy the chapters to come.**

 **So on that note, I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	95. Presents and Confrontations

_"Every gift from a friend is a wish for your happiness." ~Richard Bach_

* * *

Chapter 95-Presents and Confrontations

As the week continued, my energy continued to climb. I estimated that it would be at its lowest point on Saturday, maybe Sunday if I was lucky.

"How are you feeling?" Jasper asked as I began to move around the room, straightening up the smallest piles.

"I wish I had chosen to go hunting this weekend instead of last weekend."

"But it's only Wednesday, and on Saturday, you'll be at your lowest point."

"And I'm going to be here alone," I pouted.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart. I want to be here, and I tried getting Carlisle to reschedule, but this is the only weekend he can get off."

"I know," I said with a small smile.

"You won't be completely alone," Jasper said. "Esme will be here, so will Rosalie."

"I know that too," I said. "But it's not the same. What if I have a nightmare?"

Jasper laughed and guided me to the bed.

"Relax, Alice. Esme is going to be watching over you when you're sleeping."

"I think I'll be okay," I laughed. "Esme still has other things to do."

"I really don't think she'd mind if you're really afraid," he murmured in my head.

I shook my head.

"I was only teasing," I smiled. "I'll be alright. It's only until Sunday, right?"

"Right. Maybe we'll get lucky, and the others will want to come back early."

I smiled.

"Once can only dream."

"I really am sorry that I won't be here Saturday."

"Maybe it won't hit on Saturday," I shrugged. "Maybe it'll wait until you come home."

Jasper chuckled.

"Maybe."

I helped him back the book bag he was taking with a few changes of clothes and a book, so that he could read while he was taking a break. I placed his mirror on top of the book.

"There," I smiled. "Now you can spend the night with me before you leave."

"I'll still see you tomorrow," he reminded me. "Yeah, but I'll mostly be at school."

"I'll still see you," he murmured. "I'll be waiting for you when you get out of school. I'll come pick you up, and then we can go into the field and look at the sky."

I smiled.

"That sounds nice."

"It's been a while since it's been just the two of us," he said with a small smile.

I reached up and pecked his lips before jumping onto the bed and opening my arms.

"Come," I smiled.

Jasper's smile was as wide as mine as he crawled onto the bed and into my arms.

"I'm going to miss you," I murmured, burying my face into his hair. "So, so much."

"You have all of my jackets," Jasper murmured. "All of my sweats. Wear a pair."

"I plan to," I smiled. "Just not to school."

Jasper laughed.

"You have a reputation to uphold."

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"It's strange isn't it?" I asked him. "Every time one of us leaves, we act like we're saying goodbye forever."

"It's not strange," he said. "We just feel safer around each other."

"That's true," I murmured. "You were one of the first people I met in this new world. I don't know where I'd be without you."

Jasper flipped us over to where he was towering over me.

"Alice, I've never gotten the chance to thank you."

"For what?" I frowned.

"For everything you've done and everything you've given up for me."

"I've given up nothing for you."

He shook his head, his honey blonde hair falling into his face.

"You know what I mean."

I smiled, and pulled his face to mine.

"I do know what you mean. And you don't need to thank me. You've done enough."

He smiled and gently kissed me before he sat down on the bed next to me.

Before anything else could be said, there was a soft knock on the door.  
"Come in," Jasper said, as he pulled me up as well.

"Hey, Alice?" Edward asked peeking his head in the door.

"Hmm?"

"Can you come here for a minute? I need a favor."

I sighed and pushed myself off the bed. Jasper followed behind.

"You don't have to come," I said. "I'll only be a minute or two."

"No," Jasper said grinning. "I want to see."

"Do you know something that I don't?"

"I know a lot of things that you don't," he smiled.

"Jasper," I whined. "Be serious!"

"Okay, okay," he laughed, kissing the back of my hand that he held onto tightly. "I may know something."

"Does this have anything to do with your trip to Seattle on Monday?" I asked Jasper. "The one you wouldn't let me come on?"

Jasper nodded.

"Precisely."

I turned back to Edward.

"What's going on?"

"Well, as you know, Jasper, Carlisle, Emmett, and myself are going to be gone all weekend."

"Yeah?"

"I was wondering if you'd be up to having a sleepover with Bella this weekend while we're gone."

"Why?"

"Well I was thinking. With me gone, Bella would have likely tried to go to La Push, and you know I don't want her around Jacob Black. I even bought you a present to pay you for your time. Think of it as an early Christmas gift."

"You're bribing me to kidnap your girlfriend?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I wouldn't call it kidnapping," he disagreed. "She'd come willingly. We could leave early, and you could pick her up from work. She's getting in the car anyways. Just bring her here instead of home."

I frowned.

"I don't think that'll go over to well with Charlie."

"You can go and talk to him while Bella is at work tomorrow. Or you can go after she and I leave for school. I'll tell her Jasper is bringing you."

"I think maybe I should call Charlie," Esme said. "I can tell him that the doctor said that you can't hike anymore, and I was doing it as a surprise for you. That'd keep him from telling Bella."

I nodded, and Edward paused to write out the number. He handed it to Esme, and we continued through the house to the garage.

"What are we doing here?"

I tried flipping ahead, to see what the gift was, but Jasper elbowed me gently.  
"Stop that," he said. "Let Edward have his moment."

Jasper put his hands over my eyes before we stepped inside the garage.

"Don't look," Jasper murmured against my ear.

Edward and Jasper guided me through the garage before we came to a stop. Edward took my hand and dropped something inside of it. A key.

Jasper uncovered my eyes, and sitting in between the Volvo and Rosalie's BMW, was a canary yellow Porsche.

My eyes lit up, and I turned to Edward.

"Is this mine?"

Edward nodded.

"Carlisle said you can't drive it around Forks, but if you're going to Olympia or something. And should you decide to leave after graduation, you can shrink it down and put it in your bag until you get to England. But, Alice?"

"Hmm?"

"Try to make sure Bella has a good time this weekend. Make sure she has fun."

I nodded.

"Of course."

"This is a little over the top, don't you think?" Rosalie asked.

"What is?" Edward asked.

"Bribing Alice to keep Bella here, even if she doesn't want to be here."

"What do you care?" Edward asked. "You don't like her anyways."

"No, I don't," Rosalie said. "But if Bella wants to hang out with the wolves, why can't we just let her?"

"Because it's too dangerous," I said. "The wolves are unpredictable."

"So we just aren't going to talk about the fact that you dated a werewolf for two years?"

"Rosalie," Emmett cautioned.

"Are you taking their side?"

"Rosalie, there are no sides," Jasper frowned. "Alice is just saying that they weren't safe to be around."

"Neither was Remus, but that didn't stop you from dating him."

"That's because there were ways to keep myself safe from Remus."

"So give the wolves the Wolfsbane potion!"

"I can't unless I can alter how it affects their system, and I don't know enough about them biologically."

"So if one day your family had decided that they didn't want you around Remus because it was too dangerous. What would you have done?"

"I would have left Remus."

"And if they decided now that they didn't want you to be with Jasper, would you leave him too?"

I paused, and eyed her carefully.

"They'd never do that. They know that Jasper would never hurt me."

"But if they did?"

I looked at Jasper with sad eyes. He wrapped his arm around me.

"I'd never make her choose between me and her family," he told Rosalie, glaring at her as he ran a hand up and down the scar on my spine. "If Harry and George thought that I was dangerous, I'd leave her alone."

I looked up at Jasper with wide eyes.

"You'd do what?"

"I promised Harry,George, and myself that I would never make you chose me over them."

"When did you do that?"

"When you went to Italy. I told them that when you came home, and the Volturi was making you choose between me and them, then I wouldn't make you choose."

"Why would they make me choose?" I asked, searching the room for Carlisle.

"Because your situation is very different from the rest of ours. There was a possibility that Aro would have offered for you to return to your world. But if he made that option, you could not come back."

"But why couldn't Jasper come with me?"

"Because it's not my world," he said with a weak smile.

I hugged Jasper tightly.

"Don't leave me," I whispered.

"I won't," Jasper murmured in my ear. "We don't have to worry about that anymore."

He glared over my head at Rosalie.

"Alice—" Rosalie started before Jasper cut her off.

"Don't," he said. "You've done enough."

He redirected my attention to the Porche behind me, occasionally eyeing Rosalie.

* * *

 **Let me start out by saying that this chapter was not meant to be any longer. I completely forgot that this chapter as well as the last chapter was meant to be short, and I meant to upload them together and then that was not the case. SO here is chapter 95, and I anticipate to have 96 up by the end of the month. The next chapter will be a lot longer than the previous two chapters, so it is definitely going to take some time to write.**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter,**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review! :)(:**


	96. Sleepover

_"Here's to the nights that turned into mornings with the friends who turned into family." ~Unknown_

* * *

Chapter 96- Sleepover

"Can you fix my hair?" Jasper asked, extending a hair tie to me as we sat in the clearing in the woods.

I nodded and took the hair tie from him.

Jasper, Edward, Emmett, and Carlisle would be leaving in roughly an hour.

"Are you sure you don't want me to stay here?" he asked, fidgeting with the bottom of his button up shirt. "I could stay and just go after you go back to school."

"I'm sure," I smiled. "You go and take care of yourself and I'll be alright. It's only a few days, and I have tons of plans ahead of me. You have everything you need, right?"

"Yes, Alice," Jasper said before pulling me into his lap. "You should know. You've checked my bag three times today."

I laughed.

"I guess I did, didn't I? Well it's better to be prepared than to need something you don't have."

Jasper smiled.

"My mirror is in there?"

I nodded.

"And some books, and a few changes of clothes."

"Thank you, Ali," he said taking my hand. He looked down at his watch.

"It's time to go isn't it?" I asked as he sighed.

"Yeah," he said as I jumped to my feet. "Don't worry. I'll be back in a couple of days."

"I'm not worried," I smiled. "You go and do what you have to do and I'll be here waiting for you."

When we made it back to the house, Carlisle, Edward, and Emmett were waiting at the back door.

"There you are," Carlisle said as we broke out from the trees. "Are you ready to go?"

Jasper nodded.

"I just got to go grab my bag."

Carlisle nodded.

"Hey, Alice," Edward said, "a word?"

I followed him to the side for a minute.

"I put a bed up in my bedroom for her to sleep in," Edward said. "Also Esme went out to buy some food for Bella. Tonight Esme is buying Italian food, but do you think you can cook for her tomorrow?"

I nodded.

"Sure. No problem."

"Esme figures since you cooked while you were in England, she'd let you cook. She worries about her ability."

"I'll cook," I said. "I like cooking."

"Thank you for doing this."

I nodded.

"I understand why you're doing it."

Jasper came out the house then, and I made my way back to him.

"I love you and have fun," I smiled before kissing his cheek.

Jasper squeezed my hand and I watched as the four boys took off.

I turned on my heel, heading inside the house.

"So what are we going to do exactly?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't know," I murmured. "I've never exactly had a sleepover. The most I had was with Fred and George, and we mostly played Quidditch with their family."

"Luckily for you, I've had several sleepovers. I'll help you."

Rosalie began making a list of everything that we could do. Rosalie and I got together all of Bella's favorite movies.

"Pedicures are also an option," Rosalie said.

I nodded.

"Of course."

"So you've really never had a sleepover?" Rosalie asked as I pulled on my jacket and started setting up my oxygen tank.

I shook my head.

"Only the monthly sleepovers with the Weasley's. And even then, we didn't do anything that you Muggles do. We didn't watch movies, do pedicures…"

"What did you do?"

"Play Quidditch, I used to steal Bill's textbooks before I started Hogwarts, then I did homework after I started Hogwarts."

"So I guess it'll be your first sleepover," Esme said coming through the door.

"I guess so," I smiled as I pulled my oxygen tank behind me to grab the keys to the Volvo.

"Oh, I've already gotten Bella's stuff," Esme said. "Charlie said to tell you hello."

I smiled and made my way out to the car.

When I pulled up in front of Newton's Olympic Outfitters, Bella still wasn't ready to go. She was checking out a customer, so I turned up the radio. _Mr. Brightside_ by The Killers was shaking the frame of the car when Bella finally stepped out. I reached over and popped open the passenger door.

"Hey, Alice," Bella shouted over the music. "Where's your brother?"

I held up a finger as I sang along to the ending of the song. As the song came to an end, I turned down the volume and turned to Bella grinning.

"What's going on?" Bella asked. "Where is Edward?"

"They left early," I sighed.

"Oh," Bella said. Her voice was slightly disappointed.

"All the boys went," I continued, "and we're having a sleepover!"

"A sleepover?" Bella asked frowning.

"Aren't you excited?" I asked grinning as I turned onto the main road.

"You're kidnapping me, aren't you?" she asked with a slight frown.

"Till Saturday night. Edward should be back by then, and by that point my energy will be so low that there won't be much I can do… Anyways, Esme cleared it with Charlie; you're staying with me for two nights, and I will drive you to and from school tomorrow."

Bella turned away from me, grinding her teeth together.

"I'm sorry," I said. "He paid me off!"

"How?" she growled.

"The Porsche. It's exactly like the one I stole in Italy! He and Jasper were scheming together, I don't know how I didn't know… Carlisle saysI'm not supposed to drive it around Forks, but if you want, we could see how long it takes to get from here to L.A. — I bet I could have you back by midnight."

"I think I'll pass," she said as we turned into the driveway.

Once we made it up, I pulled back to the garage, and parked the Volvo before making my way to the Porsche."

"Pretty, isn't it?"

"Pretty over-the-top," Bella grumbled. "So he gave you that just for two days of holding me hostage?"

I frowned, and turned my attention back to the car.

"It's for every time he's gone, isn't it?" she asked, wide eyed.

I nodded.

Bella slammed the Volvo door shut before stopping off to the house. I was at her side in a second, and she glanced at me before turning her glare to the ground.

"Alice, don't you think this is just a little bit controlling? Just a tiny bit psychotic, maybe?" "Not really." I said, turning my attention to the ground. "You don't seem to grasp how dangerous a young werewolf can be. Especially when I can't see them. Edward has no way to know if you're safe. You shouldn't be so reckless."

"Yes, because a vampire slumber party is the pinnacle of safety conscious behavior."

I laughed.

"It'll be fun," I promised, "I'll give you a pedicure and everything."

Bella sighed.

"Didn't you date a werewolf?"

"I really wish people would stop using that as a reason for me to let you near the wolves. It's because I dated a werewolf that I agree with Edward. I know the dangers. Did you learn nothing from the Pensieve?"

"Jacob isn't going to hurt me, Alice," she grumbled as we got inside the house.

"I didn't think that Remus was going to hurt me either," I said, taking off my oxygen tank and setting it next to the door. "Yet he did. I still have the scars to show for it. And I don't think Emily thought that Sam would hurt her. Yet he did."

"How do you know about that?"

"Sam and I talk. When Victoria came, I translated through his thoughts. Trying to shut out the other wolves, I accidentally saw it."

Bella sighed as we made it to the living room where Esme and Rosalie were waiting.

"You're back," Esme smiled. "Alice, Harry called looking for you. Said you weren't answering your phone."

"That's because I left it here," I frowned. "I didn't think he'd be calling today."

"I told him that you'd call as soon as you came home."

"I'll go call him now," I said, turning towards the stairs to grab my phone.

"I already brought your phone down," Rosalie said.

I turned towards her and she tossed me the phone.

I flipped it open before heading to the couch, dialing the number on the way there.

"Hello?" Harry asked, picking up on the third ring.

"Harry?" I asked. "Is everything okay? What's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Harry said. "I just wanted to call and check on you."

"I'm fine," I frowned. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"Jasper said that your energy would be at its lowest this weekend, and that he'd be hunting. So George wanted me to call and see if you wanted to come stay here this weekend, or he could stay there."

"Is George nearby?"

"You're on speaker."

"I appreciate the thought, Georgie, but I'll be fine. Bella is sleeping over while Edward is away, so your usual sleeping spot is taken."

"I can go home," Bella said quickly. "I can go home and George can stay here."

"Nice try, Bella, but that's not happening," I said.

Harry and George laughed, having heard her on the other end.

"I'll come see you all when my energy starts to come back."

"And we're still coming for graduation."

"What day is that again?" George asked.

"The eleventh," I said. "So not this Monday, but the next one."

"It's really that close?" Harry asked.

I nodded.

"Tomorrow is the first."

"Well come see us when you're feeling up to it, and bring Jasper too. James misses him."

"I'll let him know," I smiled.

"Bye, Alice, send our love to Esme."

"Can do. Bye guys."

The line went dead and I snapped the phone shut again.

"Is George coming?" Rosalie asked.

I shook my head.

"I'll go see them next weekend then bring them back here Sunday night. The kids miss Jasper."

"From what Edward told me, they love Jasper," Bella said.

"They do," I smiled. "They were very grateful to him for keeping me safe all these years. I'll be back in a few moments. I'm going to go change. Oh, and Esme, Harry and George said hello."

Esme smiled before she ducked away into the kitchen.  
I turned back to Rosalie.

"Be nice," I said to quietly for Bella to hear before I darted up the stairs.

When I returned downstairs in a pair of sweatpants and one of Jasper's hoodies, Bella raised her eyebrows.

 _I've never seen her in sweats,_ Bella thought loudly.

"They're Jasper's," I said. "He keeps them on hand for when my energy goes down. I've found that sleeping in skinny jeans, or denim of any kind, is uncomfortable."

Bella laughed.

"So why don't you buy pajamas?"

I shrugged.

"I find it pointless to keep pajamas around only to use them once a month. Jasper wears these frequently, so he just lets me use them. When the energy decline happens."

"If your energy is declining, why did Edward make you bring me?"

"Because he knows you won't hurt Esme's feelings, and Esme wants you here."

"How long will Harry and George be here after graduation?"

"They're leaving that night. I don't want them staying here until the situation in Seattle is taken care of."

"Is that getting any better?" Bella asked.

"No," I said. "More are disappearing and turning up dead. Charlie was thinking about advising the Seattle Police Department to call in the FBI to help."

"Can they do that?" Bella asked. "I thought they only handle things that go across state borders."

"Sometimes local law enforcement can call in certain units to help. But let's not talk about that now. Esme is bringing your dinner out here."

While Bella ate, I put on a movie and started on her pedicure.

"I know this isn't your idea of fun," I told her. "But this is my first sleepover too."

"Didn't you stay over at the Weasley's house once a month for sixteen years?"

"Twelve, but still. This is my first _Muggle_ sleepover."

Bella sighed.

"I'll try to have fun."

"Thank you."

As I finished, I showed Bella her toes.

"There," I said. "That wasn't so bad, was it."  
"No, it wasn't," Bella sighed.

"How late do you want to stay up?"

"I don't want to stay up. We have school in the morning."

I pouted as I jumped to my feet.

"Where am I supposed to sleep, anyway?" she asked, eyeing the couch. "Can't you just keep me under surveillance at my house?"

"No," I asked. "What kind of sleepover would that be? You're sleeping in Edward's room. That's where George usually sleeps."

"Can I go back to my place to get my things, at least?"

I grinned.

"Already taken care of."

"Am I allowed to use your phone?"

"Charlie knows where you are."

"I wasn't going to call Charlie." she said, frowning. "Apparently, I have some plans to cancel."

"Oh." I said slowly. "I'm not so sure about that, Bella."

"Alice!" she whined."C'mon!"

"Okay, okay," I sighed, heading back for the kitchen where I had left my phone. "He didn't specifically prohibit this . . ."

Bella dialed the number and put the phone to her ear.

"Hey Jake," she said after a moment. "It's me."

I watched her for a moment before I turned on my heel and went to sit in between Esme and Rosalie.

"How are you feeling?" Rosalie asked, nudging my shoulder.  
"I'm tired," I sighed. "I may sleep for a little bit tonight after I talk to Jasper."

"Are you going to be okay to go to school tomorrow?"

I nodded.

"It's not that bad just yet."

"If you change your mind, text me and I'll call the school," Esme said.

I nodded.

"I will. But what about her?" I asked, nodding towards Bella.

"I already told Charlie that there was a chance that you may leave school early tomorrow cause you aren't feeling so well. He said that if you leave, since you're taking Bella to school, that she can leave too."

I nodded.

"Thanks, Esme."

She nodded and patted my hand.

I stayed quiet for a moment, watching Bella.

"Sorry about Saturday," Bella said. "I've got to hit the sack, but I'll call you again soon."

She was quiet for a moment.

"Night, Jake."

I jumped off the couch and quickly made my way over to Bella. I held my hand out for my phone, but she started dialing another number. I peered over to see the number.

"I don't think he'll have his phone on him," I said, recognizing Edward's number.

"I'll leave him a message."

"You are in trouble. Enormous trouble. Angry grizzly bears are going to look tame next to what is waiting for you at home."

I smiled as Bella hung up the phone.

"Okay," she said. "I'm done."

"This hostage stuff is kind of fun," I smiled.

"I'm going to sleep now," she announced.

I followed her to the staircase which made her sigh.

"Alice, I'm not going to sneak out. You would know if I was planning to, and you'd catch me if I tried."

"I'm just going to show you where your things are," I said. "Besides, I'm going to call Jasper after I finish with you."

"He has his phone on him?"

"Not his phone. But he does have his mirror...I should get you and Edward a pair. That would make this easier…" I trialed off as we made our way up the stairs.

Bella led the way down the hall. As soon as she opened the door, her eyes fell onto the bed and she paused in the doorway.

"What the hell is all this?" Bella spluttered.

"You didn't really think he would make you sleep on the couch, did you?"

"When did he get this?"

"Yesterday when he got my Porsche."

Bella began mumbling to herself as she stumbled towards the bed.

"I'll give you some privacy," I laughed. "If you need me, come and wake me. I'll see you in the morning."

I shut the door behind me before making my way down the hallway to my room.

When I picked up my mirror, Jasper's face was already there.

"I was just getting ready to call you," he said.

"I know."

"How's Bella?"

"She's annoyed," I sighed. "I don't think she's having a lot of fun."

"I'm sorry, Darlin'," Jasper said with a small smile. "How are you?"

"I'm starting to get tired. I'm probably going to go to sleep after she does. I'm going to go check on her here in a few minutes."

"I can't talk for long," Jasper said. "I just wanted to check on you."

"Go ahead and go," I smiled. "I see Emmett in the background waiting for you."

"If you need me, you can call. You know that right?"

"Yeah, I know."

"I love you," Jasper smiled.

"I know that too," I grinned. "I love you. Call me when you can."

"I will."

With a flick, Jasper was gone, and it was my own reflection staring up at me.

I heard footsteps in the hallway. It sounded like the faint clicks of Rosalie's heels. But she passed her bedroom, and she kept walking.

I frowned and got out of bed, following behind her. She stopped at Edward's door and knocked quietly.

"What, Alice?" Bella snapped from inside.

"It's not Alice," Rosalie said stepping in the door. "It's me. Can I come in?"

"Of course," Bella said with surprise. "Come on in."  
Rosalie shut the door behind her, and I sat just outside of Edward's door listening to the two inside.

"Do you mind talking to me for a few minutes?" she asked. "I didn't wake you or anything, did I?"

"No, I was awake. Sure, we can talk."

Rosalie laughed.

"He so rarely leaves you alone," she said. "I figured I'd better make the best of this opportunity. Please don't think I'm horribly interfering. I'm sure I've hurt your feelings enough in the past, and I don't want to do that again."  
"Don't worry about it, Rosalie. My feelings are great. What is it?"

"I'm going to try to tell you why I think you should stay human — why I would stay human if I were you."

There was a pause before Bella spoke, and there was a quiet: "Oh."

"Did Edward ever tell you what led to this?"

Bella was quiet for a moment.

"He said it was close to what happened to me that time in Port Angeles, only no one was there to save you ."

"Is that really all he told you?" she asked.

"Yes. Was there more?"

"Yes," Rosalie said in a quiet voice. "There was more."

Rosalie was quiet for a moment. I was almost afraid that she had changed her mind from the decision I just saw.

"Would you like to hear my story, Bella?" Rosalie asked after a long pause. "It doesn't have a happy ending — but which of ours does? If we had happy endings, we'd all be under gravestones now. Well maybe except for Alice. She's would only be 30 now. I'd like to think her happy ending would be back in Britain with George. That the two of them would be married with kids..."

Rosalie paused again as I looked down at my lap.

I listened quietly as Rosalie told Bella her story. About Vera and Henry, Royce and the rape and her revenge.

"I'm sorry," Rosalie said, breaking off abruptly. "I'm frightening you, aren't I?"

"I'm fine," Bella said with a shaky voice.  
"I got carried away."

"Don't worry about it," Bella said, quickly.

"I'm surprised Edward didn't tell you more about it."

"He doesn't like to tell other people's stories — he feels like he's betraying confidences, because he hears so much more than just the parts they mean for him to hear. And Alice, he says she made him swear not to tell."

"I probably ought to give him more credit. He's really quite decent, isn't he?"

"I think so."

"I can tell."

Rosalie sighed.

"I haven't been fair to you, either, Bella. Did he tell you why? Or was that too confidential?"

"He said it was because I was human. He said it was harder for you to have someone on the outside who knew."

Rosalie laughed.

"Now I really feel guilty. He's been much, much kinder to me than I deserve. What a liar that boy is. Alice has always called him out on that, but I never believed it."

"He was lying?"

"Well, that's probably putting it too strongly. He just didn't tell you the whole story. What he told you was true, even truer now than it was before. However, at that time . . ." She broke off, chuckling nervously. "It's embarrassing. You see, at first, I was mostly jealous because he wanted you and not me."

"But you love Emmett," Bella said in surprise.

"I don't want Edward that way, Bella. I never did — I love him as a brother, but he's irritated me from the first moment I heard him speak. You have to understand, though . . . I was so used to people wanting me . And Edward wasn't the least bit interested. It frustrated me, even offended me in the beginning. But he never wanted anyone, so it didn't bother me long. Even when we first met Tanya's clan in Denali — all those females! — Edward never showed the slightest preference. And then he met you. Not that you aren't pretty, Bella. But it just meant that he found you more attractive than me. I'm vain enough that I minded."

"But you said 'at first.' That doesn't still . . . bother you, does it? I mean, we both know you're the most beautiful person on the planet."

Rosalie laughed.

"Thanks, Bella. And no, it doesn't really bother me anymore. Edward has always been a little strange."

"But you still don't like me," Bella whispered.

"I'm sorry about that," Rosalie said.

"Would you tell me why? Did I do something?"

"No, you haven't done anything," she murmured. "Not yet. Don't you see, Bella? You already have everything . You have a whole life ahead of you — everything I want. And you're going to just throw it away . Can't you see that I'd trade everything I have to be you? You have the choice that I didn't have, and you're choosing wrong! And I was so sure that I could do this calmly. It's just that it's harder now than it was then, when it was no more than vanity."

"Would you like me better if I chose to stay human?" Bella asked.

"Maybe," Rosalie said.

"You did get some of your happy ending, though. You got Emmett."

"I got half. You know that I saved Emmett from a bear that was mauling him, and carried him home to Carlisle. But can you guess why I stopped the bear from eating him?"

Bella didn't respond. I assumed she shook her head because Rosalie continued.

"With the dark curls . . . the dimples that showed even while he was grimacing in pain . . . the strange innocence that seemed so out of place on a grown man's face . . . he reminded me of Vera's little Henry. I didn't want him to die — so much that, even though I hated this life, I was selfish enough to ask Carlisle to change him for me. I got luckier than I deserved. Emmett is everything I would have asked for if I'd known myself well enough to know what to ask for. He's exactly the kind of person someone like me needs. And, oddly enough, he needs me, too. That part worked out better than I could have hoped. But there will never be more than the two of us. And I'll never sit on a porch somewhere, with him gray-haired by my side, surrounded by our grandchildren." Rosalie paused for a moment. "That sounds quite bizarre to you, doesn't it? In some ways, you are much more mature than I was at eighteen. But in other ways . . . there are many things you've probably never thought about seriously. You're too young to know what you'll want in ten years, fifteen years — and too young to give it all up without thinking it through. You don't want to be rash about permanent things, Bella."

Bella sighed loudly, and Rosalie chuckled a bit.

"Just think about it a little. Once it's done, it can't be undone. Esme's made do with us as substitutes . . .You will remember, though. It's a lot to give up."

"What about Alice? She's doing okay, and she knew what she was doing."

"Alice's case is different. She did it to protect her family, not for love. But much like you, she'll lose them in the end. She'll have to lose them a second time though, and the way Jasper tells it, the first time destroyed her. We're all worried for when that time comes."

"Thanks, Rosalie. It's nice to understand . . . to know you better."

"I apologize for being such a monster. I'll try to behave myself from now on."

"I'll let you sleep now. I know you're frustrated that he's keeping you locked up like this, but don't give him too bad a time when he gets back. He loves you more than you know. It terrifies him to be away from you. Goodnight, Bella," she whispered as she shut the door behind her.

When Rosalie got outside, her eyes fell on me and she jumped back.

"Alice! What are you doing out here?"

"I heard you go to Edward's room, and I was curious."

"Didn't your parents ever teach you it was rude to eavesdrop?"

"No," I said. "Mum died and Dad went to prison before they had the chance."

Rosalie's eyes widened.

"Alice I—"

"I'm teasing Rosalie. They taught me that, but I was curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat," Rosalie said, holding her hand out to help me off the ground.

"Satisfaction brought it back," I laughed.

"Go sleep," Rosalie said. "You're going to need all the energy you can get."

"Did you mean what you said? About my happy ending?"

Rosalie nodded.

"I've thought about it. If you couldn't have Jasper, I think you could find your happy ending with George. You could have a baby, and you wouldn't have to worry about losing them."

"You know, Rose, I somehow get the feeling that even if I wasn't like this, Georgie would still be with Angelina."

Rosalie shook her head.

"Not possible. He loves you."

I sighed.  
"Goodnight, Rosalie."

"Goodnight, Alice."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I'm ahead on my assignments, so I got the chance to write during my classes, which resulted in this being finished sooner. I should have the next chapter up soon, but I am not making any promises. I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**  
 **Follow, favorite, and review :)(:**


	97. Blank Vision

_"Only blind people believe in the light. Those who have eyes do not believe in the light. They see it." ~Rajneesh_

* * *

Chapter 97- Blank Vision

"Tonight we'll go out to Olympia or something," I told Bella. "That would be fun, right?"

"Why don't you just lock me in the basement," Bella said, with a bitter edge to her voice, "and forget the sugar coating?"

"He's going to take the Porsche back. I'm not doing a very good job. You're supposed to be having fun."

"It's not your fault. Besides, isn't your energy too low?"

"Yeah, but I promised Edward you'd have fun. And we wouldn't stay there very long.

Bella shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, Alice. I'll see you at lunch."

I sighed and shook my head as Bella slumped over and made her way to her first class. I did the same, heading in the opposite direction.

Throughout the day, I took notice that I couldn't see anything other than the present. My energy was low, and I knew that it was heavily affecting my visions of the future, but something didn't feel right to me. The more I tried to look at the blank future, the quicker my energy drained. I was sure I was going to have to leave early because my energy was fading fast, and I wasn't sure I'd make it through the rest of the day. I was almost certain I would have to get Bella to drive home.

"Are you okay, Alice?" Ben asked, as I leaned against the wall.

I shook my head.

"I'm getting sick. Can you help me find Bella? I've got to go home and I'm in no state to drive."

"Of course we'll help," Angela said, coming up beside us.

The three of us made our way towards the cafeteria. I scanned through the crowd of people trying to find Bella. We made it to the edge of the cafeteria, where I stopped and leaned against the wall. After a second of waiting there, I heard the roar of a loud engine. A motorcycle. I looked up in surprise.

Across the lot, I could see Jacob Black hurtling towards the school.

"Run, Bella," he yelled as he screeched to a halt.

After a second, I spotted Bella, running to the motorcycle.

I watched her wide eyed as Jacob started the motorcycle again.

Bella spotted me and I growled at her, stumbling forward with a hand raised. A small pop rang through the lot as a small spark shot from my hand. Nobody seemed to notice. They assumed it was the backfire of the motorcycle.

"Damn it," I growled, jerking my oxygen tank next to me.

I made my way as quickly as I could from the cafeteria to the office.

As soon as I stepped inside, Mrs. Cope smiled.

"Esme said you might not be feeling well. It's all taken care of, dear. Go home and rest."

I smiled and turned back towards the door.

Everyone was starting to clear the way outside. I moved as quickly as I could to move through them and get to the Volvo. I wouldn't make it to the border using the Volvo, and I wasn't strong enough to Apparate. Instead, I headed home.

As soon as I pulled out of the lot, I pulled the mirror out of the glovebox.

I flicked my wrist angrily, and instead of my reflection, I saw darkness.

"Jasper?" I called. "Jazz, are you there?"

"Alice?" Jasper asked, and suddenly I saw him. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Where's Edward?"

"Right here."

"Can you put him on, please?"

The mirror shifted and Edward frowned at me.

"Is everything okay?"

"She's gone," I growled. "The wolf came and got her at school."

"He what?"

"He told her to run, so she ran."

Edward growled.

"Are you going to get her?"

"I won't make it to the border, and I'm too weak to Apparate."

"We're almost finished here. We'll leave her in about two hours. Text me when she gets home."

I nodded, and flicked my wrist again before tossing the mirror into the passenger seat.

"Esme!" I called, as I stumbled out of the car once I pulled into the driveway.

"Alice?" Esme asked running out the door. "Where's Bella? What's wrong?"

"She's gone! The wolf took her!"

"How'd she manage that?" Esme asked, taking my hand.

"The wolf came. He knew I couldn't see him. He told her to run and she did. I almost exposed my magic trying to stop them."

"What happened?"

Esme asked, gently pushing my shoulder to get me to sit on the couch.

"When the wolf came, I had been looking for Bella so we could leave. I drained my energy trying to look into her future. When it was black, I just assumed that it was because I was weak, but something didn't feel right. The wolf came and she ran. I was going to use magic to stop them, and it started to spark."

"So you exposed yourself?" Rosalie asked wide eyed.

"Nobody saw anything."

"We should call Edward."

"I've already called him."

"So what do we do now?"

"There's nothing else to do but wait for her."

"Are you okay?" Rosalie asked.

I shook my head and took the key from around my neck.

"Go into my room, and open the cupboard. In there, find my potions, and get me one of the energy potions."

"What do they look like?"

"It's a shimmery white potion. It kind of looks like the memory extractions."

Rosalie nodded and took off up the stairs.

"You should sleep," Esme said frowning at me.

I shook my head.

"That doesn't do me any good for when Bella comes back. I need to see."

"See what?"

"When she leaves La Push."

"Alice, you said so yourself, you're weak."

"That doesn't mean I can't see. It only means that I can't control what I see."

"Are you sure you should do this?"

I nodded.

"I'm going to go get you some clothes to change into," Esme said as Rosalie came down the stairs.  
"Already got them," Rosalie said. She held a new pair of Jasper's sweatpants and a button up shirt.

I held my hand out for the potion as Rosalie sat the clothes on the couch.

"I also brought you a blanket so you could rest until Bella comes back."

"Thank you, Rosalie."

Rosalie nodded.

I waited for a second after the potion kicked in to stand up.

"I'll be back," I mumbled.

After getting dressed, laid down on the couch.

"How are you feeling?" Esme asked.

"I'm tired," I sighed. "I want Jasper to come home."  
"When are they leaving?"

"Edward said they'd leave in the next hour or two, but they won't be home until later tonight."

Esme smiled.

"The time will pass before you know it."

I laughed and closed my eyes.

"It won't hurt me to rest for just a moment."

"Are we still having the party?" Rosalie asked.

I nodded.

"Harry said that he and George are excited for it."

As I rested, the future remained dark. No matter how hard I focused. Not even slip up were peaking through.

"Rosalie, can you do me one more favor?" I asked after a few hours of resting.

"Hmm?"

"Remember the potion I brewed when Victoria came?"

Rosalie nodded.  
"Bring that here, and put the drops in my eyes."

"Alice, I don't think you should be pushing yourself," Esme said.

"I have to see," I said searching through the dark. "He's got me watching everything. The Volturi, Victoria...What if one of them come and I can't see them?"

"What happens if you continue to drain your energy? What good is that going to do you?" Esme snapped. "You need to start taking care of yourself."

"But Edward—"

"Edward will live, Alice. Take care of yourself first."

I nodded and closed my eyes again.

After another half an hour, I got up and began wondering to the garage. I pulled the keys to my Porsche off the hook and unlocked the car, slipping into the driver's seat.

I was disappointed that I hadn't gotten the chance to drive it before it would be taken away. I finally had a car that was my own, and in a flash it would be taken back to where it came from.

I could hear the sound of a motorcycle coming up the drive. I stepped out of the car and sat on the hood.

"I haven't even had a chance to drive it." I said as Bella came into the garage.

"Sorry," Bella spat, jerking her motorcycle into an open spot.

"You look like you could use a hot shower," I said, standing up.

"Yep."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nope."

"Do you want to go to Olympia tonight?"

"Not really. Can't I go home?"

I made a face. Edward would already be made at me for letting her go to La Push.

"Never mind, Alice," Bella said, breaking my thoughts. "I'll stay if it makes things easier for you."

"Thanks," I sighed. "I hope you are happy with what you've done today. You almost made me expose myself."  
"You didn't have to do anything. And _I_ didn't do anything. It was your own fault."

I grabbed her arm and spun her to face me.

"I promised Edward I'd keep you safe," I growled. "Does that mean nothing to you? You act like a child, Isabella. You don't get your way so you threw a fit. And that fit almost cost me everything."

Bella's eyes were wide in fear. I instantly dropped her and headed back to the house.

"Your clothes are waiting for you on the bed, and Esme is going to make your dinner tonight. My energy is too low, so I am going to sleep." I paused at the door. "Go home if you want. If you don't care about your safety, I don't either."

I went through the garage door into the house. I headed straight for the couch and scooped up my blanket.  
"Alice?" Esme asked. "Are you okay?"

"Tell Jasper to come wake me when he gets home, please? I'm going to sleep."

"Sure, but—"

"I don't want to talk about it," I said quietly. "And tell Edward I need to talk to him too…Better yet, tell him to watch the memory that is sitting on my desk. Tell him to take it to the Pensieve."

Esme nodded.  
"Of course."

Bella made it to the living room as I was heading to the stairs.

"Alice, I'm sorry," Bella gasped.

I shook my head.

"Nobody saw anything. So you're in the clear. If you don't want to watch a movie, you can borrow a book from my shelf. Just come up to my room to get it."

I took off to the room before Bella could say anything further.

"Just give her some time," Rosalie said from downstairs. "She needs some time to cool off."

"She's got a right to be mad at me…"

"Tell me what happened."

Bella set into everything that happened from the moment she stepped into the door, and I took a potion off of the counter and downed it.

I crawled into the bed on Jasper's side and curled into a ball under the blankets.

The potion took affect quickly. I was drowsy, and then I began to feel myself fall.

 _The Netherworld took the appearance of mine and Jasper's bedroom. I was in the bed, on Jasper's side, just like I had been seconds ago. Fred was leaning against the doorway._

 _"Hey, Ali," he smiled. "Miss me?"_

 _"Always," I grinned, jumping to my feet._

 _Fred hurried over, and pushed me back down._

 _"Don't stand. You're energy is horrible this time."_

 _"I was stressed," I frowned._

 _"I know," Fred said. "I saw. Bella ran off with Jacob Black."_

 _"You keep a close watch on what happens in my life, don't you?"_

 _Fred nodded._

 _"I also know that Edward has you looking out for the decisions of the Volturi, and of Victoria, and that is what caused your energy to crash as fast and as hard as it did."_

 _I sighed and shook my head._  
 _"I'm lost, Freddie. I don't know what to do anymore…"_

 _"You could come home," Fred said. "It's always an option."_

 _"Maybe," I sighed. "But then what? Uproot mine and Jasper's life? Leave them hanging?"_  
 _"You have to take care of yourself too, Alice," Fred said. "You're more stressed with the Cullens then you were as a Death Eater."_

 _He paused and reached a hand up to my cheek._

 _"It's a good thing you don't wrinkle, because that face… there wouldn't be a wrinkle free spot."_  
 _"Tell me what to do, Fred."_

 _"I can't," Fred said with a weak laugh. "You know I can't."_

 _I covered my face with my hands before laying down._

 _"I don't know what I'm supposed to do."_

 _"The right thing usually helps," Fred smiled._

 _"What is the right thing?"_

 _Fred shrugged._

 _"I'm not sure. Maybe you and Jasper can take a break. Go home to England for a while."_

 _"That's not Jasper's home…" I said trailing off. "He'll be unhappy there."_

 _"He wasn't the last time you guys were there. He was willing to move there for you."_

 _"Yeah, but that was nearly a year ago...I'm sure things have changed, Freddie."_

 _Fred shook his head._

 _"I don't think they have, but he's your husband. I guess the next best thing is talk to Edward."_

 _I shook my head._  
 _"He's already going to be angry with me for yelling at Bella…"_

 _Fred laughed._  
 _"I was hoping that wouldn't be an issue...I'm sorry. I'm not sure how to help."_

 _I sighed and shook my head._

 _"It's okay. I don't blame you. But what would you do?"_

 _"I think you did the right thing. She knew you were weak, and that your magic would be overly sensitive, yet she still did it anyway."_

 _"I have a feeling that Edward isn't going to see it that way," I said._

 _Fred shook his head._

 _"Let's not focus on that now. How are things going with Victoria?"_

 _"They're not. I can't find her, and right now I can't control what I see. Something feels wrong, but I don't know where."_

 _"Maybe it's from Bella running off with the wolf."_  
 _"Maybe," I said._

 _"When will Jasper be home?"_

 _"In a few hours I suppose."_

 _"Probably less than that. Have you ever noticed how differently time moves in the Netherworld?"_

 _I nodded._

 _"I've noticed. How long have I been here?"_

 _"About five minutes...probably a few hours in the real world."_

 _"I wonder when they'll pull me…"_

 _"I guess when Jasper wakes you."_

 _Fred and I talked for a while more. About everything that Rosalie had told Bella last night._

 _"She doesn't think my happy ending is with Jasper," I said with a weak smile. "She, much like Edward, believes we're damned."_  
 _"So where does she think your happy ending is?"_  
 _"In Britain with George. She thinks that if things had happened differently, and I wasn't hunted, she thinks that we would be married, and that Fred would be my baby."_

 _"Hmm," George said, leaning back. "I guess that's a possibility. You don't believe in it?"_

 _"I never said that," I said, shaking my head. "I could just never picture myself with anybody but Jasper."_

 _"But imagine that life...you a mother…"_

 _"I know," I sighed. "But I can't let the things I can never have, turn me bitter. Not like it did Rosalie."_

 _Fred smiled._  
 _"You know, even when we were kids, I admired you."_

 _"I know," I smiled. "Freddie?"_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"Is he up there with you?"_

 _"He?"_

 _"Voldemort?"_

 _Fred shook his head._

 _"If he is, we haven't seen him. Although, I don't think he had enough soul. Harry and Dumbledore worked hard to destroy his soul."_

 _"What attaches you to this place? Is it your soul?"_

 _Fred shrugged._

 _"We still don't understand it. Lily has her theories. As does Dumbledore, Lupin, Snape, and Johanna."_

 _"Mum," I smiled. "Remus tells me she was smart."_

 _"She's brilliant," Fred agreed. "But to me, you'll always be the brightest."_

 _I smiled._

 _Suddenly, I thought I could hear somebody calling out to me._

 _"Do you hear it, Freddie?" I asked, looking up to the ceiling._

 _"Alice?" the voice called. "Alice?"_

 _"It's Jasper," Fred said. "He's trying to wake you up."_

 _"It's time for me to go," I said, sadly._

 _"Don't be sad, Al. I'll see you again soon. And should you need me, you can always find me here or with the Resurrection Stone."_

 _I didn't get a chance to say goodbye. I was awake before I could._

"Jasper?" I mumbled, patting the shoulder next to me.

"Hey, Ali," he smiled, leaning down to kiss my forehead. "Sleep well?"

I nodded and tried to scoot back to my side. When Jasper saw me struggling, he scooped me up into his arms and sat down on the bed, rocking me from side to side.

"Did you go to the Netherworld?"

I nodded again.

"Saw Freddie," I rasped. "Didn't get to say goodbye."

"Why not?"

"You woke me."

Jasper chuckled and pressed his lips against my temple.

"Sorry about that. How're you feeling?"

"Tired," I sighed. "How am I supposed to get Bella home in the morning?"

"Esme is going to drive, and you are going to ride along. Carlisle told her that if Charlie asks, you're too sick to be left alone."

"Come," I mumbled.

"You know I can't," Jasper laughed. "Charlie thinks I'm hiking with Edward, Carlisle, and Emmett."

"I know," I sighed. "But I missed you."

"Edward wants to talk to you. Are you feeling up for visitors?"

I nodded.

"Edward," Jasper said, slightly louder than his normal voice. "She says she handle it."

In a second the door opened, and Edward came through.

"Hey, Ali," Edward said with a small smile.

"The memory," I rasped. "Did you watch it?"

Edward nodded.  
"I'm not mad at you, Alice."

"Have you talked to Bella?"

Edward shook his head.

"We haven't been home very long. But I'm sure she's sorry. Esme said she came in here and sat with you for a while."

"I didn't know," I mumbled.

"I know. But I'm going to apologize on her behalf."

I shook my head.

"I want to hear it from her. You don't know what she's thinking."

Edward sighed and looked at Jasper who shrugged.

"She's got a point."

"Jasper," I mumbled.

"What, baby?"

"I'm tired. I want to go back to sleep until it's time to take Bella home. Is that okay?"

Jasper smiled and laid me down on my side of the bed before he laid down next to me. Reaching over me, he grabbed a vial of the potion and pressed it to my lips.

"Drink," he murmured.

As the potion began to take effect, Edward slipped from the room, and Jasper hummed quietly in my ear.

I began to slip back into unconsciousness, but I didn't leave the darkness. I didn't dream, or go to the Netherworld. I just remained in this black place.

"How is she?" Rosalie asked later that night. I hadn't heard the door open.

"She's doing alright," Jasper murmured. His lips were brushing against my forehead. "She's going to be down for a while. Do you know how she burned out so quickly?"

"She was doing what Edward asked her to do. Look for Bella's future, and Victoria's, and the Volturi's. She was starting to stress."

"He relies on her too much," Jasper said, shaking his head. "We all do in a way…"

"Did she tell you about me talking to Bella last night?"

"She didn't get a chance to tell me much about anything. All of her energy is gone."

"Will she be able to go to graduation?"

Jasper nodded.

"It'll definitely help Forks think she's getting sicker."

"She looks like she's wasting away."

"In this situation that helps… Are we planning on leaving once Bella is changed?"

Rosalie was quiet.

"Carlisle and Edward are talking about that tomorrow."

Their conversation became more clear to me as I started to wake up.

Jasper looked down at me and smiled.

"Morning," he said, kissing my forehead. "How do you feel?"

I groaned and tried to push myself up. Jasper, as always, had to help.

"You look miserable," Rosalie said.

I laughed weakly.

"Thanks," I breathed.

"Are you still feeling up to going with Esme to take Bella home?"

I nodded.

"What time is it?"

"Nearly five o'clock."

"In the morning?"

Jasper nodded.  
"Do you want to go downstairs?"

I nodded and moved to roll off the bed. Jasper caught me.

"I'll help you," he said.

Jasper's definition of help was to carry me. Bella and Edward were making their way down the stairs at the same time as we were. Both stopped and made room for Jasper.

"She looks sick," Bella whispered to Edward.

"In a way, she is. But this is helpful to us. The town is going to see it as Alice is getting weaker, and the time we thought she had was cut short."

"So when I'm changed," Bella said, trailing off.

"Alice Cullen will die with you."

"What are we going to tell Charlie?"

"You died in a car accident while we were trying to get to California to see Alice before she died."

"Faking your death is easier than it seems," I croaked as Bella sat down at my feet. "It'll hurt them more than it'll hurt you. That's not to say it doesn't hurt...but it gets better."

"Alice, I'm sorry about yesterday. I knew you were weak, and you had little control of your magic. I shouldn't have put you at risk like that."

"No," I murmured. "You shouldn't have. But you did, and it happened, and it's over. All is forgiven. Nobody saw anything."

"Are you going to be okay?"

I nodded.  
"It's going to take some time, but I'll be okay."

"Is this my fault?"

I shook my head.

"It's my own. I let myself burn out."

Bella smiled.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay," I smiled back. "Now we just have to wait, and soon, I'll be okay again."

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I decided to put this chapter and the next chapter up together because the next chapter picks up right where this chapter leaves off, and I figured that that would be easier.**

 **I want to clarify that I personally believe that Alice and Bella butted heads, and I tried to show that some here. Overall, they are very close, but certain things regarding the wolves is where they aren't so close. Alice does have Bella's best interest in mind, so she gets frustrated when Bella lashes out at her.**

 **I hope that clears up some of the confusion that you have. If you don't have any confusion, that is also good!**

 **So I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review! :)(:**


	98. The Stranger and the Familiar

_"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers." Du Bois_

* * *

Chapter 98-The Stranger and the Familiar

Bella, Edward, Jasper and I sat in the living room for a few hours making small talk. Bella still had a ton of questions about my world.

"Aro said that you were the only one of your kind," Bella said.

"Yes," I rasped. "There are vampires in my world, but they have never been a witch or a wizard. Kingsley said I should write a book."

"Are you going to?"  
"I don't think it's a bad idea," I said. "But the attention from the public—"

"Would be no more than you're already getting," Jasper murmured.

"Jasper's been trying to talk her into it," Edward said.

"I think you should do it," Bella said.

"Where does the story end though?" I asked. "My story isn't over."

"So write it up to the meeting with the Volturi," Bella said.

I shook my head.

"I can't. I have to keep them secret." I shook my head. "It's too complicated."

Jasper sighed and kissed the top of my head.

"I'm sorry."

"For?" I rasped.

"Pushing you."

I shook my head and smiled.

"You're only trying to do what's best for me."

After a little while, it was time for Bella to come home.

"Is this a good idea?" Bella asked Edward as Jasper carried me to the car.

"She insists on going. Originally you were supposed to come home tomorrow, not today."

"So will Charlie think you guys are coming home early?"

"I've called Charlie," Esme said. "He thinks Alice is really sick and you being around her right now may make things worse, so the boys are coming home and so are you."

Jasper sat me down in the front seat of the Volvo before turning to grab the oxygen tank from Esme.

"You alright, Darlin'?" Jasper asked, taking my face in his hands.

I nodded.

"When I come home, can we stay downstairs for a little while?"

Jasper nodded.

"Of course. I'll start setting everything up for you."

"Thank you," I mumbled against his shoulder.

"Try to rest, baby," Jasper murmured in my ear.

I nodded.

"I'll be at your house in about an hour. Two tops," Edward was saying behind me. "I'm going to help Jasper get Alice settled in downstairs."

Bella nodded and reached up to kiss Edward and I turned to Jasper.

"I love you," I said.

"I love you too," Jasper smiled. "More than anything in the world."

I smiled as he shut the door.

He and Edward stepped away from the car, and Jasper gave a small wave.

 _I love you,_ he thought loud enough where I could hear him without having to focus.

I grinned and gave a small wave as I laid my head on the window.

My breaths were shallow as we went through Forks. We did run into Jessica Stanley and Lauren Mallory. They didn't say anything to us directly, but they did whisper to each other as they stared right at me.

"I guess she's sick again," Jessica said with a small sneer.

"If she gets sick easily, maybe she shouldn't be in school," Lauren said.

"I doubt they're going to pull her out a week before graduation."

"Jasper is probably insisting that she graduates."

Jessica shrugged, and her car sped forward when the light turned green.

"I forget how hateful some of these children are," Esme said, shaking her head.

"What?" Bella asked. "What happened?"  
"Just Jessica and Lauren being themselves," I croaked, smiling at Bella through the side mirror.

"Does it bother you?"

I shook my head.

"I've heard worse things. The people in Hogwarts, there were cruel about who my father was. Bill, Charlie, Fred, and George were my protectors. Fred and George got into a fight once on my behalf. I could fight for myself, but the Weasleys… They were my angels on earth."  
"Did you believe in God?"

"No," I shook my head. "And I'm not entirely sure that I do now. Fred says there together, but that doesn't necessarily mean there is a god. In my world, religion wasn't such a big thing."

Bella eyed me carefully for a moment .

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired," I murmured, closing my eyes.

"Charlie is probably going to come out and talk to you," Bella said.

"That's okay," I said. "I can talk for a few minutes."  
"What do we tell Charlie if we want to hang out at your place instead of mine?"

"Tell Charlie that Carlisle said you're clear just as long as you have a mask on."

"Do I actually have to wear a mask?"

"Only if I'm in the car with you."

"So what will happen on Monday?"

"Carlisle will most likely call the school and tell them that Alice needs to wear a mask."

"You have to go through all that?"

I nodded.

"You actually did us a favor by running off yesterday," I laughed. "It's like I told you, it's easy to fake your death, just so long as you know how to not get caught. I happen to be excellent at it."

"How many times have you done it?"

"Do you want me to include me leaving England?"

Bella nodded.

"In that case, this would make it about my sixth or seventh."

"Always the same way?"

I shook my head.

"The first time was suicide. When I left England."

"I mean every time after that."

I nodded.

"It's easy to believe. I'm noticeably weak, especially after the energy bursts."

"Do people ask a lot of questions?"

"When we left, after Jasper and I came back to America, the people in Ithaca asked a lot of questions."

"What'd you tell them? About why you never came home?"

"That I died in Denali. I got sick, and we thought I was getting better, and then one night, my heart gave out."

"Are you going to go back to New York?"

I shook my head.

"Not for a long time. There may be a point where I go to England for a while, and the rest of you will regroup in New York."

"Where will Jasper be?"

"With me."

I sucked in a large breath as we turned.

"That's enough talking," Esme said, patting my knee. "You're wearing yourself out. Jasper isn't going to be very happy if I bring you back in worse shape than we left in."

"He'll live," I murmured closing my eyes.

"I've never seen somebody with the amount of love that Alice and Jasper have for each other," Esme told Bella. "I guess it makes sense though...In a way, they saved each other all those years ago."

"Alice?"

"Hmm?"

"Do you think when you get better, we can look at more of your memories?"

"Sure," I smiled.

It wasn't much longer before we pulled up in front of Bella's house. Charlie was standing outside waiting for us to pull up. He hurried down the stairs, and rushed to the car.

"Did you have fun, Bells?" he asked, taking Bella's book bag from her.

"Yeah, I did," Bella smiled. She turned to me. "Feel better, Alice."

"Thanks," I rasped.

Charlie turned to Esme.

"Thanks for inviting her. If there's anything Bella and I can do to help you guys, don't be afraid to ask."

Esme nodded.

"Thank you, Charlie."

Bella and Charlie headed for the house, and Esme turned the car around and started heading down the street.

I rested the entire way from Bella's house to ours. Jasper was waiting for us.

"I want to walk," I murmured as Jasper helped me out of the car.

Jasper eyed me carefully.

"We'll try it," he said.

I gripped onto Jasper's arm as I stood up. Edward walked on my other side, and Esme walked behind the three of us.

When we made it to the living room, Carlisle, Emmett, and Rosalie, were waiting. All three avoided the large couch which Jasper and Edward were leading me to.

"Are you ready to go back to sleep?" Jasper asked.

I nodded.

"I think so," I murmured.

Jasper handed me the vial, and sat at my head.

I went down quickly. I was exhausted, and instead of staying in the darkness, I went to the Netherworld.

 _I wasn't in the Cullen house. This place was unfamiliar, yet I felt like I knew it so well. My eyes scanned around my surroundings, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't figure out why I knew this place._

 _"Mary," a voice said from behind me._

 _My eyes widened, and I whipped around._

 _Voldemort no longer held the snake like appearance I had come to know. He looked like he did as a teenager. His eyes were no longer red. They were the same chocolate brown as Bella's._

 _"Why are you here?" I growled._

 _"I heard the Weasley boy talking to the others. He was wondering if I could visit you in this place the same way they could. They told me you worried. I wanted to see for myself. You were, afterall, one of my favorites."_

 _"You're there?" I gasped. "With them?"_

 _"Not with them, no. I can't interact with them, and they can't interact with me. There's a wall that divides us, but I can still hear them."_

 _"What do you want?" I glared._

 _"I wanted to see what became of you. What became of Potter…"_

 _"Where are we?" I asked, looking around._

 _"My mother's home," he said, gesturing me to come to the window where he stood._

 _I didn't move._

 _"Come on, Mary. I can't hurt you here."_

 _I eyed him carefully as I moved to the window. He pointed to the house on the hill._

 _"That's my father's home. This is where they met."_

 _"Why are we here?"_

 _"You're family made a remark to Dumbledore that they chose a place you're comfortable with. I figured you wouldn't be comfortable with me in your home, so I brought you here."_

 _"Are your opinions still the same?"_

 _"Of Muggles?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _Voldemort nodded._

 _"They are not our equals, Mary. You made a mistake marrying that Muggle man. You'll birth spawn."_

 _I laughed._

 _"Shows how much you know. Jasper and I can't have kids."_

 _"You can't?"_

 _"No vampire can," I said, moving away from him._

 _"I forgot about that," Voldemort said. "I hear your family talk of you. They say that you died a hero."_

 _"I did. I gave up my life so that my family could live. Their lives were more important to me than the power you crave."_

 _"You're more cocky than I remember," Voldemort smiled._

 _"I'm not the same person that you knew. I know love know. Real love. I have a family, and my family in England are safe."_

 _"Love," Voldemort scoffed. "Love makes you weak, Mary."_

 _"I suppose it's not your fault that you'll never know love, Tom," I said walking around the perimeter of the room. "How could you? Your mother was so desperate for a man that she could never have that the only way she could get him was to give him a love potion. You weren't even conceived of real love, so how could you feel it."_

 _This comment didn't make him happy. He stormed across the room, and grabbed me by the throat, pushing me to the wall behind me._

 _I laughed._

 _"Didn't like that one, did you, Tom?"_

 _"You forget your place, Mary Alice Black. You may not of been faithful, but you were still branded." He grabbed my wrist and showed me the mark. "You will always be mine, whether you think so or not. You think your Muggle husband actually loves you when he knows everything you've done?"_

 _I jerked my arm away from him. I had bruises forming around my wrist and on my forearm, and I was sure I'd have one on my neck._

 _"You can't kill me," I laughed. "I'm already dead."_

 _The hand around my throat squeezed tighter which made me laugh more._

 _"Learn your place, girl."_

 _"I've learned mine. But you haven't learned yours. You think you're powerful, and even in death you feel the need to prove that power. But you were weak. Harry was stronger than you, and you lost."_

 _He threw me to the ground._

 _"I killed Potter."_

 _"No," I said. "You killed the piece of yourself inside of him. That's why he came back to life."_

 _"The world still fears me!" he yelled._

 _"No," I smiled. "Wrong again. Nobody is afraid of you. Not anymore."_

 _"You are," he grinned wickedly. "I see it in your eyes."_

 _"Why should I be afraid? You can't hurt me here. You can try, but I can take it."_

 _Voldemort jerked me up again and threw me to the wall._

 _"Are you sure?"_

 _"Positive."_

 _He gave me the worst he could do without magic. He couldn't fight without it, that was for sure, but the kicks and hits he could get in, were hard enough to where I was sure it'd leave bruising._

 _"Goodbye, Tom," I grinned as he drew his foot back to kick me again. "I hope to never see you again."_

 _There was a bright light, and then I was out of the Netherworld, back into the darkness._

"What do you think she sees?" Jasper was asking somebody. "I think she was in the Netherworld...who do you think was with her. She's amused."

"Maybe Fred then."

"Wait, Carlisle, look."

I felt a hand trace my neck.

"Is that a bruise?"

"How is that possible?" Rosalie asked.

"Alice says that the Netherworld is a place of magic, and that magic leaves a mark differently. Fred would never do anything to hurt her."

Jasper let go of my left hand.

"She's got one here too."

"Who would want to hurt her?" Rosalie asked.

"James or Laurent maybe?" Emmett said, slowly. "She is the reason why they're dead."  
"Can they get to her there?" Rosalie asked.

"I don't know…" Jasper trailed off. "Everybody who has come to Alice has a connection to her in some way...But look at where the bruising is."

"Can we wake her if she's in the Netherworld?"

"I did last night."

"Try again," Carlisle said.

Jasper's hair brushed against my face.

"Alice?" he murmured. "Ali, wake up."

It took a second to fight off the potion. It had time before it would wear off, and I had to fight it.

My eyes slowly opened, and everyone was standing around me. I lifted my arm up and examined the bruising.

"He did a good number," I rasped, laughing.

"Who did that?" Jasper asked.

"Voldemort. He was waiting for me in the Netherworld. He wanted to see if he could visit me if he wanted to."

I slowly lifted my shirt to show the black and purple bruising on my sides and on my ribs.

"Why did he do this to you?"

"I offended him," I laughed. "And he said he was going to show me my place."

"Alice," Jasper trailed off, "why would you want to make him angry?"

"Cause I'm not afraid anymore," I said proudly. "I can take it. Hey, Rose?"

"Yeah, Alice?"

"Can you bring me the bruise salve from the cabinet? They key is hanging on my doorknob. It's labeled, and it's sitting with my potions."

Rosalie nodded.

"Does it hurt?" Jasper asked.

I shook my head and smiled.

"Not a bit."

"Is this why you were amused?"

I nodded.

"He thought I was still afraid of him. Hey, Jazz?"

"Hmm," he asked.  
"The Resurrection Stone. Where is it?"

"It's with your stuff up there. Why?"

"I need to talk to them," I murmured. "Voldemort told me of a wall that divides the good from the bad. I need to understand why he could hurt me there, and have it appear here."

"Who would have the answer?"

"Any of them might."

"So who are you calling?"

"Every one."

Jasper gently lifted my head and the pillow off his lap, and gently set me down.

"Help me sit up?" I asked Emmett.

He smiled and lifted me up gently.

"Do you think they'll have the right answers?" Carlisle asked.

"I think they'll have _an_ answer. Even if it's not the right one."

Jasper and Rosalie came back at the same time. Rosalie handed the bruise salve to me and I started applying it to the places that were most severely bruised. I saved some bruises to show to my family.

"The stone," I murmured, looking up to Jasper.

He dropped it into my hand.

"Are you sure, Alice?"

I nodded.

"I have enough energy for this."

As I turned the stone, I thought of everybody. After the third turn, they started appearing. In the line, from left to right, stood: Mama, Dad, James, Lily, Remus, Tonks, Dumbledore, and Fred.

"Alice?" Fred asked. "What are you doing? What happened to you?"

"I need your help," I rasped. "I need to know what any of you know about the Netherworld."

"What's happened to you, young Alice," Dumbledore asked, stepping towards me. "You look like you've been through quite the battle, my dear."

"I went to the Netherworld, and Voldemort was there waiting for me. Only it wasn't him...he was Tom Riddle. He said he heard you guys talking about going to see me in the Netherworld."

"I've never come to see you," Tonks glared. "Why'd you bring me here?"

"Nymphadora, please. You worked in the Ministry. You guarded the Department of Mysteries. Can you tell me what you know about the Death Chamber?"

"Not much," she said. "We only know about the veil, and we only know what we know about that because of Sirius falling through it. They may have found out more since then, but you'll have to talk to Kingsley about getting access."

"Do any of you guys know anything?" I asked, looking at the others.

"The Netherworld," Dumbledore said, still sitting next to my legs, "is a place of great magic. Nobody has ever been there before though. It takes a witch or wizard with exceptional powers to get there. On top of that, they have to be not alive, but not completely alive."

"So Voldemort should have been able to get there," I frowned.

Dumbledore shook his head.

"I said that their powers had to be exceptional. Tom was gifted, that's for sure, but not in the same way you are. Not only were you the brightest witch of your age, but you were one of the most powerful of our time. You're the first one of this kind. A vampire and a witch. The venom made your magic stronger, and I'm sure that now you're stronger than any other witch, wizard, or vampire."

I turned to Lily, Severus, Remus, and Mum.

"Have you heard of anything like this before you guys came there?"

"Voldemort heard rumors of it," Severus said. "In the first war, he thought that maybe he could hide there. That he wouldn't be able to be harmed in this realm. He tried everything in his power to get there."

"Do you think there was a chance he could have gotten there before Pettigrew brought him back?"

Severus shook his head.

"When he came back, and he called for me, he told me he had tried to find it. He couldn't."

"What does that mean?" Jasper asked. "I thought Voldemort was one of the strongest wizards in history."

"He was," Dumbledore said. "But his power came from fear. Everybody was afraid to stand up to him. He knew that Sirius and Johanna had conceived a child, but he never expected her to be as powerful as she was. Voldemort confided in Peter Pettigrew that he was looking for a powerful witch or wizard, Pettigrew mentioned you. He called Pettigrew to him, and told him to tell everything he had learned about me through the years. He'd been watching you since the day Percy Weasley found him."

My eyes widened.  
"Pettigrew sold me out?"

"Yes," Severus said. "I wanted to tell you, but my job was to keep you on task. And then I died."

Emmett's phone rang. He talked quickly, and then turned to Jasper.

"Edward wants us to follow a trail near Bella's house."  
Jasper turned to me.

"Go. I'll be fine."

Jasper stood up and he followed Emmett out the door.

"I don't understand," Rosalie said, calling our attention back. "Why could he hurt Alice in the Netherworld? She's not there physically."

"Were you guys trying to wake her up at any point?" Remus asked.

Carlisle shook his head.

"No. Jasper wanted her to sleep. We were all very careful not to move or talk to loud or do anything that might wake her."

"How'd you leave?" Fred asked, turning to me. "Usually there's a force that pushes you out."

"I forced myself out," I said.

"Well there you go," Fred said. "Maybe the force that pushes you out helps your soul recover when it leaves the Netherworld. You forced yourself out before you were ready, and then the physical wounds you recieved down there appeared here."

I grinned.

"I forget how smart you are, Freddie."

"How could you?" he grinned. "I'm how you graduated Hogwarts."

"Keep dreaming, Weasley," I laughed.

"Who said anything about dreaming, Whitlock?" Fred smiled.

The others smiled, and Dumbledore turned to me.

"He's going to try to come back for you, Alice. You've got to fight him."

I nodded.

"Of course."

Edward's car turned up the drive. I could faintly hear it. He was moving fast.

"I've got to go," I said. "But I'll see you all soon."

"We'll talk in the Netherworld when you go back to sleep," Dumbledore said.

I nodded and as they all waved, I dropped the stone back into my box.

"Alice?" Edward called. "Alice!"

"I'm in the living room," I said. I turned to Carlisle. "Can you help me standing."

"Alice, I don't know if that's a good idea."

"Please."

Carlisle gave a small sigh, but he came and looped my arm in his and pulled me to my feet.

 _Somebody was at Bella's,_ Edward thought as he came bounding into the living room. _One of us._

I frowned.

"What happened?" he asked out loud.

"I don't know," I admitted. "I haven't seen anything."

"How is that possible?" he growled at me.

"Edward," Bella muttered, tugging on his sleeve.

"It's not an exact science, Edward," Carlisle said. "And she's weak right now."

"She can still see," he hissed. "She should have seen!"

"Edward, she was sleeping," Eme said. "She's drained. She has no energy left."

"He was in her room, Alice. He could have still been there — waiting for her."

"I would have seen that," I disagreed.

I was awake when we took Bella home, I would have seen it when we got closer to the house.

"You've already got me watching the Volturis' decisions, watching for Victoria's return, watching Bella's every step," I snapped. "You want to add another? Do I just have to watch Charlie, or Bella's room, or the house, or the whole street, too? On top of all this, I am still watching my family! Edward, if I try to do too much, things are going to start slipping through the cracks."

"It looks like things already are," he snapped.

I glared at him.

"How do you expect me to keep up with everything?" I asked. "I'm supposed to keep her from interacting with the wolves, I'm supposed to look out for her future, I'm supposed to make sure that she's okay, even if I'm completely drained?"

"You've been looking into the future for nearly eighty years! You still should be able to see."

"She was never in any danger. There was nothing to see."

"If you're watching Italy, why didn't you see them send —"

"I don't think it was them," I glared. "I would have seen—"

"Who else would have kept Charlie alive, Mary Alice?"

"I don't know."

"Thank you, Alice, you're so helpful."

"Edward, stop it," Bella said quietly.

He rounded on her snapping his teeth. Suddenly his eyes softened.

"You're right, Bella. I'm sorry." he murmured before turning to me. "Forgive me, Alice. I shouldn't be taking this out on you. That was inexcusable."

"I understand," I breathed. "I don't like it either. But you have to understand that I'm trying."

"I know that."

"I can't waste my energy watching her every step," I said. "Otherwise, I'm never going to get better. I can't have anymore added to what I'm already watching."

Edward hesitated.

"What?" I asked, taking a stumbling step towards him.

"You know, Alice, your family is safe now, so I don't think they need you to watch them anymore."

"No," I growled, walking towards him. "That's out of the question. You expect me to drop my family to make sure that I'm available for you?"

"No, Alice, I'm just saying—"

"I owe them everything," I growled.  
"Alice," Carlisle said, stepping in front of me, blocking my view of Edward, "you have to calm down. You're going to waste your energy away even more, and there isn't much left."

Carlisle guided me to the couch.

"Okay, let's look at this logically," Edward said, changing the topic. "What are the possibilities?"

"Victoria?" Carlisle asked.

Edward shook his head.

"No. I didn't know the scent. He might have been from the Volturi, someone I've never met. . . ."

"No," I said. "Aro hasn't asked anyone to look for her yet. I will see that. I'm waiting for it."

Edward's head snapped up. "You're watching for an official command."

"You think someone's acting on their own? Why?"

"Caius's idea," Edward suggested, his face tightening again.

"Or Jane's . . . ," I said. "They both have the resources to send an unfamiliar face. . . ."

Edward scowled.

"And the motivation."

"It doesn't make sense, though," Esme said. "If whoever it was meant to wait for Bella, Alice would have seen that. He — or she — had no intention of hurting Bella. Or Charlie, for that matter."

It's going to be fine, Bella," Esme murmured, smoothing Bella's hair as she cringed.

"But what was the point then?" Carlisle mused. "

Checking to see if I'm still human?" Bella guessed.

"Possible," Carlisle said.

Rosalie sighed and Edward's face hardened.

Emmett and Jasper came in through the back door.

I tried to stand to meet him halfway, but he hurried to me and pulled me onto his lap.

"Long gone, hours ago," Emmett announced, disappointed.

"The trail went East, then South, and disappeared on a side road. Had a car waiting."

"That's bad luck," Edward muttered.

"If he'd gone west . . . well, it would be nice for those dogs to make themselves useful."

I rested my head on Jasper's shoulder and sighed.

"Are you okay?" Jasper whispered in my ear.

"I'll explain later," I murmured back.

Jasper turned to Carlisle. He shifted and pulled something out of his pocket and held it out to Carlisle.

"Neither of us recognized him. But here. Maybe you recognize the scent."

"Carlisle brought the thing to his face and took a deep breath.

"No," Carlisle said. "Not familiar. No one I've ever met."

"Perhaps we're looking at this the wrong way. Maybe it's a coincidence . . . ," Esme began, "I don't mean a coincidence that a stranger happened to pick Bella's house to visit at random. I meant that maybe someone was just curious. Our scent is all around her. Was he wondering what draws us there?"

"Why wouldn't he just come here then? If he was curious?" Emmett demanded.

"You would," Esme said with a sudden, fond smile. "The rest of us aren't always so direct. Our family is very large — he or she might be frightened. But Charlie wasn't harmed. This doesn't have to be an enemy."

"I don't think so," I said, sucking in a deep breath. "The timing of it was too perfect. . . . This visitor was so careful to make no contact. Almost like he or she knew that I would see. . . ."

"He could have other reasons for not making contact," Esme said.

"Does it really matter who it was?" Bella demanded "Just the chance that someone was looking for me . . . isn't that reason enough? We shouldn't wait for graduation."

"No, Bella," Edward said quickly. "It's not that bad. If you're really in danger, we'll know."

"Think of Charlie," Carlisle reminded her. "Think of how it would hurt him if you disappeared."

"I am thinking of Charlie! He's the one I'm worried about! What if my little guest had happened to be thirsty last night? As long as I'm around Charlie, he's a target, too. If anything happened to him, it would be all my fault!"

"Hardly, Bella," Esme said. "And nothing will happen to Charlie. We're just going to have to be more careful."

"More careful?"

"It's all going to be fine, Bella," I promised. "Wait until graduation. Get the chance to say goodbye."

"Alice?" Edward asked too low for Bella to hear.

"Hmm?" I asked, sleepily. My eyes were closed and Jasper was rocking me back and forth.

"When will you be better?"

"Fully?"

"Yes."

"Probably not for another week or two," I said. "The last couple days have been hard."

"When will you be good enough to where you can start doing patrols?"

"Seriously, Edward?" Jasper glared. "She can barely keep her eyes open and you're worried about patrols?"

"Bella has to stay safe, Jasper," Edward growled.

"And I'm not letting you jeopardize Alice's health to do it."

"Her health," Edward laughed. "What health, Jasper? She's a vampire."

"Jasper," I murmured.

"What's wrong, sweetheart?"

"I want to go to sleep."

"Okay, sweetheart." He stopped and turned to Carlisle. "Talk to your son. If I have to, Alice and I will leave until she gets better."

Jasper jumped to his feet and pulled the blanket and pillow off the couch.

"Where's Alice and Jasper going?" Bella asked.

"Alice is tired and wants to go to sleep," Edward said through a clenched jaw.

"Edward," Carlisle warned. "Be reasonable. She has to take care of herself too."

"What happened to her? How'd she get those bruises?"

When Jasper and I made it back to the room, he began sat on the edge of the bed to pour the sleep potion.

"Jasper?"

"Hmm?"

"Maybe Edward is right. We have to keep Bella safe."

"You have to take care of yourself," Jasper said. "He'll find a way to keep Bella safe. He needs to stop acting like this is your fault. You had too much on your plate. There was no way that you could have possibly seen the stranger."

"Where would we go? You mentioned leaving. America is your home."

Jasper shook his head.

"My home is with you. And if that means we have to go to England, then we'll go to England. It his job to keep Bella safe and it's my job to keep you safe. You won't be safe if you go on patrols before you're better."

"What if you came with me?"

"Don't worry about that now, Alice," Jasper said. "Just sleep."  
As I drifted, for the third time in the last twenty-four hours I was pulled into the Netherworld.

 _I was in the living room of the Cullen house. Everybody else was gone._

 _"Professor?" I called. "Professor Dumbledore?"_

 _"I'm right here, Alice," Dumbledore said from behind me._

 _"Professor," I breathed. "How are you?"_

 _"I'm doing very well. And you?"_

 _I shrugged._  
 _"I've seen better days and I've seen worse days."_

 _"Do you wish to talk about it?"_

 _"Edward, one of my coven mates, is mad at me."_

 _"Why is that?"_

 _"Because when my energy is low like this, I can't control what I see, and somebody was able to slip past my visions, and they went into his girlfriend's room."_

 _"I don't see how that is your fault," Dumbledore frowned._

 _"Because I couldn't see what he wanted me to."_

 _"You don't seem happy here."_

 _I shrugged._

 _"It's not so bad...so why did you want to come, Professor? You've never come to see me here before."_

 _"That's because you've never needed me before."_

 _"What do you know about the Netherworld?"_

 _"I don't know much," Dumbledore admitted. "I do know that this is a place of great magic. Only the strongest witches and wizards can access it. As a child, I heard rumors of it, but before you, I had never heard of somebody making it there."_

 _"Do you think somebody has made it here before?"_

 _Dumbledore shook his head._

 _"Not that I know of."_

 _"Do you think that Fred is right? About why my injuries from here transferred?"_  
 _"I do," Dumbledore smiled. "Mr. Weasley was a very bright young man. He just didn't show it."_

 _"I always knew he was smart…" I trailed off and turned to Dumbledore. "You didn't just come to me about the Netherworld, did you?"_

 _"No," Dumbledore said, shaking his head. "I've come here to apologize."_

 _"Apologize?"_  
 _This hadn't been what I was expecting._

 _"Yes. Apologize. For what I did to you and to Harry all those years ago."_

 _"You don't have to worry about that Professor," I said, shaking my head. "I'm not angry about that anymore."_  
 _"Maybe not," he said. "But Severus, your mother and father, James, and Lily are. I made you believe that by joining the Death Eaters, you were keeping Harry safe. In all reality, he never was."_

 _I shook my head again._  
 _"Professor—"_

 _"Listen to me, Mary Alice." He paused as I sat back in my seat and listened to the old man. "Severus made a point to me the night that I told the two of you that Harry was going to die. I made you kill innocent people, and in the process, you lost your own innocence. Nothing I can say or do will ever bring that back, and I am so sorry. You were a braver person that I, and for that I admire you."_

 _"Back in 1949, while Jasper and I were in Wyoming, I told him about that night. I told Jasper that I believed that you were a good man, and I still believe that, but that night damaged the image I had of you."_

 _It was Dumbledore's turn to shake his head._

 _"I can't say that I blame you for that, Alice. I stopped seeing myself as a good man a long, long time ago."_

 _"Professor?"_

 _"Hmm?"_

 _"Why did you send me to be a Death Eater?"_

 _"Because I knew that Voldemort would put his trust in you. Why wouldn't he? A girl who had been betrayed by nearly everyone. Her father, her lover. Everyone. Voldemort saw himself in you, but he was looking for a part of you that didn't exist."_

 _"What part is that?"_

 _"Voldemort believed that you were like him in so many ways. He was looking for a part of you who craved the same power that he did. The same desire for immortality. Nothing so trivial mattered to you."_

 _"Professor Dumbledore, listen to me. If you hadn't sent me in as a Death Eater, James would have never caught me scent. If James hadn't hunted me, I would have never found Jasper. You shouldn't be sorry."_

 _Dumbledore smiled and patted my hand._

 _"Can I ask you a question?" I asked._

 _"Of course."_

 _"Have you ever been in love?"_

 _"Once," he said. "But that love is long gone now."_

 _"In Rita Skeeter's book about you, she wrote that you and Gellert Grindelwald were once involved together. Romantically. Is it true?"_

 _Dumbledore smiled, and nodded._

 _"Yes. It's true. Gellert and I once had what you and Jasper have."_

 _"What happened?"_

 _"He craved power. I used to be a firm believer or Wizardkind being above Mugglekind, and then Gellert took it to far."_

 _"You believed in blood superiority?" I said, wide-eyed in disbelief._

 _"It's not something I'm proud of, Alice. You have to believe that. I was young, and easily influenced."_

 _I felt the tug that was pulling me from the Netherworld._

 _"Professor, it's time for me to go."_

 _"I'll come see you again. We can pick up from here."_

When I was forced out of the Netherworld, I seemed to wake up immediately.

Jasper was laying next to me with his eyes closed; he took deep and even breaths. It looked almost like he was asleep.

Both of us seemed to be at peace The stranger in Bella's room, and Voldemort visiting me in the Netherworld didn't seem important now. The most important thing was the two of us being here and being more relaxed than we'd been in the last several hours.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the previous. I do enjoy writing chapters that contain the Netherworld, and I always planned for Voldemort to come to her in the Netherworld. This will not be the last time she sees Voldemort either. Keep that in mind for the chapters to come.**

 **I hope you enjoyed!**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


	99. The Stranger's Evidence

_"A wise man proportions his beliefs to the evidence." ~David Hume_

* * *

Chapter 99- The Stranger's Evidence

The next morning, I wasn't much better than the previous day, but I didn't feel like sleeping. I worried about going back to the Netherworld. I wasn't afraid of Voldemort, but I was afraid that if I kept getting injured, Jasper would try to keep me from going back.

"Ali?" Jasper murmured against my temple. "What are you thinking about?"

"Nothing much," I mumbled against his shoulder.

"Tell me," Jasper said. "I'm curious."

"I'm thinking about the Netherworld."

"You're not worried about Voldemort, are you?"

I shook my head.  
"Tom Riddle doesn't scare me. He doesn't have power anymore."

"So why are you feeling worried? Is there something else that you didn't tell me about?"  
"I told you everything," I sighed.

"Then what it is? Come on, Alice. It's just me."  
"I'm scared you're going to try and keep me out of the Netherworld."

"Why would I do that?" Jasper frowned. "That's where you see your family."

"But Voldemort is there too."  
Jasper pulled me as close to him as he could, and pressed his lips against my forehead. I closed my eyes, and sucked in a deep breath.

"I would never do anything you take you from your family," Jasper mumbled. "If you're not worried about Voldemort, then neither am I."

"Thank you," I smiled.

"You don't need to thank me," Jasper said. "They're your family, and they make you happy. I want you to be happy."

I still didn't want to go to sleep. Knowing about the stranger gave me some insight on why things felt wrong the other day. I wondered if that was the same reason why things felt wrong today.

"Nobody is going to hurt you," Jasper said reassuringly. "Just sleep."

I shook my head, and gave a glance around the room.

"Can we go downstairs? I want a change of scenery. Maybe that'll help."

"Ali, I don't want to move you too much."

"Please, Jasper?" I murmured.

"Later," he said. "Rest for a little while longer. Please?"

I sighed and nodded, closing my eyes again.

"How is she?" Carlisle asked a little bit later.

"Being stubborn as always," Jasper smiled.

I weakly hit his shoulder causing him and Carlisle to laugh.

"Jasper, I need your opinion on something," Carlisle said, holding out this morning's newspaper to him. "Read this, and tell me if it sounds familiar to you."

I rolled in Jasper's arms so I could get a better view of the paper.

It was about the killings in Seattle. They were getting worse now, and it was starting to worry Carlisle.

"I don't understand," I rasped. "We already knew this was the work of a young vampire."

"Or _vampires_ ," Jasper said, emphasizing the plural. "This sounds like the start of an army. A very, very sloppy army."

"Army?" I frowned. "I thought they were illegal."

"They are," Jasper said. "But that doesn't stop people from making them. I'm sure things were the same in your world."  
I frowned.

"Why do people make armies?"

"Everyone's reason varies," Jasper murmured. "But this one, there's got to be a larger number than normal. This one is too sloppy. The person controlling it doesn't know how to get a handle on them."  
"I'm calling Edward," Carlisle said.

"Ali, do you still want to go downstairs?" Jasper asked.

I nodded and moved to sit up.

"Edward," Carlisle breathed. "Have you read the newspaper this morning? Whatever is happening in Seattle, it's going to attract attention. The Volturi's attention. They are too sloppy."

Edward murmured something on the other end of the phone. Carlisle listened intently.

"Emmett is planning to go check things out," Carlisle said before listening again. "Edward, Alice's visions still aren't back in her control—no, there's nothing she can do to fix it. Okay—Okay, we'll see what we can do."

Carlisle snapped the phone shut and turned to me and Jasper.

"What was that about?" Jasper asked.

"Bella's things are missing. Things with her scent on them. The stranger that was in her bedroom took them."

"And he wants Alice to keep an eye out for him?"

Carlisle nodded.

"This, everything in Seattle."

"I can't," I said, looking between Jasper and Carlisle. "I would if I could, but I can't."

"I know that, sweetheart," Jasper murmured. "And you don't have to. You need to focus on resting. On getting better."

"Are you guys coming downstairs?"  
Jasper nodded.

"It's easier to figure things out when we're all in the same area."

"I'll help her down. You can bring down what you usually bring."

Carlisle looped his arm around mine and gave me a large smile.

"Feeling any better?" Carlisle asked.

I nodded even though it wasn't entirely true.

Jasper followed behind us with a throw blanket and pillow. He made sure to stay right behind me the entire way down the stairs, while Carlisle gripped my arm.

"I don't understand why you don't just let me carry you," Jasper murmured as I stumbled down the last few stairs.

"Because that's too much work on your end," I smiled. "Besides, I like walking."

Jasper sighed and shook his head.

"Have you seen Edward's motorcycle?" Emmett asked me as Carlisle sat me down on the couch.

I shook my head.

"Have you?" I asked Jasper. He smiled and nodded. "Show me."

Emmett pictured the motorcycle in his head and smiled.

"Nice isn't it?"

"Dad had a motorcycle," I murmured. "It could fly…He used it the night he went to Azkaban. He gave it to Hagrid."

"This one doesn't fly," Jasper said. "I'll talk to Edward, and maybe I can take you for a drive once your better."

"You know how to ride a motorcycle?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

Jasper nodded.

"Remember right before we first found Helen and Tobias? And I told you about me driving?"

I nodded.

"Well I did drive cars, but I was most comfortable on a motorcycle. I bought one right after I left Maria."

"What happened to it? You didn't have one when I met you."

"I sold it," he murmured. "Spent the money on clothes. Then I found you. All set and ready to go. When we were talking about cars, I considered asking you about getting a motorcycle. But then I thought about your energy declines, and it wasn't practical."

"I can't imagine Alice getting on a motorcycle back then," Rosalie said with a large grin.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Because you were afraid to ride in a car for years after we met you. You were more calm if Jasper was in the car with you but if you were alone, it wasn't going to happen."

"I've never been on a motorcycle," I mused. "What's it like?"

"Riding a bike," Jasper said. "It's a lot faster and a lot louder though."

"I've never rode a bike either," I frowned.

"That's another thing I'll have to teach you how to do," Jasper laughed.

"You've really never rode a bike?" Esme asked.

I nodded.

"I never needed to. You learned how to ride a bike, I learned how to ride a broom."

"But you use the expression," Rosalie said.

"I've heard Jasper use it," I laughed. "And Harry and Hermione."

"Did you have them?" Emmett asked.

I nodded.

"We did, but Remus and I didn't have the money to get one. Dad had one a long time ago...it was in his bedroom in Grimmauld Place."

Jasper squeezed my hand.

"That's enough," he murmured in my ear. "Rest now."

I didn't fight Jasper on the subject. Instead, I closed my eyes, and focused on the others talking around me.

Flashes began popping up.

 _Edward and Bella were sitting at the kitchen table._

 _He snapped his phone shut._

 _"Where's the paper?" he asked Bella urgently._

 _"Um, I'm not sure. Why?"_

 _"I need to see something. Did Charlie already throw it out?"_

 _"Maybe—"_

 _Before Bella could say anything else, Edward was gone. He returned a few seconds later, clutching the damp newspaper. He spread it out on the table._

 _"Carlisle's right . . . yes . . . very sloppy. Young and crazed? Or a death wish?" ._

 _"It's getting worse," Bella commented looking over Edward's shoulder._

 _"Altogether out of control. This can't be the work of just one newborn vampire. What's going on? It's as if they've never heard of the Volturi. Which is possible, I guess. No one has explained the rules to them . . . so who is creating them, then?"_

 _"The Volturi?" Bella asked._

 _"This is exactly the kind of thing they routinely wipe out — immortals who threaten to expose us. They just cleaned up a mess like this a few years ago in Atlanta, and it hadn't gotten nearly this bad. They will intervene soon, very soon, unless we can find some way to calm the situation. I'd really rather they didn't come to Seattle just now. As long as they're this close . . . they might decide to check on you."_

 _"What can we do?"_

 _"We need to know more before we can decide that. Perhaps if we can talk to these young ones, explain the rules, it can be resolved peacefully. We'll wait until Alice has an idea of what's going on. . . . We don't want to step in until it's absolutely necessary. After all, it's not our responsibility. But it's good we have Jasper," he added, "If we are dealing with newborns, he'll be helpful."_

 _"Jasper? Why?"_

 _"Jasper is sort of an expert on young vampires."_

 _"What do you mean, an expert?"_

 _"You'll have to ask him — the story is involved."_

 _"What a mess," Bella mumbled._

"Jasper," I mumbled, not opening my eyes.

"What is it, baby? What's wrong?"

"I saw Edward and Bella. I think they want to come talk to you."

"What about?"  
"The situation in Seattle."

When are they coming?"

"I don't know," I said trailing off as I tried to focus on them. "I can't see…"

"Okay, it's okay," he murmured. "When did the conversation happen?"

"He was closing a phone...I think right after he got off the phone with Carlisle."

"So he'll probably be heading this way sooner or later. After all, Charlie will be home in the next few hours. Just relax. I'll let you know where they get here."

"If I could see Edward, maybe I can see Seattle," I said.

"No, Ali," Jasper said shaking his head. "You can't. You have to rest. Otherwise you're not going to get better."

"What if we're in danger?" I asked.

"I'll keep you safe. Come on, Ali. Just rest."

I sighed, and squeezed his arm which was wound around my waist.

Jasper and the others talked in quiet voices.

"If it is an army, what do we do about it?" Emmett asked.

"We can try to step in," Jasper said. "Maybe the creator isn't aware of the Volturi and their rules."

"Maria was, right?"

"Yes," Jasper said. "We knew of the Volturi and their rules. Maria didn't think they would come after her. That's why we disposed of our newborns after their first year. We were taught that the Volturi was to be respected."

"What did Helen and Tobias teach Alice?"

"Who they were, what the rules are. But Alice just came out of the war—"

"They told me that the Volturi does not give second chances," I rasped, opening my eyes. "That if I broke the rules, I would die."

"I guess they weren't wrong," Jasper mused. "But they like Alice. They admire her. Maybe they wouldn't mind her stepping in and teaching them the rules."

"Jane might mind," Carlisle said. "From what Edward tells me, Jane doesn't like Alice very much."

"Why?" Esme asked. "Alice hasn't done anything to her."

"Except take Aro's attention away from her."

"Is Jane really that vain though?"

"Aro and Alec are the only people who she trusts," Carlisle said. "She didn't like me when I was there, but because Aro respected me, she did too."

"So why is it different for Alice?"

"Because Aro wants her."

"And Jane is jealous by that?"

Carlisle nodded.

"It doesn't take much. She was only a child when she was changed, and as such she still has that mentality in a way."

"She was a child?" I asked, surprise.

"She and Alec were twins. They were somewhere between twelve and thirteen when they were changed."

"I never knew that," I frowned. "I actually don't know much about the Volturi."

"One day I'll tell you all about them," Jasper promised. "Just not today."

I nodded.

"I'll remember that."

"I know that you will."

A few minutes later, I could hear tires pull up the driveway.

"Edward's here," I murmured to Jasper.

"Do you want me to bring him in here?"

I shook my head.

"I can manage talking to him."

"Ali, you don't have enough energy."

"I do for this. It takes nothing."

Jasper sighed and turned to Esme shaking his head.

"Can't argue with her for anything."

I laughed, and turned towards the garage as I heard the door open.

 _Edward?_ I called out. _Is everything okay?_

 _Did Carlisle fill you in on everything?_

 _Yes,_ I said. _But I saw you and Bella. You were talking about Jasper. Did you need to talk to him?_

 _Not yet,_ Edward thought. _But soon. I have to take Bella to La Push. She's going to a party down there with Jacob Black. I'll be back soon._

I turned back to Jasper and shook my head.

"He said he doesn't need to talk to you yet...so why'd I see it?"

"I'm not sure," Jasper murmured. "Who were you looking for?"

"Nobody," I said. "I was listening to your voice, so I was thinking about you. Then I saw it."

Jasper smiled and ran a hand through my hair.

"I think subconsciously you were looking for me."

"So she can control what she sees when she's like this?" Rosalie asked.

"Maybe she's starting to be able to," Jasper smiled.

I smiled as closed my eyes.

"You okay?" Jasper asked stroking my cheek with his thumb.

"Tired," I mumbled.

"Do you want to go to sleep?"

I shook my head.

"Later."

"Why are you staying awake?" Jasper mumbled against my temple.

"I'm sleeping too much," I said.

"No, sweetheart," Jasper said, shaking his head. "You're not sleeping enough."

"Later," I mumbled.

"Okay. Later."

Jasper hummed quietly while I sat with my eyes closed. After a while he stopped and started talking to Carlisle.

"Do you think she'll be okay?"

"I think so," Carlisle said optimistically. "It's Alice. She'll bounce back. It just may take some time."

"I don't understand," Jasper murmured. "What caused the crash to hit so hard?"

"Stress probably," Carlisle said. "Bella ran, and Edward was pushing the limits of her visions."

"I'm fine," I mumbled to Jasper. "Stop worrying."

"Never," Jasper murmured. "I'll worry about you forever."

I smiled and opened my eyes.

"I'll be well enough to go to school tomorrow. I'll sleep until the absolute last second."

"Are you sure you should go tomorrow?" Edward asked, stepping into the living room.

"Edward," I greeted. "I didn't hear you pull in."

"He pulled in a few moments ago," Jasper murmured.

Edward moved my legs, and sat next to Jasper.

"Hey, Alice, can you do me a favor?" Edward asked.

"Hmmm?" I mumbled sleepily.

"Can you tell Bella about the graduation party?"

"Why?" I asked. "She'll try to make me stop planning it and—"

"I know, and I'll tell her that it isn't just for her, but for you and for me too...well primarily you two. I'll be sure to tell her that Harry and George are coming."

"Thank you," I said, reaching to pat arm that rested on my knee. "I'll talk to her tomorrow."

"We'll see how you're doing tomorrow," Carlisle said, sitting on the coffee table in front of me holding the sleeping potion in hand. "But you got to sleep, Alice. Otherwise you're going to continue to wear yourself down, and you want to be better by graduation, right?"

I sighed and looked between him and Jasper.

"Can I sleep down here?"

Carlisle looked at Jasper and nodded.

"I think that should be alright. Jasper?"

"Whatever you want," Jasper said, leaning down to kiss my forehead.

I accepted the potion from Carlisle, and slowly I began drifting to sleep.

* * *

 **Hey guys! So, the next chapter is the 100th chapter, so it's going to be uploaded with this one, as you, who are in the future, can obviously tell.**

 **I do have a couple things that I want to talk about before the next chapter.**

 **1: It was pointed out to me by reader, AnnaRozeDog, that I mentioned twice in chapter 28 that Hogwarts was in Ireland. That was my mistake. I have taken the time to go back and fix that mistake. If you see any mistakes whatsoever, please do not hesitate to call me out on them. Sometimes my brain works faster than my fingers, and when I'm editing I do tend to overlook things. I did go back and did a page search on my backup file of the story to see if I made the same mistake anywhere else, and it doesn't look like I did. So thank you to AnnaRozeDog, and a future thank you to anybody else who points out my mistakes. :)**

 **2: I apologize for my scattered uploads. I did intend for this chapter to be up a little while ago, and that obviously did not happen. I've recently moved from my previous address. You add that to the issues with my health, and that has created some hectic times. I am hoping that things began to settle down and I can invest more time in writing...when I don't have writer's block that is.**

 **So that's all I have for my rambling today. On you go to the next chapter!**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review!**


	100. When the Visions Begin to Fade

_"The only thing worse than being blind, is having sight but no vision." ~Helen Keller_

* * *

Chapter 100- When the Visions Begin to Fade

As it would turn out, I was well enough to go to school on Monday morning. I still had to kind of lean on others for support, meaning that Edward would walk me to all of my classes, but I was still able to mostly walk on my own. I slept from the time Edward got home until about twenty minutes before we had to leave, and that seemed to make all the difference in the world.

I tuned out of most of my classes. They knew I had been "sick". They knew I had left early on Friday, and as it would seem, I still looked the part.

"Are you feeling okay?" Mrs. Molina asked when I came into French. "You were gone Friday."

"I got sick," I mumbled, leaning against the wall.

"Are you better now?"

"Not fully, but soon I will be."

I made my way to the back of the room to my seat and tuned out again.  
As I thought of graduation, I began to see small flashes of the future. Bella had decided to get Edward and myself tickets to a concert in Tacoma. I also tried to picture what would happen if I kept the graduation party a secret from Bella. Maybe it was better to tell her…

When the bell rang, Edward and Bella weren't too far behind. Edward looped my arm in his, and Bella took the oxygen tank.

"This is unnecessary," I frowned at Edward. This had been the order of things all day.

"Jasper's orders, Al," Edward smiled.

I frowned again, and tugged my arm away from Edward.

"Not happening," Edward said.

"Maybe she could walk in between us," Bella said. "We'd both be there to catch her if she fell."

Edward sighed and paused. Bella moved from behind us to my right side. Edward stayed on my left side, and I took the oxygen tank back from Bella.

"I'll use this for support," I told Edward as he went to loop our arms together again.

He sighed, but accepted this.

"I have foreseen,"I began, turning to Bella. Edward went to elbow my ribs, but I dodged him, stumbling forward in the process. He and Bella both shot their arms out, and caught me before I fell. "Fine. Edward is making me tell you. But I did happen to see that it would be more difficult if I tried to keep it a secret."

"In English?" Bella asked.

"Don't be a baby about this," I said sternly. "No tantrums."

"Now I'm scared," Bella frowned.

"So we're having a graduation party," I said, glancing at her facial expression. "It's no big thing. Nothing to freak out over. But I saw that you would freak out if I tried to make it a surprise party—" I paused trying to move out of Edward's way as he tried to rustle my hair. I stumbled forward again, and Edward pulled me back. "Like I said, Edward said I had to tell you. But it's nothing. Promise."

Bella sighed and then looked from me to Edward.

"Is there any point in arguing?"

"None at all," I said.

"Okay, Alice," Bella said. "I'll be there, and I'll hate every minute of it. Promise."

"That's the spirit!" I cheered.

"Try to keep an open mind about this, Bella," Edward said. Despite this being your first graduation, this is Alice's first graduation with her family. Harry and George are coming from England to see her."

"I'll get to meet them then?" Bella asked.

I nodded.

"They're excited to meet you," I smiled. I leaned over. "They've been dying to meet you since I came home last September."

"But last September was when you guys left," Bella frowned.

"Yes," I said. "But I told them all about you."

Bella gave a small smile and patted my arm.

"By the way," I added, "speaking of graduation, I love my gift. You shouldn't have."

"Alice, I didn't!" Bella exclaimed wide eyed.

"Oh, I know that," I smiled. "You haven't yet, but you will."

"Amazing," Edward smiled. "How can someone so tiny be so annoying?"

"It's a talent," I smiled.

"Couldn't you have waited a few weeks to tell me about this?" Bella grumbled. "Now I'll just be stressed that much longer."

I stopped dead in my tracks and frowned at Bella.

"Bella, don't you know what day it is?" I asked slowly.

"Monday?" Bella said.

"Yes," I said, rolling my eyes. "It's Monday. Monday the fourth."

I turned her towards the gym and pointed at the sign.

"It's the fourth?" Bella asked bewildered. "Of June? Are you sure?"

 _She's afraid,_ I thought to Edward. _I can see it in her eyes._

 _Why is she afraid?_ Edward thought back. _I thought she wanted this._

 _I don't think she's afraid of being changed. I think she's afraid of saying goodbye._

 _Should she be?_

I shook my head.

 _No. I don't think so, but I don't think it's my place to say._

I glanced at Bella and back to Edward.

 _Talk to her about it._

Edward nodded. We were at the car then, and I slipped into the back seat, rambling about the graduation party to keep Bella distracted. After I noticed it wasn't helping Bella, I quit talking, and shrank back into my seat.

Edward pulled up to the front of the house where Jasper was waiting.

"Hey," Jasper smiled as he helped me out of the car. "How was it?"

"I'm tired," I mumbled.

"Do you want to go sleep?"

I nodded.

"Goodnight, Bella. Sleep well."

"You too, Alice," she said in a distant voice.

As I stepped away from the car, Edward and Bella sped off again.

Jasper wrapped an arm tightly around my waist.

"How was school today?"

"It was okay," I murmured.

"Just okay?"

I nodded.

"Are you okay?" he asked as we sat my oxygen tank on the wall against the door.

I nodded again.

"I'm just tired."

"Okay," Jasper murmured. "Carlisle wants you to look at something before you go to sleep."

He guided me to the living room where the others were sitting.

"What's wrong?" I asked Carlisle.

"Have you seen anything about Seattle?"

"No," I murmured. "Should I have?"

"Jasper and I have been talking today, and we've decided to go to Seattle. We wanted to know if you'd seen anything so we know the best way to approach it."

"I haven't seen anything."

"Have you blocked anything?" Jasper asked as he pulled me onto his couch.

"I can't," I told him with a small frown.

"Alice, can you try and see if you can see something?" Carlisle asked.

"Carlisle, I don't know," I said, shaking my head. "Jasper's right. I'm never going to get better if I keep pushing myself."

"Alice, please," Carlisle said.  
I looked at Jasper who nodded.

"Go ahead, Darlin'. You'll go to sleep right after."

I nodded and turned back to Carlisle.

I focused on the future. On our decision to go to Seattle. The future was black.

"Make the decision again," I murmured.

Carlisle nodded, and I focused again. The future was still black.

"I can't see," I murmured. "I can't see anything."

"Maybe it's just the energy decline," Jasper murmured against my temple. "We'll try again after you wake up."

Jasper helped me back up to my feet, and he guided me to the bedroom.

"What is it?" Jasper asked. "Why are you upset?"

"I seem to be missing more and more these days," I said, pulling the blanket up to cover my face.

Jasper peeled back the blanket and stroked my cheek.

"It's not your fault," Jasper said. "Your energy has been down."  
I shook my head.

"It's not just that. Since we've come back here, I haven't been able to see…"

"You're stressed here," Jasper said. "Maybe this weekend, we should go see everybody, and then bring Harry and George back with us."

"You think so?"

Jasper nodded.

"Maybe you should stay home," Jasper said. "Just for a day or two. Sleep, get back to normal, then go back on Thursday for finals."

I nodded.

"I think that that definitely won't hurt," I murmured.

"So it's decided," Jasper smiled. "You'll stay here. With me."

I smiled as he pulled me closer to him.

"Don't worry, Alice. It'll all come back to you. You're the most powerful seer I've ever met."

"I'm the only seer you've ever met."

"Not true. I've met Sybil Trelawny. She's a seer, is she not?"

"Touché," I murmured.

I took the potion, and relaxed, watching Jasper's face as I drifted to sleep.

I didn't dream and I didn't fall into the Netherworld. I tried to focus on the present, or the future of Seattle, but even in this state, I couldn't see anything.. It was all black.

When I woke up, about three hours had passed and Edward was home. He was sitting at the edge of the bed talking to Jasper.

"Hey, Ali," Jasper smiled. "How'd you sleep?"

I shrugged.

"Not horrible," I said with a small smile.

"Do you want to try to look ahead again?" Jasper asked, squeezing my hand.

I nodded and pointed to the crystal ball that sat on the bookshelf.

"Edward, can you bring me that?"

Edward nodded and brought me the crystal ball..

I tried to use this as a center point and focused ahead on Seattle. Once again, the future was black. All that was seen in the crystal ball was a grey fog.

As I focused on the room around me I shook my head, and turned to face Jasper.

"Nothing."

"It may be nothing, Alice," Edward said. "Maybe it's because we won't decide on anything until we find out what you see."

I shook my head.

"No, it's been like this for awhile. I didn't see the stranger, I didn't see anything in Seattle start—" I broke off and my breath hitched.

"Shh," Jasper said, wrapping his arms around me. "Don't get worked up. It's going to be okay. I promise. We'll figure something out."

"Maybe I can force myself to see," I murmured more to myself than the other two.

"No, Alice," Jasper murmured. "I think Edward's right. It could be nothing."

"I have to try," I murmured.

"Later," Jasper said. "How about we try that if you don't see anything by morning."

I sighed and nodded.

"Fine."

"Ali, don't be upset. I just don't want to put you through anything you don't have to go through."

"I know that," I frowned. I paused and looked at Edward. "How's Bella? Why is she afraid?"

"You were right. She's afraid to say goodbye."

"Show me?" I asked.

As I focused on Edward's mind, the scene was starting to form.

 _"Your lips are white. Talk, Bella."_

 _Bella exhaled._

 _"The date took me off guard," Bella whispered. "That's all."_

 _Edward was quiet, so Bella continued._

 _"I'm not sure what to do . . . what to tell Charlie . . . what to say . . . how to . . ."_

 _"This isn't about the party?"_

 _"No. But thanks for reminding me."_

 _"You're not ready," he whispered._

 _"I am," Bella said. It was obviously a lie. I could tell from the way she quickly looked to her lap. "I have to be."_

 _"You don't have to be anything."_

 _"Victoria, Jane, Caius, whoever was in my room . . . !"_

 _"All the more reason to wait."_

 _"That doesn't make any sense, Edward!"_

 _"Bella. Not one of us had a choice—"_

 _"Alice had a choice."_

 _"No. She didn't. She had to save her family. It's who she is. She never had a choice. So you've seen what it's done . . . to Rosalie especially. We've all struggled, trying to reconcile ourselves with something we had no control over. I won't let it be that way for you. You will have a choice."_

 _"I've already made my choice."_

 _"You aren't going through with this because a sword is hanging over your head. We will take care of the problems, and I will take care of you. When we're through it, and there is nothing forcing your hand, then you can decide to join me, if you still want to. But not because you're afraid. You won't be forced into this."_

 _"Carlisle promised," Bella mumbled. "After graduation."_

 _"Not until you're ready," he said in a sure voice. "And definitely not while you feel threatened."_

 _Bella was quiet._

 _"There." Edward kissed Bella's forehead and smiled. "Nothing to worry about."_

 _Bella gave a shaky laugh._

 _"Nothing but impending doom."_

I watched Edward carefully.

"That's all?"

Edward nodded.

"I think she's still convinced that she has to go through with it. Maybe if you told her differently—"

"She kinda has to go through with it, Edward," Jasper said. "The Volturi knows she exists now. If we don't change her, we'll all die."

Edward furiously shook his head.

"We'll find another option. There is always going to be another option."

"There is no other option, Edward," I murmured. "You know that."

Edward clenched his teeth.

"Alice, please," he whispered. "Stop."

"What are you planning on doing, Edward," I said, frowning. "Wait for Bella to grow old and die, then go back to the Volturi and ask them to kill you? They'll know we didn't change her. Then we'll all die."

"I'll figure something out. But I don't want to force her into it."

I sighed and shook my head.

"Okay, Edward. If you say so. I'm going back to sleep now. I'll see you tomorrow."

I looked at Jasper, who already had the potion in hand.

"I love you," he murmured before pressing his lips to mine.

"I love you too," I smiled, taking the potion from him. "Forever."

As I drifted off to sleep, I heard Edward leave the room, and Jasper began to hum.

 _I was in the middle of an unknown place. It was a field. It was surrounded by trees and rocks. I was alone here. Jasper, Carlisle, and the others were nobody to be found. I followed a scent that smelled very familiar to me. It was almost like Bella's. The same floral scent. I ran towards it, hoping I'd find Bella there._

 _I was in a forest, and as I ran through them, I caught a new scent. One I didn't recognize, but it too was almost familiar._

 _Emerging from the trees, there stood a vampire. His eyes were crimson red, and he had blonde hair. The vampire was tall, about the same height as Jasper, but not as tall as Emmett. I knew his face, but I didn't know where from. It was hard to tell because he looked frightened._

 _"I have to find out what's going on," he said to nobody, almost as if he was talking to somebody that was behind him. "I need her. I wasn't supposed to do this alone!"_

 _He looked at the field. His eyes studied my face for a moment and then scanned the rest of the field. He was looking for somebody. He swept his eyes over the field once more before he turned on his heel and sped through the trees._

 _I went to speed after him, but as I tried, I felt myself fall._

 _I wasn't falling to the ground, rather I was falling through it._

The space around me was black as I fell. Then the scene morphed, and I was in one of the hallways at Hogwarts. I collapsed on the floor.

 _I was no longer wearing the same black jeans and black leather jacket I had been wearing in the trees. I was wearing an emerald green ball gown with matching satin gloves. I reached a hand to the top of my head. My hair was no longer in a pixie cut. I pulled it to where I could see it in astonishment. It was in a braid that went all the way down to my mid back with Baby's Breath flowers flowing through it._

 _As I looked around the hallway, I saw a boy and a girl walking towards me. The girl was in a bright yellow ball gown, and the boy was in matching dress robes._

 _"Excuse me," I called, running to meet them halfway, holding the front of my dress in my arms. "What's happening? Where am I?"_

 _"You're in Hogwarts," the boy responded. "Honestly, Black, are you feeling alright?"_

 _"Yes," I said quickly. "I'm just confused...what's happening?"_

 _"The Yule Ball, of course!" the girl cheered. "Come on, then. It's about to start. We'll be late."_

 _I followed slowly the boy and girl to the Great Hall. Two men in uniforms that almost matched the Durmstrang students' uniforms, held the doors open for the three of us._

 _"Enjoy your time, miss," one of the guards said to me with a smile._

 _I nodded to him, and stepped through the doors._

 _The Great Hall wasn't decorated the way it had been for the Yule Ball in 1994. The same flowers in my hair were spread around the room, amongst other small trees in pots and other flowers grouped together in vases sitting on shelves. The tables were gone from the room entirely. In the center of the platform where the table for the teachers once sat, there was a large throne. A man was sitting in it, with one leg draped over the arm, and he was watching the scene in front of him. He was too far away, so I couldn't see his face, or any other striking detail about him._

 _Hundreds of people were dancing, including the boy and the girl I had walked in with. It was only me, and the man on the throne who weren't dancing._

 _I made my way through the crowd of dancing people, going nowhere in particular. As I moved through the room, the man on the throne looked at me, and gave a smile. I still couldn't see his face properly, but he got up from his throne, and began to make his way over to me._

 _As he moved through the room, the dancers made a path for him leading directly to me._

 _As he got closer, I realized that the man on the throne was Jasper._

 _His honey blonde hair was in a ponytail that rested on the nape of his neck. He was dressed like a king at a fairy tale ball._

 _"May I have this dance?" he asked in a thick southern drawl as he held a hand out to me._

 _"Of course," I grinned._

 _He pulled me to the center of the room and pulled me close to him._

 _"What is all this?" I asked, looking around the room._

 _"What does it look like?" he smiled. "It's a party."_

 _"I can see that, Jasper," I said, as I playfully hit his shoulder. "But why?"_

 _Jasper shrugged._

 _"Why not?"_

 _He smiled widely and spun me before pulling me close to him again._

 _"I don't understand," I murmured, resting my head on his chest. My ear was pressed against where his unbeating heart was._

 _"What don't you understand?" he murmured into my hair._

 _"Dreams have meanings. You told me that yourself. What's the meaning in this one?"_

 _"Well you know you're dreaming," Jasper said. "So I think your mind was looking for something that was peaceful."_

 _"Why is it only you here? Why not the others?"_

 _"Because I bring you the most peace?" Jasper guessed. "I'm not sure, Ali. I'm sorry. I wish I had the answers for you but I don't."_

 _I sighed and looked up at him._

 _"I'm sorry, I'm ruining it, aren't I?"_

 _"No," Jasper said, shaking his head. "You're not ruining anything. Just take time to enjoy it."_

 _I smiled as he whirled me around the room._

 _"Why do you have a throne?" I chuckled as the song came to a stop and a more upbeat song began to play._

 _"Because you see me as a king," he murmured in my ear. "That's the conclusion I've come up with."_  
 _He guided me to the throne, and gently pushed my shoulders so I'd sit down._

 _"Was I right?"_

 _"Yes," I smiled, pressing a gloved hand to his face. "You're forever my king."_

 _Jasper smiled and leaned forward to kiss me._

 _Our lips were just about to touch when I heard a scream from across the room. My head snapped in that direction. The dark cloaks was the first things I noticed. My eyes widened._

 _"Jasper, come on," I said. "We have to go now."_

 _Jasper grabbed my hand and pulled me to my feet._

 _As we ran towards the back of the Great Hall, the black cloaks of the Volturi were advancing on us._

 _Jasper pushed me behind him, and crouched in a protective stance, snarling._

 _"I wouldn't recommend that," Caius said, flipping his hood down. Aro and Marcus followed his lead. He turned to look at the members of the guard that stood behind them. As the all flipped their hood down, I could see Jane standing directly behind him. She turned her gaze onto Jasper, and suddenly I could hear his jaw lock up._

 _I looked down at Jasper in horror._

 _"Stop," I begged. "Please, please, stop."_

 _Caius turned and looked at Jane, and Jasper gasped for air._

 _I fell to my knees and held Jasper's face in my hands._

 _"Look at me," I said with a weak smile. I turned back to the three kings in front of me. "I don't understand. We haven't done anything wrong."_

 _"You haven't changed the girl," Aro said. "Time is up, Alice."_

 _"You made a vow," I said, helping Jasper to his feet. "You swore you wouldn't hurt my family and I wouldn't pay for Edward's mistakes."_

 _"No, no, no," Aro laughed. "We vowed your human family. Jasper isn't human."_

 _"No, no, please," I said, gripping his hand and backing away from the kings. "Please. You can't take him."_

 _I felt a pair of arms grab me from behind before I had the chance to react._

 _"I'm sorry, Alice," Dimitri said in my ears. "By doing this to you, Edward will understand what he's done."_

 _Jasper watched me for a second before giving me a weak smile and turning to Aro._

 _"You can't hurt her," Jasper said. "If I go willingly, can you promise me that you won't hurt her?"_

 _Aro looked from Jasper to me and smiled._

 _"I think we can come to an agreement there. He powers are too valuable to waste. And we are doing this as a warning…"_

 _Aro turned to look at the guard behind him._

 _"Felix," he called. "It's time."_

 _Felix came to the front as Alec move his palms out. As the vapor started, Jasper turned to Aro._

 _"Can we not do that? I have a plan for when I die...I want her to be the last thing I see."_

 _"Jasper, don't!" I cried, fighting against Dimitri's hold._

 _"I have to do this, Alice," he said. "I promised I'd keep you safe. And I'm keeping my promise. Let me keep you safe one last time. Remember, Darlin', it's just a dream. You'll wake up and I'll be there."_

 _He stepped closer to me and put his hands on my face._

 _"I love you," he said with a large goofy grin on his face. "Until the day I die, and forever after that."_

 _He pressed his forehead to mine before giving me a quick kiss._

 _Jasper stepped away from me, backing himself into Felix's waiting arms._

 _It was over in a quick second. I heard the ripping sounds of Jasper's neck and his arms, and I crumpled to the ground screaming._

 _"It will do you good next time to listen," Aro said. "Make him change the girl or she's next."_

"Jasper," I cried out as I jerked upright, scanning the dark room. Jasper must have gotten up to close the shades at some point because I couldn't see the brightness of the early morning sun.

"Ali?" Jasper said from his spot next to me. "What's wrong? Why are you afraid?"

I threw myself in his arms as he placed his book to the side.

"Oh, Jasper, it was awful," I said with a breaking voice as the lump in my throat grew.

"Can you tell me what happened?"

"There was a ball," I started before telling Jasper the entirety of the nightmare.

"Oh, Ali," Jasper murmured, hugging me tightly to him. "I'm not going anywhere. You will not pay for Edward's mistakes. I'll make sure of it. I'm not going anywhere. You're stuck with me for a very long time."

I laughed as I sniffed.

"Promise?"

"I promise."

After a moment Jasper looked down at me.

"Are you feeling any better?"

"From the dream or the energy decline?"

"Both."

"Yes to both."

"Good," Jasper smiled. "Do you want to see if you can look ahead?"

I nodded and closed my eyes again.

I focused on the future, making the decision myself that we would go to Seattle.

The future remained black.

"Nothing," I whispered, opening my eyes.

"Alice, I know I told you in the morning we would try that potion but can you give it a couple days? I want to make sure that you don't see something between now and then that would render the potion unnecessary."

I nodded.

"Yes. But only because I just watched you die, and I want to make you happy."

Jasper laughed and pulled me off the bed.

"Come on," he said. "You should be around people."

"Don't wanna," I mumbled. "Just you."

"Please," he asked. "Just for a little while? I want to talk to Carlisle. And I think you should tell Edward about your dream. He just got here."

"Jasper," I whined as he pulled me to the stairs. "Do it for me?"

I sighed as I met his eyes.

"Okay," I agreed. "For a little while."

Jasper smiled and pulled me to my feet. I didn't have to lean on him for support anymore, but I was still slightly slow.

"Alice," Edward smiled. "How'd you sleep?"

"Not well," I murmured. "I want to show you something. A dream I had."

I recalled the painful dream to my mind. I clutched onto Jasper's hand, reminding myself that he was right here.

I showed him the dream, and waited patiently as he watched.

"Alice, I'm sorry," Edward said. "I promise, you won't have to go through that. You made Aro make the Unbreakable Vow." He paused and pulled up my sleeve to show the burns on my arm from the Unbreakable Vow. "I just don't want to force Bella into it. She should have a choice."

"She made her choice already," I frowned.

"But if she wants to go back on it—"

"Edward, sweetheart, it's a little late for that," Esme said. "Alice is right. The Volturi will come for all of us if they find out she's still human."

"We'll find another way," Edward said. "We have to."

"Has anyone gotten today's paper yet?" Carlisle asked, steering the topic away from Bella's transformation.

Edward shook his head.

"No. But I should probably leave to get Bella soon. I need to change. Are you coming to school today, Alice?"

"No," I said, shaking my head. "I'm not missing much. So I'm staying here to finish recovering."

"Not a bad idea," Edward murmured before he set off to get changed.

"I'll go get it once Edward leaves," Jasper said. He turned to me. "You want to see what Edward gave me the keys to last night?"

"Sure," I said, frowning.

Jasper took my hand and pulled me off the couch and pulled me to the garage.

He pulled me down the rows until we made it to the motorcycle.

"He gave you his motorcycle?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"He noticed that I liked it," he told me. "And riding bikes is apparently something for Bella and Jacob to do together, so he gave it to me. It'll take us a second to get the oxygen tank situated with it, but would you want to go for a ride later?"

"One day," I promised Jasper. "I just don't know if today would be a good idea since I'm skipping."

"Hmm," Jasper murmured. "You might be right."

"Of course I am," I smiled.

Jasper shook his head and smiled.

"I'll give you a ride to school on Thursday," Jasper smiled.

"Deal."

Jasper smiled and wound an arm around my waist.

"How're you feeling, love? Be honest?"

"I'm fine, Jazz," I smiled. "I'm starting to feel more normal."

"Good," he smiled, kissing my temple as we walked back towards the house.

"Hey, Alice?" Edward asked as Jasper and I stepped back into the living room.

"Yes?"

"Have you looked in on Seattle any?"

"I tried this morning, after I woke up," I said. "I can't see."

Edward turned to me and looked at Jasper who said something to Edward silently.

"What?" Edward responded in surprise. "You really think that you're losing your visions?"

"Is that even possible?" Emmett asked.

"I don't know," I shrugged. "I've never looked into it because I've never thought it was a possibility. I thought my visions would get stronger but I guess not…" I trailed off, and looked down to the floor.

I didn't like the attention I was suddenly getting. Even if it was just my family, it was starting to make me uncomfortable. I never really discussed anything like this with anybody but Jasper. Now that my fears were out in the open, it made me feel vulnerable.

Jasper must have felt my uncomfortableness because suddenly the room went calm, and Jasper turned to me with a smile.

"Hey, Alice, why don't you come and play chess with me?"

I knew it was meant to be a distraction. These days, Jasper only played chess with me when he wanted to distract me from something or if he was making up for something. Or at least that's what it felt like.

I shook my head.

"I have some things I need to get done now that I'm feeling better," I mumbled. "I'm trying some new love potions for George to put through trials."

Jasper frowned, and moved to follow me but I shook my head.

"I just need a little bit of time alone," I said, heading for the stairs.

Jasper stood frozen in his spot, watching as I disappeared on the staircase.

Jasper did what I asked, and he didn't follow me.

Close to half an hour after I went upstairs, Edward left, and the TV switched on. I could hear Carlisle and Jasper talking in low voices as people were debating on the TV.

"Maybe we should get Alice to try one more time," Emmett suggested. "Using that potion from Voldemort?"

"I don't want us to resort to that potion everytime Alice can't see what we want her to see," Jasper snapped in a low voice. It was a comment that I wasn't meant to hear. "Does it ever feel like to you guys that we take advantage of Alice's gifts? Maybe she's too stressed because we always have her looking for something. Maybe _that_ is why she can't see anything now."

"Jasper, you need to calm down," Esme said. There was a hardness in her voice that I heard very rarely.

Suddenly there were footsteps on the stairs, and heading towards the room.

Jasper leaned against the doorframe, smiling weakly.

"Can I come in?" he asked. "Or did you still need a little while alone?"  
"Come in," I said, as I turned off the flame below the cauldron.

"Are you okay?"

I shrugged and sat down on the bed next to Jasper. He pulled my legs into his lap and took my hand.  
"What is it?" he asked. "You can tell me."

"What if my visions go away?" I whispered, looking at my hands. "I can't check and make sure that you're going to be okay, or Harry, or George."

"I really don't think that you're visions are going away," Jasper murmured, pressing a hand against my cheek.

I sighed and held the hand on my cheek in place.

"So what else could it be?"

"Edward and I were talking, and I think her might be right. About what he said earlier. Maybe you can't see Seattle because we won't actually go until you see something. So you can't see."

"What about everything else?" I asked.

"Your energy has been weak," Jasper murmured, stroking my cheek. "It may be nothing."

"So why can't I see now?"

"Because you're looking for Seattle," he soothed. "Maybe if you tried looking for something different."

"Like what?"

"Look for me," Jasper smiled.

"Why?" I asked warily.

"Just look. Humor me."

I closed my eyes and I focused on Jasper.

 _Jasper and I were sitting on the edge of the bed, much like we are now._

 _"I was going to wait until graduation to give this to you," Jasper murmured. "I figured that you could use some happiness," he smiled._

 _He pulled out a box from his jacket and passed it to me._

 _I untied the ribbon watching Jasper carefully._

 _"What did you do?" I asked with a smile._

 _"Just open it."_

 _I lifted the lid of the box and smiled._

 _Inside of the box was a ring. It was a simple band, but it was carved to look like tree branches. Where in between leaves, there were small gems that looked like they were meant to look like budding flowers._

 _"It's not much," Jasper said. "But it's not your only present."_

 _"Really?"_

 _"Yes," he smiled. "But the other one, you don't get until graduation."_

 _I pouted, and Jasper leaned forward to kiss me._

 _"It's only a few days."_

I blinked my eyes and found Jasper grinning back at me.  
"What did you see?" he asked with a smile.

"Don't pretend like you don't already know," I said with an equally large smile.

Jasper grinned and pulled the box from his jacket.

"I know you've already seen how things are going to go, but humor me. Please."

"Okay," I smiled.

"I was going to wait until graduation to give this to you," Jasper murmured. "I figured that you could use some happiness," he smiled.

He pulled me into his lap as I untied the ribbon and opened the box.

"It's beautiful," I smiled, turning to kiss him.

"I know it's not much, but it's not your only present."

"Really?"

"That one waits until graduation."

"Thank you, Jasper," I smiled.

"I told you that you could see," Jasper smiled. "I promise, Al, everything is going to be okay."

And for the first time since my visions began to fade, I believed that to be true.

* * *

 **Hey guys!**

 **I hope you enjoyed the chapters put up! I've been trying to write as much as possible, but I've had a few doctor's appointments that have come up that have complicated things. Thursday night and Friday I'll be undergoing some studies, but I should have my laptop so hopefully I'll be able to write a little bit.**

 **I also finally got around to reading Life and Death, the reimagined version of Twilight. I can say that while I still prefer the original story, I didn't hate it. I liked Beau's character, and I feel like Edythe wasn't as melodramatic as Edward. Even if I had read it before now, I probably wouldn't have incorporated the story line of Life and Death, but I did notice similarities. The story of Aro and his sister was featured in Life and Death, but it had a different outcome. I would like to believe that the Volturi of that story wasn't so corrupt. But alas, this is a different story.**

 **I want to give another huge thank you to AnnaRozeDog for pointing out my errors in earlier chapters, and all errors have since been fixed.**

 **SO, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope to see you in the next one.**

 **Follow, Favorite, and Review!**


	101. Begining of One StoryEnd of Another

_"She asked me to tell her when my brothers and I were ready to fight, and I was eager to prove myself. I pulled together an army of twenty-three in the end — twenty-three unbelievably strong new vampires, organized and skilled as no others before. Maria was ecstatic." ~Jasper Hale, Eclipse_

* * *

Chapter 101- The Beginning of One Story and the End of Another

It was safe to say that my visions were starting to slowly come back. As the morning went on, I began to catch little flickers of what was going to happen in our immediate future. What Jasper was planning to do tonight, Carlisle deciding to call into the hospital and the story he was going to make up to do so, a design idea that Esme had for a future house, and even what Harry was planning to wear to graduation I could see that the school was worried about my absence, and they would call tomorrow to see if I was okay, especially if Edward wasn't at school. Everything. Well, nearly everything.

I couldn't, however, see anything that was happening in Seattle. I couldn't see Victoria either. I wondered if the two were related in any way, but Carlisle was sure that they weren't. Victoria never stayed in one place for too long, so there was no possible way that she could have created an army. The only thing I could really see in Seattle, was somebody was changing their mind, over and over again, causing only flashes to come through. Finally, I couldn't see the Volturi, or maybe there simply was nothing for me to see as far as the Volturi was concerned. I wasn't sure which one it was though.

"I'm sure it's nothing," Jasper said as we headed back downstairs close to an hour after the first vision came. I had seen Edward and Bella skipping school and coming to the house, so we decided to come downstairs. "I'm nearly positive that everything will come back to you sooner or later."

"I'm sure you're right," I mumbled, leaning onto his shoulder as we made it down the last few stairs. "Even if it doesn't, I can see the things that matter."

"That's right," Jasper smiled. "But don't ruin my surprise for graduation."

"I won't," I laughed as he pulled me to the couch.

"Feeling better?" Esme asked.

I wasn't sure if it was directed towards me or to Jasper for his outburst earlier. Jasper seemed to share the same confusion that I did, so he nudged me.

"Yes," I smiled. "And my visions are starting to come back."

"Magnificent," Carlisle smiled. "What have you seen?"

"Nothing as far as Seattle, Victoria, or the Volturi goes if that's what you're wondering. But I did see Edward and Bella. They're coming over soon." I paused and turned to Jasper. "Did you ever go and get the paper?"

Jasper shook his head.

"No, it slipped my mind. Why?"

"I think I saw a newspaper in Edward's hand in the vision," I murmured. "I wonder if there's an update about Seattle."

Jasper shrugged.  
"I'm not sure. I guess we'll find out soon enough."

"I'm going to try looking for Seattle now that the visions are coming back...Or maybe for the Volturi. See if they've made a decision to step in."

I jumped to my feet and darted upstairs, grabbing the crystal ball and the sight potion. Instead of going back to the couch, I sat up an area at the bottom of the stairs.

"Alice," Jasper said crouching down in front of me. "I thought we'd agree you'd wait until you're better."

"I am better, Jazz," I said. "Please. I have to see."

Jasper sighed.

"Fine. But last resort. Try all of your other options first."

"Thank you," I smiled.

"I'm going to watch the news. Let me know if you need me."

He kissed my forehead, and returned to the couch.

As Jasper focused back onto the news, I focused on the future with the crystal ball. Seattle was foggy, and so was the future of the Volturi.

I groaned and shoved the crystal ball away.

As I focused on the black future, I could hear tires pulling up the driveway.

I pulled my knees up to my chest and focused on the future.

Focusing on the future didn't leave it completely black. I saw the boy from my dream last night, and I wondered if it was meant to be a dream, or a sign that I was supposed to be in that field at some point in time.

 _"I have to find out what's going on," he screamed again to the invisible person, just like he had in my dream. "I need her. I wasn't supposed to do this alone!"_

I made my decision then to try to find out who this boy was, and why he was significant to Seattle.

Bella and Edward stepped through the door then. Edward was in fact clutching a damp newspaper in his hand.

"Hey, Edward. Ditching, Bella?" Emmett smiled as I tried to focus on the boy.

"We both are," Edward reminded him. "And so is Alice for that matter."

"Yes, but it's her first time through high school. She might miss something. Besides, Alice has pretences to keep up. She's supposed to be dying soon. Remember?"

"Did you see that they're considering a serial killer now?" Edward asked, tossing the newspaper he was holding to Carlisle.

Carlisle sighed. "They've had two specialists debating that possibility on CNN all morning."

"We can't let this go on."

"Let's go now," Emmett said with sudden enthusiasm. "I'm dead bored."

A hiss echoed down the stairway from upstairs. I hadn't seen or heard Rosalie go upstairs, so I assumed she went while I was upstairs.

"She's such a pessimist," Emmett muttered to himself.

"We'll have to go sometime," Edward said, agreeing with Emmett.

Rosalie appeared at the top of the stairs. I shifted my stuff out of the way so she could get down.

"I'm concerned. We've never involved ourselves in this kind of thing before. It's not our business. We aren't the Volturi."

"I don't want the Volturi to have to come here," Edward said with an edge in his voice. "It gives us so much less reaction time."

"And all those innocent humans in Seattle," Esme said sadly. "It's not right to let them die this way."

"I know," Carlisle said with a loud sigh.

"Oh," Edward said suddenly before turning his head to face Jasper. "I didn't think of that. I see. You're right, that has to be it. Well, that changes everything."

I stood up from my place on the staircase and darted to stand next to Bella.

"I think you'd better explain to the others," Edward said to Jasper. "What could be the purpose of this?"

"What is he rambling about?" I asked Jasper, taking a small step towards him. "What are you thinking?"

Jasper's mind was the mind I tried to see inside of the least. I didn't want to go against his will. I only concentrated on what was loud enough for me to hear without focusing too hard.

Jasper ignored me. He glanced around the room at all of us before his eyes fell onto Bella. He read her face, and his eyes stayed locked on hers.

"You're confused," he said, in the same deep voice he used when he soothed me while I was afraid. I had never heard him use it on anybody else, and it took me by surprise.

"We're all confused," Emmett grumbled.

"You can afford the time to be patient," Jasper told him. It was the voice I'd always imagined when I thought of him controlling Maria's newborn army. "Bella should understand this, too. She's one of us now."

"How much do you know about me, Bella?" Jasper asked.

"Not much," Bella said, glancing between Edward and I.

You haven't told her? Jasper thought loud enough for me and for Edward to hear.

I shook my head as Jasper turned his gaze to me.

"No," Edward answered. "I'm sure you can understand why I haven't told her that story. But I suppose she needs to hear it now."

Jasper nodded and rolled up the sleeve his sweater. As he held it beneath the lamp, it traced one of the many scars.

"Oh," Bella said, as the mark on Jasper's arm clicked in her head. "Jasper, you have a scar exactly like mine."

Jasper gave a small smile.

"I have a lot of scars like yours, Bella."

He pushed his sleeve up further, showing the hundreds of bite marks that covered his arm.

"Jasper, what happened to you?" Bella asked.

"The same thing that happened to your hand," Jasper said. "Only for me, it was repeated over a thousand times. Our venom is the only thing that leaves a scar."

"Why?"

"I didn't have quite the same . . . upbringing as my adopted siblings here. I wasn't changed because I was dying, or for some heroic cause like my wife." he paused and he offered a small smile to me. "My beginning was something else entirely. In a way, I guess you could say it was similar to Alice's. I'd say hers was a thousand times worse. Despite the similarities, Alice and I have two completely different stories."

I had turned to move back to the stairs before Jasper voice called to me.

 _Alice_ , Jasper thought, very loud. He was making sure that he got my attention. _Stay. Please?_

I smiled at him, and paused in my tracks.

"Before I tell you my story," Jasper continued out loud as I moved to sit at Esme's feet, "you must understand that there are places in our world, Bella, where the lifespan of the never-aging is measured in weeks, and not centuries."

"To really understand why, you have to look at the world from a different perspective. You have to imagine the way it looks to the powerful, the greedy . . . the perpetually thirsty. You see, there are places in this world that are more desirable to us than others. Places where we can be less restrained, and still avoid detection. Picture, for instance, a map of the western hemisphere. Picture on it every human life as a small red dot. The thicker the red, the more easily we — well, those who exist this way — can feed without attracting notice. Not that the covens in the South care much for what the humans notice or do not. It's the Volturi that keep them in check. They are the only ones the southern covens fear. If not for the Volturi, the rest of us would be quickly exposed."

I watched Bella's face. She frowned at the respect in Jasper's voice as he mentioned the Volturi.

"The North is, by comparison, very civilized. Mostly we are nomads here who enjoy the day as well as the night, who allow humans to interact with us unsuspectingly — anonymity is important to us all. It's a different world in the South. The immortals there come out only at night. They spend the day plotting their next move, or anticipating their enemy's. Because it has been war in the South, constant war for centuries, with never one moment of truce. The covens there barely note the existence of humans, except as soldiers noticed a herd of cows by the wayside — food for the taking. They only hide from the notice of the herd because of the Volturi. This is why I say that my upbring was most similar to my wife's. We both experienced wars. Horrible, horrible wars. But she and I, we didn't fight for the same things."

So what are they fighting for?" Bella asked.

Jasper smiled.

"Remember the map with the red dots?"

Jasper paused and waited for Bella to respond. When she nodded, he took that as a signal to continue. I closed my eyes and listened to Jasper.

"They fight for control of the thickest red. You see, it occurred to someone once that, if he were the only vampire in, let's say Mexico City, well then, he could feed every night, twice, three times, and no one would ever notice. He plotted ways to get rid of the competition. Others had the same idea. Some came up with more effective tactics than others. But the most effective tactic was invented by a fairly young vampire named Benito. The first anyone ever heard of him, he came down from somewhere north of Dallas and massacred the two small covens that shared the area near Houston. Two nights later, he took on the much stronger clan of allies that claimed Monterrey in northern Mexico. Again, he won."

"How did he win?" Bella asked cautiously.

"Benito had created an army of newborn vampires. He was the first one to think of it, and, in the beginning, he was unstoppable. Very young vampires are volatile, wild, and almost impossible to control. One newborn can be reasoned with, taught to restrain himself, but ten, fifteen together are a nightmare. They'll turn on each other as easily as on the enemy you point them at. Benito had to keep making more as they fought amongst themselves, and as the covens he decimated took more than half his force down before they lost. You see, though newborns are dangerous, they are still possible to defeat if you know what you're doing. They're incredibly powerful physically, for the first year or so, and if they're allowed to bring strength to bear they can crush an older vampire with ease. But they are slaves to their instincts, and thus predictable. Usually, they have no skill in fighting, only muscle and ferocity. And in this case, overwhelming numbers. The vampires in southern Mexico realized what was coming for them, and they did the only thing they could think of to counteract Benito. They made armies of their own. . . . All hell broke loose — and I mean that more literally than you can possibly imagine. Like humans, and like Alice's people, we immortals have our histories, too, and this particular war will never be forgotten. Of course, it was not a good time to be human in Mexico, either."

Everything was quiet for a moment.

"Alice, did you ever learn about the Vampire Wars?" Bella asked.

"No," I murmured quietly, opening my eyes. "Professor Binns had a particular liking of the Goblin Rebellion and the Giant Wars."

"When the body count reached epidemic proportions — in fact, your histories blame a disease for the population slump — the Volturi finally stepped in. The entire guard came together and sought out every newborn in the bottom half of North America. Benito was entrenched in Puebla, building his army as quickly as he could in order to take on the prize — Mexico City. The Volturi started with him, and then moved on to the rest. Anyone who was found with the newborns was executed immediately, and, since everyone was trying to protect themselves from Benito, Mexico was emptied of vampires for a time. The Volturi were cleaning house for almost a year. This was another chapter of our history that will always be remembered, though there were very few witnesses left to speak of what it was like. I spoke to someone once who had, from a distance, and watched what happened when they visited Culiacán." Jasper paused, and shuddered.

"It's okay," I told him too quiet for Bella to hear. "I'm right here. You can do it."

"It was enough that the fever for conquest did not spread from the South. The rest of the world stayed sane. We owe the Volturi for our present way of life. But when the Volturi went back to Italy, the survivors were quick to stake their claims in the South. It didn't take long before covens began to dispute again. There was a lot of bad blood, if you'll forgive the expression. Vendettas abounded. The idea of newborns was already there, and some were not able to resist. However, the Volturi had not been forgotten, and the southern covens were more careful this time. The newborns were selected from the human pool with more care, and given more training. They were used circumspectly, and the humans remained, for the most part, oblivious. Their creators gave the Volturi no reason to return. The wars resumed, but on a smaller scale. Every now and then, someone would go too far, speculation would begin in the human newspapers, and the Volturi would return and clean out the city. But they let the others, the careful ones, continue. . ."

Jasper stared off into space. His eyes met mine and he gave a small smile.

"That's how you were changed," Bella said.

"Yes," he agreed. "When I was human, I lived in Houston, Texas. I was almost seventeen years old when I joined the Confederate Army in 1861. I lied to the recruiters and told them I was twenty. I was tall enough to get away with it. "My military career was short-lived, but very promising. People always . . . liked me, listened to what I had to say. My father said it was charisma. Of course, now I know it was probably something more. But, whatever the reason, I was promoted quickly through the ranks, over older, more experienced men. The Confederate Army was new and scrambling to organize itself, so that provided opportunities, as well. By the first battle of Galveston — well, it was more of a skirmish, really — I was the youngest major in Texas, not even acknowledging my real age. "I was placed in charge of evacuating the women and children from the city when the Union's mortar boats reached the harbor. It took a day to prepare them, and then I left with the first column of civilians to convey them to Houston. I remember that one night very clearly."

He paused and he turned to me.

"Go ahead, love," I murmured.

"We reached the city after dark. I stayed only long enough to make sure the entire party was safely situated. As soon as that was done, I got myself a fresh horse, and I headed back to Galveston. There wasn't time to rest. Just a mile outside the city, I found three women on foot. I assumed they were stragglers and dismounted at once to offer them my aid. But, when I could see their faces in the dim light of the moon, I was stunned into silence. They were, without question, the three most beautiful women I had ever seen. They had such pale skin, I remember marveling at it. Even the little black-haired girl, whose features were clearly Mexican, was porcelain in the moonlight. They seemed young, all of them, still young enough to be called girls. I knew they were not lost members of our party. I would have remembered seeing these three."

There was still a twinge of pain hearing the way Jasper described Maria. It's a reminder that there was a time when he loved her. And that was in the past now, I knew that. But I had never heard him describe anybody else the way he described Maria.

"I'd always had a good sense of how people related to each other, and it was immediately clear that the brunette was somehow in charge of the others," Jasper was saying when I started focusing again. "If they'd been military, I would have said that she outranked them.

"'He looks right — young, strong, an officer. . . . ' The brunette paused, and I tried unsuccessfully to speak. 'And there's something more . . . do you sense it?' she asked the other two. 'He's . . . compelling.'

'Oh, yes,' Nettie quickly agreed, leaning toward me again.

'Patience,' the brunette cautioned her. 'I want to keep this one.'

"Nettie frowned; she seemed annoyed.

'You'd better do it, Maria,' the taller blonde spoke again. 'If he's important to you. I kill them twice as often as I keep them.'

'Yes, I'll do it,' Maria agreed. 'I really do like this one. Take Nettie away, will you? I don't want to have to protect my back while I'm trying to focus."

I tuned out of Jasper's story again. I knew the story of Maria changing him, and Jasper moving through the ranks of Maria's army. About how he fell for her, and she fell for him.

I focused on the television with my knees hugged tightly to my chest. I closed my eyes, and tried to tune Jasper out, but I couldn't.

"Maria grew quite fond of me — she began to depend upon me. And, in some ways, I worshipped the ground she walked on. I had no idea that any other life was possible. Maria told us this was the way things were, and we believed. She asked me to tell her when my brothers and I were ready to fight, and I was eager to prove myself. I pulled together an army of twenty-three in the end — twenty-three unbelievably strong new vampires, organized and skilled as no others before. Maria was ecstatic. We crept down toward Monterrey, her former home, and she unleashed us on her enemies. They had only nine newborns at the time, and a pair of older vampires controlling them. We took them down more easily than Maria could believe, losing only four in the process. It was an unheard-of margin of victory. And we were well trained. We did it without attracting notice. The city changed hands without any human being aware. Success made Maria greedy. It wasn't long before she began to eye other cities. That first year, she extended her control to cover most of Texas and northern Mexico. Then the others came from the South to dislodge her."

Jasper was quiet for a moment.

"The fighting was intense. Many began to worry that the Volturi would return. Of the original twenty-three, I was the only one to survive the first eighteen months. We both won and lost. Nettie and Lucy turned on Maria eventually — but that one we won. Maria and I were able to hold on to Monterrey. It quieted a little, though the wars continued. The idea of conquest was dying out; it was mostly vengeance and feuding now. So many had lost their partners, and that is something our kind does not forgive. . . .Maria and I always kept a dozen or so newborns ready. They meant little to us — they were pawns, they were disposable. When they outgrew their usefulness, we disposed of them. My life continued in the same violent pattern and the years passed. I was sick of it all for a very long time before anything changed . . Decades later, I developed a friendship with a newborn who'd remained useful and survived his first three years, against the odds. His name was Peter. I liked Peter; he was . . . civilized — I suppose that's the right word. He didn't enjoy the fight, though he was good at it. He was assigned to deal with the newborns — babysit them, you could say. It was a full-time then it was time to purge again. The newborns were outgrowing their strength; they were due to be replaced. Peter was supposed to help me dispose of them. We took them aside individually, you see, one by one . . . It was always a very long night. This time, he tried to convince me that a few had potential, but Maria had instructed that we get rid of them all. I told him no. We were about halfway through, and I could feel that it was taking a great toll on Peter. I was trying to decide whether or not I should send him away and finish up myself as I called out the next victim. To my surprise, he was suddenly angry, furious. I braced for whatever his mood might foreshadow — he was a good fighter, but he was never a match for me. The newborn I'd summoned was a female, just past her year mark. Her name was Charlotte. His feelings changed when she came into view; they gave him away. He yelled for her to run, and he bolted after her. I could have pursued them, but I didn't. I felt . . . averse to destroying him. Maria was irritated with me for that…"

Jasper paused. When I opened my eyes and turned to look at him, I found that he was staring right back at me.

He motioned for me to come to him, and he smiled when I started to comply with his wishes. I stood behind Bella and watched Jasper carefully.

"Five years later, Peter snuck back for me. He picked a good day to arrive. Maria was mystified by my ever-deteriorating frame of mind. She'd never felt a moment's depression, and I wondered why I was different. I began to notice a change in her emotions when she was near me — sometimes there was fear . . . and malice — the same feelings that had given me advance warning when Nettie and Lucy struck. I was preparing myself to destroy my only ally, the core of my existence, when Peter returned. Peter told me about his new life with Charlotte, told me about options I'd never dreamed I had. In five years, they'd never had a fight, though they'd met many others in the north. Others who could co-exist without the constant mayhem. In one conversation, he had me convinced. I was ready to go, and somewhat relieved I wouldn't have to kill Maria. I'd been her companion for as many years as Carlisle and Edward have been together, yet the bond between us was nowhere near as strong. When you live for the fight, for the blood, the relationships you form are tenuous and easily broken. I walked away without a backward glance. I traveled with Peter and Charlotte for a few years, getting the feel of this new, more peaceful world. But the depression didn't fade. I didn't understand what was wrong with me, until Peter noticed that it was always worse after I'd hunted. I contemplated that. In so many years of slaughter and carnage, I'd lost nearly all of my humanity. I was undeniably a nightmare, a monster of the grisliest kind. Yet each time I found another human victim, I would feel a faint prick of remembrance for that other life. Watching their eyes widen in wonder at my beauty, I could see Maria and the others in my head, what they had looked like to me the last night that I was Jasper Whitlock. It was stronger for me — this borrowed memory — than it was for anyone else, because I could feel everything my prey was feeling. And I lived their emotions as I killed them. You've experienced the way I can manipulate the emotions around myself, Bella, but I wonder if you realize how the feelings in a room affect me. I live every day in a climate of emotion. For the first century of my life, I lived in a world of bloodthirsty vengeance. Hate was my constant companion. It eased some when I left Maria, but I still had to feel the horror and fear of my prey. It began to be too much. The depression got worse, and I wandered away from Peter and Charlotte. Civilized as they were, they didn't feel the same aversion I was beginning to feel. They only wanted peace from the fight. I was so wearied by killing — killing anyone, even mere humans. Yet I had to keep killing. What choice did I have? I tried to kill less often, but I would get too thirsty and I would give in. After a century of instant gratification, I found self-discipline . . . challenging. I still haven't perfected that."

He smiled as he looked up at me. Bella looked startled as she studied Jasper's face.

"I was in Philadelphia. There was a storm, and I was out during the day — something I was not completely comfortable with yet. I knew standing in the rain would attract attention, so I ducked into a little half-empty diner. My eyes were dark enough that no one would notice them, though this meant I was thirsty, and that worried me a little. She was there — expecting me, naturally. She hopped down from the high stool at the counter as soon as I walked in and came directly toward me. It shocked me. I was not sure if she meant to attack. That's the only interpretation of her behavior my past had to offer. But she was smiling. And the emotions that were emanating from her were like nothing I'd ever felt before."

"You'd kept me waiting for a long time," I smiled, causing Bella to jump slightly. "I almost thought you wouldn't come. Helen and Tobias all but had to strap me to my seat. But you came. And you ducked your head, like a good Southern gentleman, and said, 'I'm sorry, ma'am.'"

I laughed and Jasper held out his arms, waiting for me.

"You held out your hand, and I took it without stopping to make sense of what I was doing. For the first time in almost a century, I felt hope."

"I was just relieved. I thought you were never going to show up. I was nearly certain I had the date wrong."

Jasper wrapped his arms around me and his eyes locked on mine.

"Alice told me her story and about what she'd seen of Carlisle and his family. I could hardly believe that such an existence was possible. But Alice made me optimistic. So we went to find them."

"Scared the hell out of them, too," Edward said, rolling his eyes at Jasper. "Emmett and I were away hunting. Jasper shows up, covered in battle scars, towing this little freak" — he nudged me playfully — "who greets them all by name, knows everything about them, and wants to know which room she can move into. When I got home, all my things were in the garage."

"You're room had the best view," I shrugged, leaning my head on Jasper's shoulder. "If it's any consolation, Jasper tried to stop me."

"That's a nice story," Bella said with a small smile.

Jasper, Edward, and I turned to look at Bella questioningly.

"I mean the last part,.The happy ending with Alice."

"Alice has made all the difference," Jasper agreed. "This is a climate I enjoy. She became everything Maria was to me and more. The most beautiful woman in the world, and I began to worship the ground she walked on."

"Do you really think it could be an army?" I murmured to him, tracing one of the scars on his jaw. We had talked about the possibility, but it was all speculation.

"I thought I must be interpreting the signs incorrectly. Because where is the motive? Why would someone create an army in Seattle? There is no history there, no vendetta. It makes no sense from a conquest standpoint, either; no one claims it. Nomads pass through, but there's no one tofight for it. No one to defend it from. But I've seen this before, and there's no other explanation. There is an army of newborn vampires in Seattle. Fewer than twenty, I'd guess. The difficult part is that they are totally untrained. Whoever made them just set them loose. It will only get worse, and it won't be much longer until the Volturi step in. Actually, I'm surprised they've let this go on so long."

"What can we do?" Carlisle asked.

"If we want to avoid the Volturi's involvement, we will have to destroy the newborns, and we will have to do it very soon. I can teach you how, just like I taught Alice. It won't be easy in the city. The young ones aren't concerned about secrecy, but we will have to be. It will limit us in ways that they are not. Maybe we can lure them"

"Maybe we won't have to." Edward said. "Does it occur to anyone else that the only possible threat in the area that would call for the creation of an army is . . . us?"

Jasper's eyes narrowed and his arms tightened protectively around me; Carlisle's widened, shocked.

"Tanya's family is also near," Esme said slowly, unwilling to accept Edward's words.

"The newborns aren't ravaging Anchorage, Esme. I think we have to consider the idea that we are the targets."

"They're not coming after us," I insisted, and then paused. "Or . . . they don't know that they are. Not yet."

I started to remember the flickers that I had started to get, and the dream of the boy in the woods. The same boy I had seen when I tried looking for Seattle.

"What is that?" Edward asked, curious and tense. "What are you remembering?"

"Flickers. I can't see a clear picture when I try to see what's going on, nothing concrete. But I've been getting these strange flashes. Not enough to make sense of. It's as if someone's changing their mind, moving from one course of action to another so quickly that I can't get a good view. I didn't even realize that they were all pieced together."

"Indecision?" Jasper asked in disbelief.

"I don't know. . . ."

"Not indecision," Edward growled. "Knowledge. Someone who knows you can't see anything until the decision is made. Someone who is hiding from us. Playing with the holes in your vision."

"Who would know that?" I whispered.

"Aro knows you as well as you know yourself."

"But I would see if they'd decided to come. . . ."

"Unless they didn't want to get their hands dirty."

"A favor," Rosalie suggested. "Someone in the South . . . someone who already had trouble with the rules. Someone who should have been destroyed is offered a second chance — if they take care of this one small problem. . . . That would explain the Volturi's sluggish response."

"Why?" Carlisle asked, still shocked. "There's no reason for the Volturi —"

"It was there," Edward disagreed quietly. "I'm surprised it's come to this so soon, because the other thoughts were stronger. In Aro's head he saw me at his one side and Alice at his other. The present and the future, virtual omniscience. The power of the idea intoxicated him. I would have thought it would take him much longer to give up on that plan — he wanted it too much. But there was also the thought of you, Carlisle, of our family, growing stronger and larger. The jealousy and the fear: you having . . . not more than he had, but still, things that he wanted. He tried not to think about it, but he couldn't hide it completely. The idea of rooting out the competition was there; besides their own, ours is the largest coven they've ever found. . . ."

"They're too committed to their mission. They would never break the rules themselves. It goes against everything they've worked for."

"They'll clean up afterward. A double betrayal," Edward said. "No harm done."

Jasper's arms tightened around me, and he shook his head quickly.

"No, no, no. Carlisle is right. The Volturi do not break rules. Besides, it's much too sloppy. This . . . person, this threat — they have no idea what they're doing. A first-timer, I'd swear to it. I cannot believe the Volturi are involved. But they will be."

"Then let's go! What are we waiting for?"

"We'll need you to teach us, Jasper," Carlisle finally said. "How to destroy them."

"We're going to need help," Jasper said. "Do you think Tanya's family would be willing . . . ? Another seven mature vampires would make an enormous difference. And then Kate and Eleazar would be especially advantageous on our side. It would be almost easy, with their aid."

"We'll ask."

"We need to hurry. Ali, do you think you could call Helen and Tobias just to be sure? You could probably convince them."

I nodded and wormed my way out of Jasper's arms, picking up my bag that sat at the door.

I dialed the number as Carlisle dialed Tanya's.

The phone rang longer than it normally did. On nearly the last ring, Tobias answered the phone.

"Hello?" he said.

"Tobias, it's Alice. We need your help."

I explained the situation in Seattle, and Jasper's theories. Tobias listened carefully.

"That's what Carlisle has just finished telling Tanya," Helen told Tobias in a low voice.

"Damn it. Damn Laurent to the deepest pit of hell where he belongs," Edward was saying behind me.

"Tanya turned Carlisle down," I said.

"Yes," Helen said. "And I'm afraid we are going to have to turn you down as well."

"Helen, Tobias, please. I'm begging you. You know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

"We know that, Alice, but Tanya and the others, they're our family. Like the Cullens are for you. Carlisle won't let Irina hunt the wolf that killed Laurent, so we can't help you. Unless of course you have a different answer."

"I can't just break the treaty for you guys," I said. "They'll all hunt me. Imagine what that would do to my family. They would lose me for a second time for something that was completely avoidable."

"Then we're sorry, but we can't help you. We can't betray our family."

"And I'm not your family?" I snapped. "After nearly fifty-eight years, I haven't earned the right to call you family? After everything we've been through?"

"Mary Alice, don't do that," Tobias said. "It's not fair. What if it was Carlisle asking you not to help us? Then what would you do?"

"Jasper and I would come help you anyways," I growled.

"Tanya has been good to us, Alice. We can't throw that away over a human."

"What about everything we've done to help you?" I asked.

"We're grateful for that, Alice, but that's in the past now. This is something else entirely. What you did for us wouldn't have break your family. And don't forget, we don't owe you anything."

"You don't owe me anything?"

"No. We don't. When you came knocking on our door, in 1949, we didn't have to listen to you. We didn't have to go and save your family. And what did we get in return? Not a damn thing."

"I TRIED OFFERING YOU PAYMENT FOR ALL OF IT," I roared, causing Bella to jump. Everyone watched me carefully. "YOU TURNED IT DOWN! EACH TIME I OFFERED! I OFFERED MONEY, I OFFERED TO BUY YOU HOUSES AND CARS. EVERYTHING THAT WAS IN MY POWER TO GET, I WOULD HAVE GOTTEN FOR YOU! AND EVEN AFTER ALL THAT I KNEW THAT IT WOULD NEVER BE ENOUGH."

"Mary Alice Black Whitlock, that's enough," Tobias growled. "We will talk to you civilly, but if you yell again, we will hang up the phone."

I had never heard him this angry, and I had never been angry with them before now. It created an environment that I didn't enjoy. Through the pause between Helen, Tobias, and I, I could hear Edward telling the others of our fight.

"So you aren't going to help me?" I asked breaking the silence.

"Are you going to let Irina hunt the wolves?"

"No," I said through a clenched jaw.

"Then there's your answer," Helen said.

"Alice, we really hope that you would reconsider—"

"I can't," I said, stressing each word. "We have a treaty in place."

"You expect us to betray our family, but you won't betray yours?"

"It's not about betrayal, Helen!" I snapped. "It's about doing the right thing! If I let you kill them, then they'll kill all of us. I don't see a win in that."

"You could help us," Helen said. "Then they couldn't kill us."

"They were just protecting the town," I said. "Laurent was going to kill Bella."

"What if it was Jasper?"

"What?" I asked with wide eyes.

"What if the wolves had killed Jasper when he almost attacked Bella. You would have went after them too."

"That's different," I grumbled.

"I don't see how."

I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Because if the wolves had attacked Jasper that night, then the treaty would have already been void."

The line was silent again. The three of us were trying to figure out where to go from there.

"We really thought you would help us, Alice…" Tobias said, trailing off. "We thought you of all people would understand. You lost the one you loved once."

"I understand," I said. "I really do. But the treaty has kept peace between the Cullens and the wolves for as long as you and I have known each other. I can't break that when they were not a threat to our coven. And killing the wolves won't bring Laurent back. The pain will always be there."

"You don't know that," Helen said. "It's different for vampires."

None of the three of us seemed to be able to piece together the right words. There was an understood agreement that this would be the end of our friendship. It didn't seem possible for our friendship to be mended after this fight. The Cullens and the Denalis had brought us together, and it was the Cullens and the Denalis that would break us.

"What's happening?" Bella whispered to Edward quietly.

"Nobody is talking," Edward said. "They're all trying to figure out what to say."

The line remained quiet, but I could hear their steady breathing on the line.

"So what now?" I asked, quietly.

"I guess this is it," Tobias said. "Since we can't seem to come to an agreement. You won't help us, so what's the point."

That single sentence confirmed the end of our friendship. The first two people that I have ever met in this world would be gone the second that the line went dead.

"We're really going to throw away fifty-seven years over one argument?"

"If we have to, yes."

"Fine then," I whispered. "If that's how it is."

"We're sorry, Alice," Helen said. "We wish things could be different."

"Well I see now that that won't be possible," I said.

"No," Helen said. "It wouldn't. Take care, Alice. We really do hope you make it out of this."

"Maybe one day—"

"I don't think so, Alice," Helen said. "Not unless you and Jasper leave the Cullen clan, I don't think it'd be possible."

"Goodbye, Alice," Tobias said.

The line went dead before I could say anything else. A sob broke from my throat and I hurled the phone at the window, causing everyone to jump. The phone broke into a million little pieces and I fell to the floor.

"Alice!" Jasper exclaimed. He moved onto the floor next to me and wrapped his arms tightly around me. "Shhh. It's okay."

"They're gone," I wept, turning into Jasper shoulder. "They're upset because Carlisle won't let Irina hunt the wolves, and I've upset them because I won't break the treaty to let them hunt them."

"Ali, it's just a fight," Jasper murmured. "It will all blow over."

I shook my head.

"Not this time, Jazz. They said that unless we leave the Cullen clan—"

Jasper shushed me again as another sob escaped.

"Alice, I'm sorry," Bella said taking a step towards me.

"Bella, don't," Edward said, catching her and pulling her to the ivory couch.

It was then that I realized I was angry with Bella. I was angry that because she went into the woods alone, without protection, Laurent hunted her, and was killed. If she hadn't done that, maybe Laurent would have left her for Victoria, and Victoria would have been killed instead.

"Alice, stop it," Edward said.

"Edward, don't push her," Jasper said. "She's just lost a piece of her family."

"That doesn't give her the right to blame Bella."

"Alice blames me?" Bella asked surprised.

"If you hadn't gone into the woods alone, maybe Laurent would have went back to Irina. Then we would have had the extra numbers, and Helen and Tobias wouldn't hate me," I spat.

"Alice, shhh. That's enough," Jasper murmured, rocking me back and forth. "This isn't good," Jasper said, turning to Carlisle. "Without the Denalis and Helen and Tobias, it's too even a fight. We'd have the upper hand in skill, but not numbers. We'd win, but at what price?"

His eyes flashed to mine before he hugged me to him tighter and continued to rock me side to side.

 _Some of us are going to die,_ Jasper thought loud enough for me to hear. _Maybe you should sit it out..._

"Don't be stupid," I mumbled. "I have spells I can use if things start getting too bad. Nobody will have to die."

"Ali, can I talk to you?" Jasper mumbled. "Outside?"

I nodded, and Jasper helped me to my feet.

He and I made our way outside. I could feel the other's curious eyes watching us.

"Ali, if we can't get extra help from the Denalis we need to get it somewhere."

"What are you thinking?" I murmured.

"Well I'm going to need help tracking down Peter and Charlotte," he said. "That's where you come in."

I could sense there was something else. Something he didn't want to tell me.

"But?"

"I wanted to ask you about maybe finding Maria, and asking for her army's help."

"You want to do what?" I asked with wide eyes. I shook his hand off me and stepped back. "No. No, no, no. Don't you remember what happened last time?"

"I remember but, Alice—"

"She was going to take you away from me forever," I growled, "and now you want to ask her for help? Have you considered the debt we'd be in to Maria, and the lengths we'd have to go to in order to repay her? Has it ever crossed your mind that maybe she'll try to take you again? I just lost Helen and Tobias and I won't lose you too."

"Ali, please," Jasper said. "Just think about it."

"I can think about it for the rest of my life and my answer will always be the same. No. I'll help you find Peter and Charlotte, but I won't help you find Maria."

I turned towards the house, and paused when I saw Edward watching me.

"If I were you," I continued, "I wouldn't think about doing it behind my back either, Jasper Pierce Whitlock. If you love me even a little, you'll respect my wishes. I'll be watching you. Understand?"

"Yes, Alice," Jasper said, quietly.

"Good. Now come on then," I said. "I'll help you find Peter and Charlotte."

Jasper remained quiet as we came back through the house.

"Alice, are you okay?" Edward asked quietly. "It looked like you guys were fighting."

"Later," I told him, glancing at Bella.

"Are you going to be mad at her forever, Alice?" Edward asked.

"No," I said. "But it's not something I can get over easily."

Edward remained quiet as I moved past the others.

I took the potion off the staircase and handed it to Jasper.

"This is the easiest way to do it," I told him, handing him the bottle.

"Alice, what is that?" Bella asked as I laid down on the floor.

"Voldemort called it the Potion of Second Sight. It's supposed to help me see. It takes one set of vision, and replaces it with another."

"I don't understand," Bella said.

"It will help her to see a broader spectrum in her visions," Edward explained. "But in order to do so, it takes her sight."

"Permanently?"

"No," I murmured. "For a couple hours. A day tops depending on how much I use."

I took the key from around my neck and passed it to Carlisle.

"In my cupboard, there is a map and what looks like a stone necklace. Bring those to me, please."

"How many drops, Alice?"

"Forty in each eye," I said.

"How long will that take your sight for?" Esme asked wide eyed.

"Twelve hours," I said. "I'll be able to see later tonight."

"So for every ten drops it takes three hours of your sight?" Bella asked.

"Yes." I said, clutching Jasper's knee as he leaned over me, preparing to put the drops in my eyes.

"Does it hurt?" Bella asked Edward, watching carefully.

"Yes," Edward said. "That's why Jasper doesn't like her using it."

Jasper started putting the drops in my eyes, and he apologized after each one. I tried to keep Jasper's face in my sight until it disappeared entirely.

"Okay," Jasper murmured, pulling me into his lap. "It's finished."

I moved my head in the direction of Bella and Edward's voices.

"Does it hurt still?" Bella asked.

"No," I murmured. "It's not comfortable, but it doesn't hurt."

"I'm sorry, Alice," Jasper murmured against my ear. "I wish there was another way."

"Stop apologizing," I mumbled. "You only did what I asked you to do. That's all."

"Yes, but—"

I covered his mouth with my hand and put my forehead against his.

"Shush."

Jasper pulled my hand off his mouth and kissed the back of it.

"See what you can see."

I closed my mind from Edward so I could focus without him interrupting.

As I tried to picture Seattle, I was met with the same boy, and the same flashes that I had gotten this morning.

"Who are you," I mumbled to myself.

I knew his face outside of my visions, but I couldn't put a finger on why I knew him.

"Does anybody have any idea of any of the missing people in Seattle?"

"I have it from where it was shown in the newspaper last week," Jasper said.

"Can you get it? I may have something."

Jasper slipped out from under me and darted up the stairs.

"Okay," he said when he sat back down.

"How many of the missing are male?"

"As of last week, eleven."

"How many of them have blonde hair?"

"Five," Jasper said after a moment.

"From the five, on the pictures, can you tell muscle mass?"

"Yes."

"How many of them look closer to Carlisle's build."

"None of them," Jasper murmured.

"Damn it," I growled.

"Let me see him," Edward said.

I opened my mind and showed the vision to Edward.

Edward moved closer and picked up the paper.

"Alice, he's not on this paper. Can you remember anything else about him?"

"Judging by his eyes, I'd say that he's past his first year. He said, 'I need her. I wasn't supposed to do this alone.'"

"What does that mean?" Carlisle asked. "He wasn't supposed to do it alone?"

"Maybe he's second-in-command?" Jasper suggested. "His creator abandoned him...who is he talking to, Alice?"

"I can't see," I mumbled. "I can see just enough to see him, but that's all."

"Well if he is second-in-command, we know that the leader is a woman."

"I think that cancels out the Volturi," Jasper murmured.

"Unless one of the kings sent somebody out," Edward said.

"I doubt it," Jasper said.

We were all quiet for a moment.

"So what does it mean?" Bella asked. "Who is she?"

"I don't know," I mumbled. "I can't see anybody else in that field."

"What field?" Jasper asked.

"I thought it was a dream," I said. "I didn't think much of it at the time, and that's why I didn't say anything, but I was in a field. I could smell Bella's scent, and I was wondering why she would be there, so I followed her scent and tried to find her. I came across the boy in the trees. He was talking to somebody I couldn't see, but he was afraid."

"So this has something to do with Bella?" Emmett asked.

"I don't think so," I murmured. "The scent I followed was similar to her, but it wasn't exactly the same."

The room went quiet again.

"So why do you think he's related to Seattle if it was just a dream?" Bella asked.

"Because now when I try to see Seattle, I see his face. I didn't think they were connected before."

"So what do we do?" Jasper asked.

"We wait," I said, turning to the direction that his voice was coming from. "We wait until I see something more."

That's how the day was spent. I sat in complete darkness, trying to find out anything about Seattle or the boy in my vision. Jasper and Edward helped, and Esme and Emmett tried to keep Bella busy. Rosalie went to the garage after some time, and Carlisle retreated to his study, looking for any information on the boy from my visions.

Bella and Edward left close to four that evening. Bella had been on the floor next to Edward, Jasper, and I, watching as I tried to find something in the crystal ball that was charmed for others to see.

After Bella left, I turned to the scrying stone and the map that Carlisle had brought down while Bella was here, and the others watched intently.

"Who is she looking for?" Esme asked.

"Peter and Charlotte," Jasper said. "We still need numbers, and Peter and Charlotte don't have phones. So tomorrow afternoon, after Alice comes home from school, we're going to try to find them."

"I thought Alice was skipping tomorrow too," Carlisle said.

I shook my head.

"I was going to, but when Edward and Bella didn't show up today, the school was getting nervous that there was something wrong.."

"I didn't hear anything from the school," Esme frowned.

"Because they haven't decided to call yet. So I figured I'd go before they decided to call. I figured that I'd tell them we were letting off steam before finals if they asked."

"When did you see this?"

"Earlier this morning. Things got a little hectic and I didn't get a chance to mention it."

"It's so tense in here," Emmett grumbled. "Between Alice and Jasper fighting and all this army nonsense—"

"Who says Jasper and I are fighting?" I frowned.

"Earlier when you and Jasper went outside, you looked angry," Rosalie said. "We assumed you guys were arguing."

"I wouldn't call it arguing," Jasper said.

"So what happened?" Emmett pressed.

"Emmett," Esme scolded. "I don't think that it's any of our business."

"No, it's okay," I said. "Jasper just wanted to run something by me, and I didn't want him to do it."

"What was it?" Emmett asked again.

"I wanted to know if Alice was okay with tracking down Maria," Jasper shrugged.

"I can't say I blame her for not being okay with it," Carlisle said. "After the last time, I don't know if I'd want her here either."

"I know," Jasper said. "That's why I let it go."

Jasper kissed my cheek as I continued to look for Peter and Charlotte.

After a moment, the stone clattered onto the map and the string slipped through my finger.

"Where are they?" I asked.

"Texas," Jasper said. "Do we have a map of Texas?"

It was quiet and Jasper leaned in closer to me.

"Carlisle is going to get a map."

Carlisle came back after a moment, and Jasper closed my fingers around the string of the scrying stone.

"Okay," Jasper said. "The map is here."

I lifted the stone above the map and began to concentrate again.

"Come on, come on, come on."

After a moment, the stone clattered and the string slipped through my fingers once more.

"Amarillo," Jasper murmured.

"That helps," I murmured.

"Can you find them with that information?"

I nodded.

"Give me a second."

I focused my attention on Peter and Charlotte.

The picture was blurry at first, but after a moment it cleared.

"Traveler's Inn," I murmured. "Isn't that where I first met them?"

"Yeah, it is," Jasper said. I could hear the smile on his face. "I wonder what brought them back there."

"I can't get a room number," I murmured as I continued to flip through their future. "They've made the decision to go there, but I don't think that they're actually there."

"Maybe we can call," Jasper murmured.

I shook my head.

"Let's try again in a couple hours, and if I don't see anything then, let's check."

Jasper was quiet. I assumed he nodded.

"Alice, tomorrow I'm going to get you a new phone," Esme said. "It'll be with Jasper."

"It's a good thing Harry wasn't calling this week," I murmured, turning my head in the direction I had thrown the phone. Harry and I had agreed he wouldn't call since he was coming this weekend. "I'd better owl him and tell him not to call just in case."

"I'll do it, Alice," Jasper murmured. "Is Paris outside?"

"He should be," I said. "Give him a treat when you get him inside, please."

He patted my hand and his footsteps began to fade.

It was quiet for a little while. I sank back and tried to find Seattle once more, and for the umpteenth time, I was met with the face of the boy.

I groaned and laid down on the floor.

"Didn't find anything?" Jasper asked. His footsteps grew closer to me and stopped at my feet.

"No. Just the same boy."

"You said he isn't very old?" Jasper said, sitting down on the floor next to my torso. He took one of my hands into his.

"No. Just over a year."

"How could you tell?" Emmett asked.

"Just by his eyes. Their still a darkish red, but brighter than a newborns."

"Okay, so what if we broaden the search?" Carlisle asked.

"I can get Jason to see if he can find anybody who went missing about a year ago, matching that description," Jasper said. "He should still be in his office, and it's better to know all that we can about these newborns."

I heard the keys on Jasper's phone clicking, and then one more button for Jasper to put the phone on speaker.

"You've reached the office of Jason Jenks, this is Max, how can I help you?"

"Max," Jasper greeted. "This is Jasper Hale. Is Jason available?"

"Give me one second to check," Max said quickly.

The line was quiet for a moment and then it rang again as the line was transferred.

"Mr. Jasper," Jason said. "What can I do for you today?"

"I need your help locating somebody," Jasper said. "I don't have a name, but I have a description. Do you think you can do that for me, Jason?"

"Yes, sir. Just give me the description and I'll see what I can do to find this person."

Jasper gave the description of the boy in my visions to the lawyer.

"I'll see what I can find, sir," Jason said.

"I'll come by your office tomorrow and drop off a payment for you," Jasper said.

"Mr. Jasper, that won't—"

"Tell him I insist," I murmured to Jasper as Jason Jenks rambled about how he'd be honored to do it for free.

"Jason," Jasper said calmly, causing Jason to stop mid sentence.

"Yes?"

"My wife insists on the payment," Jasper said. "And I really don't want to disappoint her."

"No, no, no, of course not," Jason said quickly. "Whatever number Mrs. Cullen finds reasonable, I am okay with. Will I be meeting Mrs. Cullen?"

"No," Jasper said quickly with a cold edge to his voice. "My wife is sick right now, and we think it's best that she doesn't leave the house more than she should."

Jasper didn't like the idea of the frightened lawyer seeing my face. He never told me the reason, and I never asked.

"Of course," Jason said again. "Then I will be expecting you tomorrow at—"

"Noon," Jasper interrupted.

"Noon then."

Jasper hung up the phone and kissed my forehead.

"Jasper?"

"Yes, Darlin'?"

"Will I ever meet Jason Jenks?"

"No," Jasper murmured, running a hand through my hair.

"Why?"

"Because it's not safe."

"Why?" I questioned again.

"It's easier if Jason can't identify you should he ever get caught."

"But he can identify you," I said.

"But he won't," Jasper murmured. "He's too afraid of me."  
"Why is he afraid of you?" Esme asked.

"Because I made it that way," Jasper said.

Sometime had passed, and my vision was slowly starting to come back. It started out with lights. They were fuzzy, but I could see them.

"Hey, Jasper," Emmett said after the room had been quiet for sometime. "What do you say about making a bet?"

"What's the bet on?" Jasper asked.

"Well Bella is going to be changed soon, and I think it'd be interesting to see how many people she'll kill in her first year."

"Emmett!" Esme exclaimed. "That's not nice!"

"Well?" Emmett asked. "Do we have a bet?"

"Okay," Jasper agreed, pulling me into his lap. "I don't have an exact number, but I bet that she'd definitely kill over fifteen."

"Why fifteen?" I asked, turning to face him.

"Because her anger will get the better of her, and when she lashes out, she's bound to kill somebody."

"Her anger?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.  
"She tends to be angry or annoyed a lot," Jasper shrugged. "Emmett?"

"I bet she'll kill no more than ten."

I thought about my time as a newborn vampire, and thought about my first two victims.

"Alice?" Jasper murmured in my ear. "What is it? Did you see something?"

"No," I said quietly. "I was thinking of them…"

"Who's 'them', Ali?"

"The boy and the girl I killed in Salem."

Jasper was quiet for a moment.

"I forgot about them," he said.

"I didn't."

Jasper hugged me to him tightly.

"It's okay."

"I know."

I offered him a small smile.

"Who do you think is going to win?" Emmett asked, quickly steering my thoughts away from the couple.

"I think Emmett might win this one," I said, turning to look at Jasper. "I don't think Edward would let her kill anybody."

"I think Jasper's going to win," Rosalie disagreed. "Edward won't have much of a choice when it comes down to it."  
"But if I see it—"

"Edward told her how to get around your visions," Jasper said. "Remember the day she ran to La Push?"

I sighed.

"I still don't think she'd kill that many people."

"We'll see," Jasper smiled.

I knew it would make Jasper feel better if somebody else struggled with the diet that we had committed ourselves to all those years ago. Jasper was definitely more happy than he was when I found him in 1948, but I also knew that this diet was not his first choice. Sometimes I wondered if he would be happier if he no longer had to follow this diet, but I never said that out loud.

Jasper laid his head on my shoulder and smiled against my cheek.

"What's got you so deep in thought, Darlin'?" he asked.

I shook my head.

"It's nothing," I lied. "I'm just looking for the stranger."

"Okay," Jasper murmured. I wasn't sure that he entirely believed me. "If you need to talk, I'll always be right here."

I pushed the bad thoughts of Jasper, and the thought of Helen and Tobias out of my head. I had to focus on the stranger, and the uncertain future of what would happen if, or rather when, we go to Seattle.

* * *

 **Hey guys! I hope you enjoyed the chapter! The original name for this chapter was "Jasper's Story", but I feel like the new title, although long, is more befitting of the chapter. It tells the story of the beginning of Jasper's life, and the end of the friendship of Helen, Tobias, and Alice.**

 **I do want to explain my reasoning for the fight between Helen, Tobias, and Alice. I know things hadn't exploded that big with Carlisle and Tanya, but I wanted things to be slightly different for Alice. Helen and Tobias were her creators, and that deepens the bond between them rather than them and the Denali's. So by turning Alice down, saying it was a betrayal to the Denalis, it hurt her. To her, it felt like she had lost some of her family for something that could have been avoided if Bella had stayed in line like she was supposed to. Fear not though, this is not the total end of their story. They will return. But will the bond be as strong as it once was?**

 **Okay, so that felt a little bit like the end of a Dragon Ball Z episode, but it was an important question nonetheless.**

 **SO, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, and I hope to have another one up soon.**

 **Follow, favorite, and review! :)(:**


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